The inglorious death of a great genius
The great Dutch painter Van Gogh suffered from bouts of insanity. During one of these attacks, he even cut off a piece of his ear. Shortly before his death, the artist decided to settle in Saint-Paul-de-Mosole, a French asylum for the mentally ill. Here he received an isolated room in which he could also paint from time to time. Van Gogh was allowed, accompanied by a doctor, to walk around the neighborhood and paint his masterpieces - landscapes. It was here that he met Anna Bosch, who bought the painting "Red Vine" for 400 francs. By the way, this was the first and last time during the life of the artist when his painting was bought.
In 1890, on one of the July days, Van Gogh, having escaped, left his monastery. He walked a little alone, and then wandered into a peasant farmstead. The owners were absent at the time. The artist, having taken out a pistol, tried to shoot himself in the heart, but the bullet, hooking on the bone of the rib, passed by. Then, holding the wound with his hand, he slowly walked up to his room and lay down.
When the attendant saw Van Gogh bleeding, a doctor and police were immediately called from the nearby village. But, to their surprise, the doctor and the policeman saw the artist, who was calmly lying in bed and sucking on his pipe.
Van Gogh died that night.
The brain of all Russian literature
Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev could safely be called the "brain of Russian literature." After his death, pathologists determined that the weight of the gray matter of the writer is 2 kilograms, which is more than that of other famous personalities. And, probably, that is why the doctor Botkin said that the Almighty simply did not have enough materials for a head of this size. But there is a rational grain in every joke: the writer's parietal bone was very thin. Turgenev himself, laughing at himself, said that through it you can feel the brain. It so happened that, even after receiving a light blow to the head, he fainted or for some time remained in a semi-conscious state.
One of the distinguishing features of Ivan Sergeevich was excessive cleanliness and love for order almost at a manic level. At least twice a day, he changed into clean linen, before which he wiped his entire body with a sponge moistened with cologne. Before sitting down to work at the desk, he always cleaned the room and folded all the papers. Sometimes he could jump out of bed in the middle of the night, remembering that some thing was not in its place. It also annoyed him if the curtains on the windows were not neatly curtained. Each thing or piece of paper on the table had its own specially designated place.
Complexes of the great dictator
Hitler's father was married several times. When he was about to enter into a third marriage with Clara Pelzl (and they were related), Alois had to apply to the Vatican for special permission. The family had six children, among whom Hitler was the third. Knowing about incest in the family, he tried to avoid talking about his parents. However, this fact did not prevent him from demanding other confirmations, and documentary ones, about the origin.
In addition to the idea of dominating the whole world, the Fuhrer was still very concerned about the issue of health, so he took a lot of pills. Theodore Morell, Adolf's personal physician, recorded this fact in his medical records. The dictator's entourage considered Morell a charlatan, but Hitler himself trusted him immensely. In 1944, the doctor recommended injections to the patient, which included an extract from the sperm and prostate gland of young calves - testosterone. Adolf really hoped that this medicine, in fact, the "Viagra" of that time, would greatly help him during his close relationship with Eva Braun. Apparently, it is precisely the incomplete consistency in relations with women, phobias and complexes that can explain Hitler's perverted cruelty and his desire to subjugate the whole world.
Little prodigy
Mozart was a gifted child. Even at the age of four he had already written a concerto for stringed keyboard instruments. Moreover, this concert was very difficult, such that hardly any of the European musicians could play it. The father, realizing this, took away the notes with the notes from the young Wolfgang, which he had not yet managed to finish. The indignant young talent answered the parent: “And this music is not at all difficult to perform, even a child, for example, I can perform it.”
All of Mozart's childhood years were associated with musical studies and a large number of performances. Often performing musical works in front of an exquisite European audience, the little genius surprised the audience: his father blindfolded him with a handkerchief, and the child played the clavier blindly, or covered the keys with a piece of cloth, and Wolfgang masterfully coped with the game. During one of the concerts, a cat suddenly entered the stage. And a child is a child - Mozart, leaving the instrument, forgetting about the audience, rushed to her, picked her up, stroked, and then began to play with the animal. The angry father demanded to return immediately, to which Wolfgang replied:
"The harpsichord will stand still, and the cat will now run away."
Good psychologist with excellent memory
Stalin had an extremely rich, capacious and tenacious memory. So, D. V. Ustinov recalled that the leader always remembered to the smallest detail all the issues that were discussed, he never allowed even the slightest deviation from the decisions made earlier. He knew everyone who led the Armed Forces and the economy, commanded divisions and managed factories by last name, first name and patronymic. Moreover, he kept in mind the data necessary for himself, which characterized them as individuals, knew almost everything about the state of affairs in the areas of work entrusted to them. Stalin had an analytical mind, which allowed him to focus on the most essential from a large amount of information, facts, and data. He presented his conclusions and thoughts briefly, clearly, in an accessible way, so that there could be no objections. He did not like too much verbosity and did not allow others to talk much.
Reproaching any of the foreign figures in his speech or during the discussion, Iosif Vissarionovich looked at him very expressively and attentively, without averting his eyes for some time. And it should be noted that the object to which he turned his attention did not feel quite comfortable. Stalin's gaze pierced like arrows.
Great Avicenna
Born in Bukhara, he was both a grand vizier, and a criminal whose “crimes” were debunked by the state power, and an eternal wanderer.
Avicenna lived for almost 57 years, but in such a short period he proved himself in 29 branches of knowledge, and his medical conclusions cannot be overestimated. Yes, and it is believed that the word "medicine" itself came from the Latin-style "Madad Sina", which translates as "cure from Sin".
Avicenna did not officially study anywhere, but long before Louis Pasteur discovered pathogens, he concluded that “very small creatures” could cause fever. He also established the cause of most diseases - human feelings and nervousness, he was the first to draw attention to the contagiousness of infectious diseases, described the nature of meningitis, jaundice, stomach ulcers and many other diseases.
What is only worth the diagnostics developed by Ibn Sina on pulse beats. Once a famous merchant from Bukhara had a daughter who fell ill, and no one could help her. The father turned to Avicenna for salvation. The doctor, feeling for a pulse, began to call the streets of the city to the girl, and then asked her to list the names of those who lived on these streets. When the girl said one of the names, her pulse became quickened, and her face turned red. So the wise man learned that she was in love, but her father would never allow her to marry this man. This caused the fatal disease. The merchant was forced to bless his daughter, and Avicenna won fame and respect among people.
The letter that found its addressee after seven years
Yuri Gagarin, about to fly into space and not knowing how his expedition might end, wrote a letter to his wife Valentina, in which he said goodbye to her. Addressing his beloved and the mother of his children, the first cosmonaut said that technology can fail at any time. Therefore, no matter what happens, you need to live on, not lose heart, and most importantly - love, cherish and educate your daughters.
The letter found its recipient seven years later, when the plane on which Yuri Gagarin was flying fell and crashed.
The pilot met his future wife when he was a cadet at the Orenburg Pilot School at a dance. Valentina had luxurious floor-length hair. And she, a beauty, did not like the thin, short, with a large head, short-cropped and sticking hair young man at all. But Yuri was such a persistent gentleman that after a while the girl's heart melted. After graduating from college, they got married, and soon Valentina gave her husband two wonderful, desired daughters.
Saying goodbye to last letter with his wife, Gagarin also said that after his death, she has the right to arrange her life as she wants, and he, in turn, does not impose any obligations on her. But her beloved wife, having remained a widow at the age of thirty-two, did not marry again, sacredly preserving the memory of the man who first conquered space.
The great philosopher despised women
Confucius, one of China's greatest philosophers, married early. Over time, he kicked his wife out of the house so that she would not interfere with his studies. And in general, the philosopher considered women to be mundane people, incapable of comprehending heavenly wisdom. He said that an ordinary woman is endowed with the mind of a chicken, and an extraordinary woman is endowed with the mind of two such birds.
Such behavior and statements do not seem strange, because Confucius was not endowed with an attractive appearance from birth. Once, one queen, not endowed with chaste morality, having heard a lot of stories about the great wisdom of this man, unambiguously invited him to her place alone, without escort. The philosopher always walked surrounded by his students, but this time he decided to heed the requests of the royal person ... And so Confucius was taken to the chambers. While the queen was absent, the learned man began to examine the room. There was a rustle, and he turned to face the incoming crowned lady. At this time, she wanted to utter greetings, but she froze with her mouth open - she was so struck by the appearance of the sage. When the queen's first shock had passed, she looked contemptuously at Confucius and hurried away. But this did not surprise the great philosopher, because beauty walks apart with the mind.
The great tenor dreamed of becoming a football player
Luciano Pavarotti was born into a simple Italian family. The boy's father loved opera singing and bought a lot of records. In the evenings he listened to them with his son. Thus, Luciano became addicted to singing. But the parents did not support the young talent in this, as they believed that a man should master a serious craft.
Football was another passion of Pavarotti. Since childhood, he was the captain of the youth city football team and saw himself as a professional goalkeeper in the future. But on the advice of his mother, he becomes school teacher, then works in an insurance agency. Nevertheless, over time, the craving for singing wins. An agreement was drawn up with his father that Luciano, until the age of thirty, could occupy a room in the parental home, and also eat here. Pavarotti promises his father that if, after the expiration of this period, he does not achieve anything as an opera singer, he will be forced to earn a living by any means.
It is only when he is nineteen that the great tenor learns that he has perfect pitch. Soon the first success came: in 1961 he won the competition for young performers. Before this responsible performance, the mother put a rusty nail from the evil eye to her son. From then until the end of his days, Luciano Pavarotti kept this talisman of his.
The great conqueror was a coward
The fact that Genghis Khan (real name Temuchen) was incredibly cruel towards his enemies is not a secret. His horde massacred all who resisted. The rest, of course, were taken prisoner. Then, if there was a need to storm fortresses or cities, these prisoners were put in front of the troops as human shields. It turns out that it was not for nothing that the Muslim peoples considered the Mongol the destroyer of their cultural heritage.
Despite all his cruelty, he himself was terribly afraid of dying. Feeling the advent of old age, Genghis Khan searched for the elixir of immortality, but did not find it. Still, he managed to extend his life. For every warrior lost in battle, the great conqueror mercilessly avenged. It seemed that his life was many times more important than the lives taken by this man.
Genghis Khan did not give rest to the inhabitants of the cities destroyed and burned by his horde. During the invasion of the Mongols, people tried to escape by hiding in the forests and mountains. After the departure of the troops, they returned back. The conqueror created a special detachment, the task of which was to return to the destroyed village and cut out all the survivors.
A distinctive feature of the attack of Genghis Khan was that he never led his horde into battle, but led it from afar. Mongol was such a coward.
Lomonosov knew how to stand up for himself
At a time when Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov was already an adjunct, his apartment was on Vasilyevsky Island. The great scientist made it a rule to take walks in the evenings. One autumn day, at the end of the day, he made a promenade along his usual route - from Bolshoy Prospekt to the bay. In those distant times, Bolshoy Prospekt, located on Vasilyevsky Island, was nothing more than a wide clearing cut through the forest. Lomonosov was returning back when night had already begun to descend over St. Petersburg. The surroundings were deserted. And then three robbers jumped out of the bushes.
Mikhail Vasilievich was endowed with extraordinary strength from birth, so he was not afraid, but began to fight back. One of the villains, not expecting resistance at all, rushed to his heels. Lomonosov managed to knock the second one to the ground with a strong blow. The third, seeing such a situation, began to ask for forgiveness, swearing that they only wanted to take the clothes from a lonely passerby. Then the scientist decided to rob the robber: he ordered the villain to undress, tie his clothes in a knot and give them to him. Throwing the luggage on his shoulder, Mikhail Lomonosov himself delivered it home, and the next day he visited the Admiralty and reported there about the attack of the sailors-robbers.
Genius among us
Grigory Yakovlevich Perelman, who owns the discovery of the millennium, now lives in St. Petersburg. It is this mathematician who owns the solution of the Poincaré hypothesis, which they tried to prove for more than one hundred years. Moreover, Grigory Yakovlevich did not publish his research in scientific papers, but simply posted on the Internet.
For such a brilliant discovery, the Clay Institute awarded the brilliant scientist a prize of one million dollars. But Perelman refused it, explaining his act by the fact that he was not interested in money and that he had everything necessary for life.
Today, Grigory Yakovlevich leads a solitary life, practically not communicating with anyone.
Since childhood, he has been accustomed to training for his brain. AT school years Perelman took part in the Mathematical Olympiad in Budapest, where he won gold medal. He was helped in this by the ability to think abstractly.
Almost all of my scientific life the scientist worked on the issues of three-dimensional construction of the Universe. The extent of his discoveries present stage ahead of the advances that science has made to date. That is why the activities of Grigory Perelman became interested in the special services of many countries.
If a person is talented, then he is talented in everything
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev had diverse interests. In addition to his life's work - research in the field of chemistry - his circle of hobbies was very wide.
The famous discovery of the Periodic System at first brought him only ridicule, condemnation and accusations of plagiarism. True, with time came glory.
Whatever the great scientist undertook, everything turned out great for him. Yes, in free time Mendeleev liked to make suitcases. Dmitry Ivanovich bought materials for their production in the same store, so that the sellers who sold the goods perceived a regular customer with a large beard and shoulder-length hair as a suitcase maker. As a joke, he even wanted to make a business card with the inscription “D. I. Mendeleev is a master of suitcases.”
The scientist was fond of meteorology. Already at an advanced age he flew in a balloon. His merit in metrology is the organization of the Chamber of Weights and Measures. He also proved himself in shipbuilding, taking part in the creation of the first icebreaker in Russia. Well, and finally, it was Mendeleev who managed to establish the most optimal ratio of water and alcohol in the production of vodka - this is sixty parts to forty.
She made herself
One of the wealthiest women in the world, TV presenter, popular actress, public figure, host of her own show - all this is her, Oprah Winfrey. This woman came to the pinnacle of fame and success thanks to incredible hard work, the ability to communicate and, of course, great willpower.
After all, a girl was born in a very poor family. Her parents separated because her mother was not distinguished by chaste behavior. Oprah was barely nine years old when she was raped by a cousin on her mother's side, then by her own uncle. Since the mother very often brought her clients home, the daughter also provided intimate services, receiving money for this. Mother, most likely, knew about it, but turned a blind eye to everything.
When, at the age of fourteen, Oprah found out that she was pregnant, she wanted to take her own life. Caught in a hopeless situation, the girl, trying to get rid of an unwanted child, drank detergents. And this "helped": the child was born dead.
After returning to school after that, Winfrey completely plunged into public life: she participates in all events, heads the student council. And today, the TV presenter is convinced that if it had then become known that she was pregnant, her fate would have been completely different.
Sigmund Freud has Ukrainian roots
Sigmund Freud, a well-known psychologist, professor at the University of Vienna, founder of the method of psychoanalysis, has Ukrainian roots.
Jacob Freud - his father - was born in the city of Tysmenitsa, which is located in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. In that locality he lived for 25 years. Tismenitsa at that time was a multinational city: Poles, Jews, and Ukrainians got along well here. In this city he married and gave birth to Emmanuel and Philip, the elder brothers of the future professor. However, the Ukrainian roots of this surname are even deeper. Many generations of Freuds lived in the town of Buchach in the Ternopil region. Sigmund Freud's grandfather moved to Tismenitsa to continue his education and stayed here forever.
The mother of the famous psychoanalyst - nee Amalia Natanson - was born in the town of Brody, Lviv region. Then for some time she lived in Odessa, and after some time she left for Vienna, where she met her future husband. Her siblings remained in Odessa, with whom the family of Jacob Freud maintained family relations.
When Sigmund Freud was 27 years old, his father decided to found in Odessa own business and lived, doing business, in this city for some time. True, this activity did not bring much profit, and Jacob again returned to Austria.
The world famous artist was also an inventor
God endowed Salvador Dali not only with the talent of an artist. He also owns the inventions that were brought to life, although at first they seemed strange.
For those traveling by car, the ingenious artist came up with multispectral glasses in case the landscape becomes boring from the contemplated landscape.
To create a good mood while walking and enjoy the process of walking, he created shoes with springs.
Salvador Dali did not deprive women of his attention in terms of inventions. For them, false nails with a small built-in mirror were invented so that at the right time you could look at yourself. Another gift is a dress with various anatomical overlays as accessories. They were designed by the artist, having previously carried out a series of precise calculations that corresponded to the ideal of female beauty, born in the head of a man as an erotic imagination. One of the outlandish details of such a dress was additional breasts, which had to be fixed on the back. According to Dali, such an outfit was supposed to radically change fashion.
And for the paparazzi, the artist invented photomasks. They are especially relevant today, when many reporters are called to courts for invasion of privacy. And so - put on a photo mask with the face of a famous person - and look for the wind in the field.
Great Diva of Russia
When Alla Pugacheva was born, the doctors during the examination discovered she had a tumor on her throat. An operation was immediately performed to remove it. Perhaps that is why the singer had a special timbre of voice.
As a child, a red-haired girl with thin pigtails loved to play in the yard, but only with boys. Alla was thin, and she also wore glasses, as she had vision problems. After she gave birth to a daughter, Christina, she recovered. Many times I sat down on different diets, but this did not give the desired result.
Another hobby of Pugacheva is drawing. She has had this hobby since childhood. She painted several hundred paintings that she presented to close friends. In the future, the Primadonna plans to take on a pseudonym and in some place where she can retire, she will take up painting.
Once, Alla Borisovna, having opened up, admitted that none of the men could sleep next to her in bed. Turns out she snores a lot at night. She did a lot to cure this deficiency, but no procedures brought results.
The prima donna wants to look good, so she does plastic surgery from time to time. After one of them, held in Switzerland, she almost died due to an abscess that developed. A surgeon from Moscow barely saved the singer. As a sign of gratitude, Pugacheva presented him with a gift - an apartment.
These two young men met at Stanford while at university. At first, they often argued, and at times even cursed. And although both were absolute opposites, they soon became so friends that they could not take a step without each other.
After they created a system for searching information on the requested page at their home university, and the management was about to close it, Sergey and Larry had to think about how to save their offspring. The search for sponsors began, but many of the wealthy people did not understand at all what kind of system it was, and they did not want to invest in the “doubtful” project.
But fate was kind to the young men and sent them Andy Bechtolstein. Not being able to listen for a long time to a story about what advantages the new search engine has, the businessman took out a checkbook. Brin and Paige, dumbfounded and surprised, took a check drawn up for $ 100,000 and did not immediately notice that it was issued to Google. Inc., not on Google. That's what they planned to call it. Googol is a one followed by a hundred zeros, which meant "an immeasurably large search engine."
To get this money, it was necessary to urgently found a company. Friends take academic leave and do what they love.
Hard road to fame
At the age of eight, Yuri Kuklachev, a famous cat trainer, saw Charlie Chaplin perform on TV. The boy really liked how the great actor moved, and he asked his parents to send him to a ballet school. For five years, Yura studied ballet, but when he graduated from school, he firmly decided to enter the circus school.
For seven years in a row, Kuklachev made an attempt to become a student at the school, but he was not accepted, explaining that his face was not suitable and his height was small.
Then he began performing in the national circus, and later even became the winner of the All-Union Festival. Somehow, the folk circus gave a performance in a building on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, and the director of the school was present in the hall. After Kuklachev's performance, he approached the artist and invited him to study at his institution.
Yuri started training cats later. He did not leave the thought of what to do to be different from famous clowns. While on tour in Cherkassy, I came across a stray cat with intelligent eyes and took it for myself. In Moscow, I picked up another cat - Strelka, with which I put my first number. The success was unprecedented, because before him no one entered the arena with such a number. This was the feature that Yuri Kuklachev was looking for.
The youngest of the boxing brothers
In childhood, Wladimir Klitschko dreamed of becoming a doctor. At the end of the eighth grade, he even tried to enter the medical school at the paramedic department, but the attempt was unsuccessful. He was not accepted due to the fact that at the time of the entrance exams he had not yet reached the age of fourteen.
The elder brother Vitaly at that time was already seriously engaged in boxing, and he invited Vladimir to attend a training session and try his hand at sports. So, trying to be like Vitaly in everything, the younger brother ended up in the boxing section. And after six years of hard work in the gym during training, Vladimir wins the title of Olympic champion.
Almost no one knows that the meeting in the ring between the Klitschko brothers, so intriguing to everyone, is long in the past. Back in mid-1992, secretly from the coach, despite his prohibitions, the brothers decided to compete. The strongest and best could not be determined, since the round ended with an injury: Vladimir broke his leg for an unknown reason for both brothers. So that the parents would not worry once again, Vitaly and Vladimir did not say a word about the fight that took place. The coach, Vladimir Zolotarev, also helped them in this, who immediately took the brothers to the training camp in the Crimea.
In a new book for children from national geographic There are many interesting facts about which many of you probably did not know. By the way, the book is called - "5000 amazing facts (about everything) 2". If you need to show off your mind in a company or start some dispute or conversation, these interesting facts can help you. We replenish our stock of erudite.
(Total 50 photos)
1. In 1889, Queen Margherita of Savoy of Italy ordered the first pizza delivery.
2. In Japan, you can buy eel flavored ice cream.
3. In Portugal, it is considered indecent to write in red ink.
4. Although the bobcat is rarely seen in the wild, it is the most common type of wild cat in North America.
5. The tail of a cat contains almost 10% of all the bones in her body.
6. On the paws of the gecko, there are millions of tiny hairs that stick to surfaces with the help of a special chemical bond, which allows these reptiles to climb walls and hang, holding on to only one finger.
7. The word "astronaut" comes from Greek words that mean "star" and "sailor."
8. Calcium in our bones and iron in our blood came from the ancient explosion of huge stars.
9. The Nile crocodile can hold its breath underwater for up to 2 hours while waiting for prey.
10. Jellyfish in English are called jellyfish - literally "jelly fish", but in fact they are not fish, because they have no brain, no heart and no bones.
11. The Chinese giant salamander can grow up to 1.8 m in length, making it the largest salamander in the world.
12. According to studies, people prefer blue toothbrushes more than red ones.
13. People used to think that if you kissed a donkey, a toothache would go away.
14. Scientists say the best time to take a nap is between 1:00 pm and 2:30 pm because that's when the drop in body temperature makes us sleepy.
15. Due to the change in the speed of rotation of the Earth over time in the era of dinosaurs, the day consisted of only 23 hours.
16. Hummingbird wings can beat 200 times per second.
17. On the territory North America over 1200 water parks.
18. A seahorse can move its eyes in the opposite direction - to find food in the water and spot predators in time.
19. To cook scrambled eggs on the sidewalk, the sidewalk needs to be heated to 70°C.
20. A group of jellyfish is not called a flock, not a school or a herd. It's called relish.
21. The mass of the Sun is 99.8% of the total mass solar system, and the diameter is 109 times the diameter of the Earth - the Sun can accommodate 1 million Earth planets.
22. There is no ice on only 1% of Antarctica.
23. The biggest wave ever ridden on a surfboard was the height of a 10-story building.
24. A team of beagle dogs, which are used at 21 airports in the United States, help customs officers find and prevent the entry into the country of about 75,000 illegal items a year.
25. Some apples can weigh almost the same as 2 liters of milk.
26. Corn is grown on every continent except Antarctica.
27. Unlike most fish, seahorses are covered in bony plates, not scales.
28. Every day you lose 50 to 100 hairs.
29. The second name of the armadillo - "armadillo" - means "armored baby" in Spanish.
30. The smallest fruit in the world - an achene - is the size of a tiny ant.
31. New Jersey has the most malls.
32. Komodo dragons can eat 2 kg of meat in less than a minute. The extra fat is stored in their tail.
33. Not all moons are dry and dusty like ours. For example, Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under an ice crust.
34. Some Viking leaders were buried with their ships.
35. Clouds constantly cover about 60% of the Earth.
36. All monkeys laugh when tickled.
37. Spotted hyenas can digest skin and bones.
38. The length of the needle of African porcupines is 3 pencils.
The ancient Maya believed in the end of the world on December 21, 2012. They also believed in a corn god named Ah Mun.
In 1998, miracle tights were invented - with three legs - the third leg was supposed to be used if one of those worn by the girl was torn
The “@” sign was not invented for the Internet at all, but was used back in the days of the Renaissance - then it denoted a measure of weight equal to 12-13 kg
The males of the bowerbird arrange objects around the nest in such a way that they disrupt the females' perception of perspective and the bowerbird itself inside the hut seemed larger to the friend
The wandering albatross (the record holder for a wingspan of up to 3.5 meters) is in constant motion - it may not touch the ground for many years
Croissant - this national symbol of France, was invented not at all there, but in Vienna, after the victory over the Turks, copying the months from Turkish flags
AT Ancient Greece it was believed that a horse that stepped on the trail of a wolf would no longer be able to neigh
The expression "to pass with a red thread" came to us from England, where they began to weave a red thread into ropes to fight theft.
The Japanese in ancient times used wooden sticks instead of toilet paper, and toilet waste was sold for a lot of money.
The name of Hyde Park comes from an ancient unit of measurement of the area sufficient to support one family of a free peasant.
The electric chair was invented by a dentist
Previously, in order to cure a patient with jaundice, the Czechs advised to suddenly spit in the patient's face.
The full official name of the capital of Thailand is written in one word, consisting of 152 letters.
(Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintarayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Nopparat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchanivet Mahasatan Amon Piman Avatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit. In Thai it is written in one word, consisting of 152 letters)
The lightning rod was invented by one of the founding fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin, in 1752.
People have known about nails for about five millennia. Yes, in ancient city Ur in Mesopotamia (about 3000 BC) nails were already used to fasten sheet material.
Aquarium fish memory - 10 seconds. Two circles around the aquarium and a new life.
Alabama state law prohibits the use of elephants to plow a cotton field.
Donkeys are killed every year on earth more people than die in plane crashes.
We owe the appearance of the Ferris wheel to Gustav Eiffel, since the American George Ferris, inventing the Ferris wheel, tried to outdo Eiffel with his tower.
In 1900-1920. tug of war was an Olympic sport.
The steam engine was invented by Heron from Egypt (sometimes also called Heron (Heron) of Alexandria) - moreover, 1600 years before Thomas Newcomen's 1711 engine. Unfortunately (for Heron), no one saw the practical use of the invention, and therefore it was considered nothing more than an amusing quirk.
Did you know that studies show breastfed babies rarely have crooked teeth?
In 1911, a bill was introduced in the US Congress that equated flying on airplanes with a suicide attempt and provided for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 5 years.
Like many ingenious inventions, the tea bag was invented by accident. Tea tycoon Thomas Sullivan, in an effort to cut costs, started sending promotional tea samples not in tins but in teabags and small pouches.
There are more rabbits in Australia than there are people in China.
The letter "omega" must be pronounced with an accent on "a"
The idea to combine a gun and edged weapons came to one inventor, who lived near the city of Bayonne in southwestern France, around 1640. The name of the inventor has sunk into oblivion, only the place of invention remains - the new type of weapon was called the “bayonet” (in Russian this device is called “bayonet” - from the German Stick).
Italian laws equate drawing with crayons on asphalt to begging.
Cats are better at smelling than dogs.
The chance that an asteroid will fall on your head is 1 in 20,000. This is more likely than dying from a flood, tornado or volcanic eruption
pink hippo milk
The study of soil is called paedology
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Orthodox Church gave the following recommendation: “When naming a newborn, it should be borne in mind that Saints Inna and Rimma ... were men.”
Tariff is an island in the Mediterranean, where they first began to charge for parking in the port.
In the 19th century, homosexuals were called not "gays" but "greens".
The usual "bow" on which boots are tied is called by sailors nothing more than a "reef knot".
In Burma, possession of an unregistered computer can lead to 15(!) years in prison.
The first capital of the Russian state was Ladoga
On Windows, you can't create a folder called "Con"
The largest rabbit in the world is 1 m 20 cm tall. They call him Darius the Continental Giant.
Hitler's mother seriously thought about abortion, but the doctor convinced her
The largest number that has a name is the centillion. It's a one followed by 600 zeros. It was recorded in 1852
Streets in Japan don't have names.
Ludwig van Beethoven could not master multiplication until the end of his life
The eye of an oyster is larger than its brain.
Sherlock Holmes never said, "That's elementary, Watson."
Approximately 6-7 months after birth, the baby can breathe and swallow at the same time. Older children and adults cannot do this.
Like most mammalian babies, a human baby until 6-7 months old breathes only through the nose.
Napoleon suffered from ailurophobia, the fear of cats.
Did you know that if you answered all the questions “Yes, I know”, then you are a liar?
All of us, graduates of Soviet and post-Soviet general education schools, can at least remember something about famous historical figures. Well, for example, that Gaius Julius Caesar was killed as a result of a conspiracy involving a certain Brutus. Or that Albert Einstein is the author general theory relativity. However, there are a number interesting facts about famous people about which you are unlikely to be taught in school.1. Once a famous physicist had a chance to become the president of Israel. However, he refused this position with the proviso that he would not be able to solve state affairs in view of their significance and scale.
2. Perhaps, dying Albert Einstein finally put forward another brilliant theory or said something equally significant. Alas, we will never know about this, as he died in the presence of a nurse who did not understand a word of German.
3. The last will of the founder of the Nobel Prize was a request not to be considered a promoter of violence because of the fact that he invented dynamite.
4. Queen Anne of England was the mother of 17 children and outlived them all.
5. Elizabeth the First imposed a tax on those men who wore a beard.
6. She also passed a law obliging everyone, except for the very rich people, to wear special hats on Sunday.
7. One can only guess what happened during the feasts before Catherine the First issued a law stating that no man has the right to get drunk during the feast before 21.00.
8. For her wedding, among other things, Queen Victoria received a "piece" of cheese, weighing half a ton and three meters in diameter.
9. Lady Astor is credited with the following phrase, said to Prime Minister Winston Churchill: "If you were my husband, I would put poison in your coffee." They say that a worthy answer was received to this: "If you were my wife, I would drink it."
10. And the British Prime Minister himself smoked about 15 cigars a day.
11. An autograph from a famous Roman emperor is valued at $2 million. The problem is that so far no one has been able to find it.
12. The appearance of a laurel wreath on the head of Julius Caesar is associated with his attempt to hide the beginning of hair loss.
13. The loving Israeli king Solomon had about 700 wives and at least a hundred mistresses.
14. This sex icon's bra, which Marilyn wore in the movie Only Girls in Jazz, went up for $14,000 at auction.
15. The famous writer Charles Dickens slept exclusively facing north. He firmly believed that this contributed to the improvement of his writing talent.
16. What would US President Thomas Jefferson think of his descendants if he knew that the house in which he wrote the Declaration of Independence is now ... a diner?
17. George Washington can be proud that his birthday is the only birthday that is an official holiday in all states of America.
18. During the First World War, the future Pope John XXIII served as a sergeant in the Italian army.
19. Isaac Newton was fond of occult and supernatural ideas.
20. John D. Rockefeller gave away over $500 million to charitable causes during his lifetime.
21. Personally, I am overwhelmed with bewilderment from the fact that the two-time owner Nobel Prize was unable to become a member of the prestigious Académie française solely because she was a woman.
22. Mozart never attended school.
23. There was a payphone in the mansion of one of the richest people in the world.
24. The first chairman of the Communist Party of China worked as an assistant librarian at Peking University before taking power.
25. Three most famous name in China they amaze with their modesty and originality: Jesus Christ, Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley.
26. John Glenn became the first American astronaut to reach earth orbit.
27. This professional illusionist claimed that his outstanding abilities came to him from the distant planet Huva.
And finally
28. Italians owe their national flag Napoleon Bonaparte.
Do you also think that you can control your mind and that you are making conscious choices all the time? If you think so, then, perhaps, the author of the book Never Mind, Chris Paley, will upset you a little. He talks about 100 fun facts about consciousness that change the way we think about ourselves. Here are five for you:
1. We can understand ourselves only by experimenting on other people.
Experiment remains the only one of all possible methods that successfully explains the world around us. Scientists throw objects, pass an electric current through them, heat them, magnetize them and attack them with elementary particles.
Our mental abilities are no exception to the rule. Self-observation is not enough: after all, we cannot tell why and what we are doing by reflecting on our own thoughts. We can't even figure out why we think what we think by reflecting on our own thoughts. And only an experiment can tell why we are the way we are, why we think what we think and do what we do.
Man is by nature an experimenter, -
2. Imitation is a sincere form of flattery and the fastest way for a waitress to get a tip.
It seems to you that you know why you give the waitress such a big tip - maybe it's good service, delicious food, or her smile. But in one Dutch experiment, waitresses who agreed to repeat the order after the customer (saying the words "hamburger" and "roast" instead of a simple "yes" or "I got it") received tips three times more often than usual. Moreover, on average, their tip size was 70% higher. Interestingly, most of the waitresses didn't know this, and when asked not to imitate, they worked all evening getting crumbs compared to what they could have gotten.
3. If you think you're forever alone, chances are you will.
In an attempt to find out how the prospect of loneliness affects people's desire to help others, scientists conducted a series of experiments. They told the students that they had created a test that could accurately predict a person's likelihood of being alone. The students completed the test and received feedback. In fact, based on the data obtained, psychologists could not draw any conclusions about how happy the subjects would be in their personal lives.
The researchers told a random sample of students that their responses showed the prospect of a long-term stable family union and a high probability that they were likely to always be surrounded by the care of loved ones. The rest were told that they represented the type of people who would be left alone, and although they may have friends at the moment, they can get married or get married, and even more than once, but these relationships will be short-lived, and with age there will be loneliness.
After this test, the psychologists asked the students to take care of people. In one experiment, they reported that they were collecting donations for charity and left the test subjects alone with a fundraising box. Those participants who were predicted to love in the future were given almost four times as much money. In another experiment, students thought they were taking the next test, supposedly for creativity, but when the experimenter went to collect the results, he knocked over a cup of pencils on the floor. Two-thirds of those who counted on close relationships in the future helped him collect pencils, and among those who were predicted to be alone, only one in six.
4. Just because you remember something, it doesn't mean it actually happened.
Elizabeth Loftus and her colleagues were among the first to conduct an experiment that demonstrated how dangerous it can sometimes be to rely on your memory. The researchers showed volunteers a video of a road accident, after which they asked some participants: “How fast were the cars moving when they smashed into smithereens?” Others were asked about the speed when the cars 'hit', 'bumped', 'touched' or 'bumped'. Participants who heard the question with the verb “crashed” noted higher speed.
Everything is often not the way we imagine -
A week later, the experimenters met with the volunteers again and asked them new questions about their recollection of the accident. In particular, were there any broken windows? Volunteers who had previously been asked about the speed of cars when they “crashed” into each other mistakenly recalled broken windows after the accident twice as often. A single perfectly innocuous word altered people's memories, and then their memories edited the rest of the crash to restore continuity.
5. The more we look at things, the more we like them.
Do we surround ourselves with the things we love, or do we begin to love the things that surround us? Is the patriot lucky enough to live in the country he loves, or does he love this country because he lives in it?
However, it turned out that the addiction of most of us to food prepared by the mother is not luck or a strange manifestation of genetics. The constant use of something makes us love it more and more. In one of the first experiments to demonstrate this phenomenon, Robert Zajonc asked people to read aloud a list of nonsense words (such as "iktitaf", "dilikli" and "chivadra"), informing them that they were Turkish adjectives. After that, he asked the participants which word they thought meant something good in Turkish and which word meant something bad. Some of these words on the list appeared more often, and the more often they appeared, the more often the subjects believed that these words meant something good.