Historical facts you won't believe are real

[jw5]

Toilet meetings​

He had a telephone installed in the White House bathroom so he could work while sitting on the toilet.

 

[jw5]

Albert Einstein could have been president of Israel​

When Israeli president Chaim Weizmann died in 1952, Albert Einstein was offered the position.

 

[jw5]

Albert Einstein could have been president of Israel​

The idea came from then-Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. Einstein eventually refused, but it makes us wonder what would have happened if he had accepted the role.

 

[jw5]

A double agent was awarded by both the Allies and Axis powers​

Spanish spy Juan Pujol García worked as a double agent for both the British and the Nazis during World War II.

 

[jw5]

A double agent was awarded by both the Allies and Axis powers​

García went on to be awarded the highest honor of service from both sides: the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by the Nazis, and the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

 

[jw5]

Heroin was used to treat children’s cough​

In the 1890s, heroin was commercialized by the German pharmaceutical company Bayer as a cough remedy.

 

[jw5]

Heroin was used to treat children’s cough​

In fact, the company specifically advertised its use for children up until 1912.

 

[jw5]

Raising of Chicago​

Chicago suffered from numerous sewage and draining problems during the 19th century. So it was decided that the city level should be raised.

 

[jw5]

Raising of Chicago​

Chicago streets and buildings were actually physically raised by over four feet (1.2 meter) on jackscrews during the 1850s and ’60s.

 

[jw5]

Woolly mammoths were still around when the pyramids were built​

We often associate these animals with the Ice Age, but the last ones died as late as 1650 BCE.

 

[jw5]

Woolly mammoths were still around when the pyramids were built​

Which means that they were still around when the Egyptians were building the pyramids. Presumably, when the last mammoth died ,the Great Pyramid of Giza had already existed for a millennium.