Debrain – Amazing facts, random facts, interesting facts

smallpox

In the middle ages, it is a curious fact that smallpox was treated by letting the patient wear red clothing and sitting in a room with daylight coming through red curtains

Charlemagne had a series of very bad omens before his death in 814AD. A fireball even fell from the sky causing his horse to buck
In the crusade by Pope Innocent III, the youngest crusaders were led by a 12 year old named Stephen of Cloyes. Most ended up sold as slaves or died from diseases
King Louis IX was the only French king who, at his burial, suddenly sat back up and continued to rule for another 26 years
The hundred year war started with victories for English archers but ended with a French archer, Michael Perunin
Back then in France, the Catholics called their enemies/non-believers “Cathars” which actually meant ‘Cat worshippers’. This was because the Catholics said that their enemies had to kiss the bum of a black cat.
When the pope moved from Rome to France in the 1300s, his palace at Avignon had 2 whole floors of toilets

Benjamin Franklin used to keep a list of “13 virtues.” If he violeted one, he would check it off, and use it as motivation to improv e his moral standing.
Benjamin Franklin did not graduate from school but The Harvard and the Yale Universities awarded him honorary degrees. Later in 1762, the Oxford University awarded him a doctorate.
Benjamin Franklin interestingly founded the a fire fighting company
It is a fact that Ben Franklin once wrote in the newspapers under the anonym Mrs Silence Dogood.
Franklin also invented the glass harmonica
Ben Franklin did not like patents and so failed to patent many of his inventions

Gladiators were vegetarians
in honour of Julius Caesars’ father’s death, 5000 pairs of gladiator and over 350 exotic animals were pitted together in a fight to the death

In 1927, X-rays were used to help people find a fitting shoe. It was known as the Shoe-Fitting Fluoroscope but was later destroyed due to health hazards
Shoes were made over 4000 years ago
Heels were invented in the Middle East to help lift the foot from the burning sand
In 16th and 17th century Europe, heels on shoes were always colored red
Sneakers were originally called keds
The first lady’s boot was designed for Queen Victoria in 1840
Before the 19th century, there wasn’t a left or right shoe. Both sides were identical
In Biblical times a sandal was given as a sign of an oath
In Hungary the groom drinks a toast to his bride out of her wedding slipper
In the Middle Ages a father passed his authority over his daughter to her husband in a shoe ceremony. At the wedding, the groom handed the bride a shoe, which she put on to show she was then his subject

The phrase ‘Elementary my dear Watson’ was never mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes books
Sherlock means blonde, but the main characters are all dark haired
Holmes is modeled after the Scottish physician Joseph Bell
Holmes’ famous deerstalker cap was not created by Doyle, but by the illustrator, Sidney Paget
“when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” is the most famous true quote written by Conan Doyle
Watson has a bullet wound that was first described as being in the shoulder, but in another story the wound had moved to the leg
The only woman to have beaten Holmes was Irene Adler
Sherlock Holmes’ creator ironically believed in and was committed to spiritualism, fairies and ghosts
There are more than 260 movies, 2 musicals and a ballet based on the book
In 1964, Sherlock Holmes books were the best sellers second only to the Bible
Sherlock abused cocaine and morphine in “The Sign Of Four”

In the past, barbers were also surgeons and dentists
When a barber finished an operation, he would wrap the bloody bandages around a pole. That is the origin of the red swirled barber pol
Barbers are mentioned in the bible. “Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard.”
In England, people were required by law to shave their head or beard
Barbers used to give their clients enemas

Mozart’s full name was Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart
Mozart married the sister of the woman he had unsuccessfully courted several years earlier
He began composing and performing music at the age of six
Mozart died at the age of 35
He was an avid traveller. He spent a third of his life travelling
Mozart’s grave was desecrated and dug up to make room for more graves
Mozart’s skull was presented to the Salzburg Mozerteum by a grave robber. Nobody can confirm the skull belonged to the maestro

John Wilke Booth’s brother once saved the life of Abraham Lincoln’s son. It took place shortly before Abraham Lincoln’s assassination
Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated
He was also the tallest president
Abraham Lincoln invented and patented a buoyancy adjustment system for steamboats
Lincoln was known as a storyteller and jokester, but he also suffered from depression
Lincoln used to keep his notes, letters and even his bills in his black tophat