Weird history facts

1. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the fifth richest man in the history of mankind - donated 5 tons gold to the National Defence Funds of India and was using the Jacob Diamond as a paperweight.

1. During World War 2, the British maintained an entirely fictional army, the “4th Army” that they successfully used to draw German forces away from invasion targets on multiple occasions, including the Normandy landings.

1. Anybody, dead or alive, traveling into France requires a passport. In 1974, the Egyptian government had to issue a passport to Pharaoh, Ramesses II to transport his body to France for restoration. Eerily, his body also received full military honors when it arrived at the Paris airport.

Andrew Rader, PhD, is a lot of things. The man is a SpaceX mission manager, MIT-credentialed scientist, game designer, author... And he's also a history fan. In fact, he's so fascinated with the subject, he even created a Twitter account to share the weirdest and most wonderful history-related content he stumbles upon.

1. In the 12th-century, women in Shanxi (a Chinese province) were considered more desirable as a wife if they had already slept with a large number of men.

1. During the Zong Massacre, in 1781, a British slave ship threw 130 chained African slaves overboard and claimed compensation under the ship's insurance. They falsely blamed the act on water shortage and lost their case.

If it ain’t weird, interesting, and enlightening, it ain’t got any place on the Weird History Twitter page. Home to nearly 177k adoring fans, the Weird History project embodies the best aspects of education in the digital age: make it short, make it precise, and make it fun. Throw in some spot-on illustrations and boom! You’ve made yourself popular with fact-lovers all over the globe.

Andrew Rader, PhD, is a lot of things. The man is a SpaceX mission manager, MIT-credentialed scientist, game designer, author... And he's also a history fan. In fact, he's so fascinated with the subject, he even created a Twitter account to share the weirdest and most wonderful history-related content he stumbles upon.

1. While the Eagles were recording their Hotel California album, they had to stop recording "on numerous occasions" because Black Sabbath was in the same studio, and was so loud the sound was coming through the walls.

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