# Historical oddities **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 23, 2018, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666 "2018-05-23T09:58:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/41 "2018-05-23T19:54:12Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > And I think most people who are interested in historical trivia know this, but just in case anyone doesn’t: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day: the 50th anniversary of July 4, 1776. Jefferson died a few hours prior to Adams, but since the news hadn’t yet traveled from Virginia, where Jefferson had died, to Massachusetts, where Adams had died, Adams’ final words were, “Thomas Jefferson survives.” ---
**Author:** ![Moris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moris/32/2846_2.png) [@Moris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moris)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/42 "2018-05-23T19:58:34Z")
One more: During his pontificate (1099-1118), Pope Paschal II issued “Piae Postulatio Voluntatis”, in which he officially recognized the existence of the Crusaders as an operative and militant part of the Catholic Church. He also appointed Eiríkr Gnúpsson as a bishop of Greenland and Vinland. First American bishop. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/43 "2018-05-23T20:03:24Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > Not sure if it’s an oddity, but: A person born in 1902 who died in 1970 was born before the first lighter-than-aircraft flight and died after a man walked on the moon. My grandfather was born in 1902 and died in 1981, so his life spanned both events. He was even alive for the first test flights of the Space Shuttle _Enterprise_. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/44 "2018-05-23T20:11:37Z")
AK84: > [@](#): > > The earliest Bublical figure whose existance is attested is King Ahab, about 850 BC. Maybe. David is (likely) mentioned in the [Tel Dan Stele](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Dan_Stele), although there are those who say the mention of “his house” is not proof of his existence as an individual, and there are also some who question that the inscription refers to that at all. The writings of Procopius, a sixth-century Byzantine historian, speak of his having seen a marble column in Libya on which was inscribed that the residents were Canaanites who had fled from the Biblical Joshua. I don’t know if a secondary source like that counts as “attesting” to. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/45 "2018-05-23T20:29:19Z")
The only king of Israel of whom we have a contemporary image is Jehu > **[Jehu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehu)** > > Jehu (Hebrew: יֵהוּא, romanized: Yēhūʾ, meaning "Yahu is He"; Akkadian: 𒅀𒌑𒀀 Ya'úa \[ia-ú-a\]; Latin: Iehu) was the tenth king of the northern Kingdom of Israel since Jeroboam I, noted for exterminating the house of Ahab. He was the son of Jehoshaphat, grandson of Nimshi, and possibly great-grandson of Omri, although the latter notion is not supported by the biblical text. His reign lasted for 28 years. > William F. Albright has dated his reign to 842–815 BCE, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 841–... It’s on the Obelisk of Shalmaneser ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/46 "2018-05-23T22:09:14Z")
Not very surprising that there are almost no contemporary images of Jewish kings (and the one we have is from a non-Jewish source), given the Biblical prohibition against graven images. Granted, there was rampant idol-worship in Israel during much of that era, but very possibly people felt it was justified for (supposed) deities but not for self-aggrandizement. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/47 "2018-05-23T22:46:26Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Santa Anna also introduced modern chewing gum to the United States. Chewing it gave him something to do in Staten Island. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/48 "2018-05-23T23:18:44Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > “Darling Fascist Bully Boy…” “_Dear_ Darling Fascist Bully Boy…” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/49 "2018-05-24T00:39:33Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > > [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > > > Not sure if it’s an oddity, but: A person born in 1902 who died in 1970 was born before the first lighter-than-aircraft flight and died after a man walked on the moon. > > This has my vote as “most amazing”. Never in human history has there been so much change in such a short period of time. The difference between 1918 and 2018 is the kind of stuff that science fiction is made of. I think the more dramatic changes started about two hundred years ago. From the beginning of human history to that date, all machinery was dependent on muscle power (human or animal) or maybe water or wind power. And the only lighting was fire (and really the only source of heat as well). Today many, many people have no experience with horses or know how to build a fire. Your ancestors would have found that unimaginable. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/50 "2018-05-24T00:50:44Z")
The famous painting of [Washington Crossing the Delaware](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware_by_Emanuel_Leutze%2C_MMA-NYC%2C_1851.jpg/1200px-Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware_by_Emanuel_Leutze%2C_MMA-NYC%2C_1851.jpg) depicts two future Presidents. The officer holding the flag behind George Washington is James Monroe, who was one of Washington’s aides during the war. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/51 "2018-05-24T01:20:48Z")
Anne Frank, Martin Luther King Jr., Barbara Walters, Max von Sydow, and Christopher Plummer were all born in 1929. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/52 "2018-05-24T01:39:33Z")
The Confederate States of America was a sovereigh nation before Germany or Italy, whose constituent states did not unify into nations until 1871 ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/53 "2018-05-24T01:39:58Z")
The Dodgers have been in Los Angeles longer than Brooklyn (61 vs 44 years) Before the Cubs won the Series in 2016, 1908’s Series title was closer to the Battle of Waterloo than 2015 And these two really disturb me: Will Smith is now older than Uncle Phil was in the “French Prince of Bel Air” pilot. Ralph Macchio is now older than Pat Morita was in “The Karate Kid” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/54 "2018-05-24T01:44:43Z")
The daughter of John Tyler was alive a century after he left office in 1845. Tyler also has two living grandchildren. Tyler’s wife, Julia Gardner Tyler, was born on Gardner’s Island in New York, still one of the largest privately owned islands in the country. It has been in the Gardner family since 1639, when it was granted to Lion Gardner by Charles I. Tyler himself was born when George Washington was president, so the three generations of Tylers cover every US president. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/55 "2018-05-24T02:19:47Z")
The last execution by guillotine in France was carried out the same year the original _Star Wars_ premiered. Luggage with wheels was introduced the year after humans walked on the moon. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/56 "2018-05-24T03:15:10Z")
In late-1700s Vienna, a man running to the top of the church tower and yelling “Fire!” was loud enough to be useful to firefighters. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/57 "2018-05-24T10:40:23Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > In late-1700s Vienna, a man running to the top of the church tower and yelling “Fire!” was loud enough to be useful to firefighters. ?:dubious:😕 The Mongols fought against the Crusaders and the Samurai…at the same time. Genghis Khan sacked Beijing the same year Magna Carta was signed. Auschwitz and McDonalds were founded the same month in 1940. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/58 "2018-05-24T11:10:57Z")
Vikings armed with axes formed an [elite unit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varangian_Guard)of the Byzantine army for centuries, and acted as personal bodyguards to Byzantine Emperors. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/59 "2018-05-24T13:24:25Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Not very surprising that there are almost no contemporary images of Jewish kings (and the one we have is from a non-Jewish source), given the Biblical prohibition against graven images. Granted, there was rampant idol-worship in Israel during much of that era, but very possibly people felt it was justified for (supposed) deities but not for self-aggrandizement. There is also this: people often much overestimate how much stuff actually survives from antiquity, even among people who have no problems with self-aggrandizement in stone. For example - there is frustratingly little that survives from pre-Islamic invasion India; some pillars with inscriptions on them, some temples, the Vedas of course, but it is very difficult to get any sense of the flow of Indian history, or any details of events - it is just lost. From Harrappa, or the Indus Valley civilization - there is nothing at all, other than the remains of their cities and a few cylinder seals: they had writing, but nearly all is lost, so it can’t be deciphered. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2018, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666/60 "2018-05-24T13:44:46Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > A well travelled man could have met Socrates, Confucius and Buddha. Plot twist : they were the same person all along. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historical-oddities/814666.md?page=4)