17 Wild Tales From History That Are Stranger Than Fiction

Sometimes the history books leave out just how strange our history was because if you ask me, some of these stories are too strange to believe.

By Peter Rapine

Published 3 years ago in Facepalm

Sometimes the history books leave out just how strange our history was because if you ask me, some of these stories are too strange to believe.

So strap in and take a trip to the past with these strange facts from history.

1
Everything every written by the Phoenicians is gone because they used a degradable papyrus paper. Understanding the number of historical records lost is tough, but these people invented the alphabet, so let that sink in.

2
The documentary While Wilderness captured lemming mass-suicides in action. Contrary to what textbooks say, lemmings don’t jump off cliffs. The “documentarians” found this out the hard way and wound up throwing the lemmings off the cliff to get the scene.

3
The creation of Chuck E. Cheese was an accident. Nolan Bushnell was planning on creating a coyote mascot for his pizzas chain, but when a costume store sent him a rat costume instead, he just went with it.
4
The doctor who invented the stethoscope did so because he felt embarrassed putting his head to the chest of women to hear their lungs and hearts.

5
During the Battle of the Wilderness, one Union and one Confederate soldier ended up hiding together in the same gully. Naturally, they tried to take each other prisoner, which devolved into a bare-knuckle boxing match. Eventually, the fight spilled into the view of the rest of the battle, which promptly halted as both sides stopped firing, so they could get a closer look and cheer on their boy.
6
The Dark Ages were a terrible time to be alive, between the disease, filth, poverty, and the Black Death. What history leaves out is, that it was a time of unprecedented scholarship, discovery, and innovation in the Middle East.
7
During the Battle of the Wilderness, one Union and one Confederate soldier ended up hiding together in the same gully. Naturally, they tried to take each other prisoner, which devolved into a bare-knuckle boxing match. Eventually, the fight spilled into the view of the rest of the battle, which promptly halted as both sides stopped firing, so they could get a closer look and cheer on their boy.

8
After Frank Sinatra's son was kidnapped, he would always carry spare dimes in his pockets, because the kidnappers demanded all communication be made through a pay phone and he never wanted to be unprepared again.
9
At the height of their crime spree, Bonnie and Clyde were both walking with a limp. Bonnie had seriously hurt herself in a car crash and Clyde chopped off two of his toes while in prison.
10
The documentary While Wilderness captured lemming mass-suicides in action. Contrary to what textbooks say, lemmings don’t jump off cliffs. The “documentarians” found this out the hard way and wound up throwing the lemmings off the cliff to get the scene.

11
The creation of Chuck E. Cheese was an accident. Nolan Bushnell was planning on creating a coyote mascot for his pizzas chain, but when a costume store sent him a rat costume instead, he just went with it.
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13
During the time of the Roswell incident, the United States was testing ballons that could detect Soviet nuclear tests, and when one of the balloons fell, it was used as a smear campaign to distance themselves from what they were really doing in the desert.

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Che Guevara's nickname was, 'El Chancho", meaning 'The Pig" because he seldom bathed.
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18
The first 10,000 patents issued by the U.S were all lost in a fire.
19
"Animation' dates back to the stone age when prehistoric artists would draw on caves using charcoal. When flickering firelight was shone on the walls, the images would appear to be in motion, hence looking animated.

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22
The doctor who invented the stethoscope did so because he felt embarrassed putting his head to the chest of women to hear their lungs and hearts.

23
The original call sign for Apollo 11 were changed from Snowcone and Haystack to Columbia and Eagle. Which was probably a good thing, because “The Haystack has landed” doesn’t have the same ring to it.
24
The first-ever text message was sent on December 3rd, 1992, and said, 'Merry Christmas'.
25
We all know the stories about “Honest Abe” Lincoln and his log cabin. But all that log-splitting and cabin-building made Abraham Lincoln incredibly strong. He was known to haul crates of stones weighing over 1,000 pounds around his hometown. There are also two recorded instances of Lincoln picking somebody up by the neck and tossing him aside like a doll - one of which happened while we was on the camping trail.

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The Beatles would write new music because they wanted to buy new stuff. John and Paul would joke at the beginning of recording sessions by saying things like, "let's write a swimming pool."
31
Andrew Jackson's parrot was kicked out of his funeral because it wouldn't stop swearing and interrupting the procession.