# 99 Little Known Facts About World History **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 20, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871 "2006-01-20T19:44:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/61 "2006-01-23T21:09:36Z")
Robert E. Lee was widely admired by his contemporaries for his “perfect buttocks.” Nikola Tesla invented the rootbeer float. Hotdogs were first served in Dog Penis, Germany during Oktoberfest. Wlater Cronkite never existed; he was a mass hallucination caused by ergot poisoning. John F. Kennedy had two full sets of functioning male genitalia; one of which he called “Stevie.” Sir Francis “Frannie-Pooh” Blackpowder is considered by most historians to be the inventor of the first successful process for curing pork. That accomplishment is eclipsed by rumors that he is the real author of the first season scripts of “I Love Lucy.” William Shatner defeated the Viet Cong using mutant powers in 1966; the US military command, however, failed to properly capitalize on the victory. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/62 "2006-01-23T21:58:12Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Wlater Cronkite never existed; he was a mass hallucination caused by ergot poisoning. That’s just your opinion. I’m among those who believe that it is _we_ who do not exist, but that we are all hallucinations Walter Cronkite is having as he stares into a lava lamp in China Town, D.C., in June 1968. (Some say Walter is on psylocibin in Cambridge MA staring at a Pollock painting in February 1957, but they’re _heretics_ and must be destroyed!) ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/63 "2006-01-23T22:06:29Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > That’s just your opinion. I’m among those who believe that it is _we_ who do not exist, but that we are all hallucinations Walter Cronkite is having as he stares into a lava lamp in China Town, D.C., in June 1968. (Some say Walter is on psylocibin in Cambridge MA staring at a Pollock painting in February 1957, but they’re _heretics_ and must be destroyed!) Polish up those reading skills. I was talking about _Wlater_ Cronkite. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/64 "2006-01-23T22:20:04Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Polish up those reading skills. I was talking about _Wlater_ Cronkite. I initially read this as “PO-lish up those reading skills.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/65 "2006-01-23T22:22:19Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Polish up those reading skills. I was talking about _Wlater_ Cronkite. I’m going to pray for you. And pray hard. There is but one Cronkite creating us in a drug induced hallucination in the recent past, and WALTER is his name! ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/66 "2006-01-23T22:30:07Z")
The movie _Brokeback Mountain_ is based on a portion that was reenacted to cheering NYC audiences, the crowned heads of Europe and Mrs. Ethel Berdorf of West Haven, Ontario, as part of the _Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show_. The role of Jack was played by General Custer’s nephew Windemere Custer Studebaker (later the inventor of the automobile of the same name- the Dodge Windemere Custer) while the role of Ennis was played by Chief Rain-in-the-Face’s grandson ‘Antelope-Who-Frolics-in-the-Dim-Natural-Lighting-of-a-Natural-Geyser-Heated-Spa-near-Sedona’, though in white face. Though the two hour tragic love story featured neither guns nor stagecoach robberies, it was so popular that it was frequently played twice at the same Buffalo Bill show. The Muslims created algebra during what Europeans regard as “the Dark Ages” strictly because they either had to use or lose the parentheses they’d invented centuries before. ---
**Author:** ![mojave66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@mojave66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mojave66)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/67 "2006-01-23T22:30:45Z")
n. Lev Davidovich Bronstein didn’t actually adopt the name “Trotsky” until he lived in Mexico. Even then, it was a hated nickname given by Diego Rivera who loved picking on him about his delicate stomach. n+1. French is actually not a Romance language. Instead it descended from ancient Bretons from a language that used nose flutes and jaw harps. n+2. Erasers were invented before pencils. Pencils were invented only because erasers were horrible at erasing ink. ---
**Author:** ![Cranky\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Cranky\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cranky_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/68 "2006-01-23T23:01:49Z")
The Battle of the Bulge was actually a taunting phrase used by General Dwight D. Eisenhower in a private letter to his mistress, who was trying to lose weight. She promised him a “battle” when next they met. (And not in a good way.) ---
**Author:** ![Hugh\_Jass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4da419/32.png) [@Hugh\_Jass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hugh_Jass)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/69 "2006-01-23T23:42:57Z")
Dr. Pepper and Sgt. Pepper are the same person. Recipes for beer found in ancient Eygptian burial sites are actually for what we now call orange soda. John Lennon stole his glasses from his granny. TV comedian Ricky Gervais is a direct descendant of Harold of Wessex, the man deposed by William the Conqueror in 1066. If not for that, Gervais would be king of England Tutankamun was buried with his banjo, still in tune when discovered in the 1920s. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/70 "2006-01-24T00:04:44Z")
Ernest Hemmingway was a frequent contributor to **National Lampoon**. General Douglas MacArthur’s wife once filed for divorce citing that the general had “left the cake out in the rain.” They subsequently reconciled. “Mama” Cass Elliot, contrary to popular belief, did not die from choking on a ham sandwich; it was an Ayds weight-loss candy. Eleanor Roosevelt was actually a woman. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/71 "2006-01-24T00:23:03Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > I’m a fan of Sister Aimee, the Electoral College & J. Edgar, and all these make me laugh! The Electoral College has fans? I guess they must; they meet only in summer… ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/72 "2006-01-24T00:23:13Z")
The small (understatement) Northern California town of Petrolia was the site of California’s first (yet shortlived) oil well. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/73 "2006-01-24T00:26:11Z")
> [@honeydewgrrl](#): > > The small (understatement) Northern California town of Petrolia was the site of California’s first (yet shortlived) oil well. :smack: OLIVE oil well. Sheesh…what possible historic signifigance would any other kind of oil have? ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/74 "2006-01-24T01:02:42Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Eleanor Roosevelt was actually a woman. **Scumpup** wins… ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/75 "2006-01-24T01:20:51Z")
It has recently been revealed that Joe Willy “Willy” Namath actually played offensive cornerback for the Jets, not wingback. Also, Joe Willy was not Joe Willy, but his twin brother Silas “Silas” Namath. As children they switched the namecards on their beds and forgot to change them back when the joke was over. It seems irrelevant in the grand scheme of things anyway, as their grandfather simply called them both “You dumb little bastards.” ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/76 "2006-01-24T01:45:18Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > …and WALTER is his name!\*\* edited bu bosda\*\* EE-EYE-EE-EYE-OH! EE-EYE-EE-EYE-OH! EE-EYE-EE-EYE-OH, …and WALTER is his name-O. What do I win? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/77 "2006-01-24T02:22:27Z")
(I was quite tickled to hear that) Condom is a town in France. Peniscola is a town in Spain. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/78 "2006-01-24T02:24:54Z")
> [@Ignatz](#): > > Peniscola is a town in Spain. …from which the popular soft drink took its name. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/79 "2006-01-24T03:27:30Z")
Lee Harvey Oswald never said “I’m a patsy.” What he said was “I’m a party guy.” _Volume XXII President’s Commission Investigation into the Assassination etc…_ ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871/80 "2006-01-24T03:32:53Z")
-Jan. 17, 2001: A fossilized breakfast burrito-like item was discovered in southern Spain. It is assumed that such items were once used as currency in the region. -The earth was in fact flat for much of its history. It wasn’t until 906 AD that it curled into the round object we all know and love today. This year we will commemorate 1100 years of spherical goodness; year-long celebrations are scheduled to take place in Sioux Falls, SD. -Losers in the original Olympic games were castrated by snapping turtles. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/99-little-known-facts-about-world-history/340871.md?page=5)