25 Fun and Interesting Facts About the Past From Twitter’s Weird History

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Medieval cat’s paw prints on manuscript (c. 1100s). 900-year old kitty getting in trouble. pic.twitter.com/noplWi4sGX

— Weird History (@weird_hist) August 13, 2019

Since 2011, aerospace engineer and SpaceX mission manager Andrew Rader has been sharing his love for the finer points of history. Through the Twitter account Weird History, this self-described history buff and avid trivia player highlights some of the more interesting and unexpected facts about the past.

Whether he’s focusing on interesting artifacts like Napoleon’s toothbrush or Marie Curie’s radioactive notebook or tidbits about social history, each tweet helps his followers learn more about the past. For instance, ever wonder why baby clothes use color to denote gender? Or what the original Monopoly game looked like? Wonder no more, as Rader has it covered.

More than 154,000 people follow Weird History to immerse themselves in facts that are stranger than fiction. Fun for history lovers and anyone who loves learning a bit of new trivia, Weird History is a trove of information you never knew you needed. And, it’s a great way to encourage curious minds to dig deeper into some of the history that Rader shares.

To celebrate the wonderful world of Weird History we’ve compiled 25 of its top tweets, so scroll on and you may just learn a little something new.

Weird History is a Twitter account that publishes strange and interesting facts about the past.

I’ll just leave this here. pic.twitter.com/CHeCDfFve5

— Weird History (@weird_hist) November 17, 2019

When homosexuality was classified as an illness in Sweden, Swedes protested by calling in sick to work, claiming they felt gay.

— Weird History (@weird_hist) August 22, 2018

One of the lead scientists developing the atomic bomb was a Lewis G. Doom. (I.e., Doctor Doom.) pic.twitter.com/SSg1fAhAG0

— Weird History (@weird_hist) September 14, 2020

“Avocado” comes from the Aztec “ahuacacuahatl”, meaning “testicle tree”. pic.twitter.com/g3yD5DB3Li

— Weird History (@weird_hist) September 10, 2018

The Pyramids were older to the Romans than the Romans are to us. pic.twitter.com/AwjY9jLDWT

— Weird History (@weird_hist) August 23, 2020

A ‘butt’ was a Medieval unit of measure for wine. Technically, a buttload of wine is about 475 liters (126 gal). pic.twitter.com/8yB0l0cE6P

— Weird History (@weird_hist) June 30, 2019

Gender-based baby colors (boys = blue, girls = pink) was invented by clothing manufacturers so kids wouldn’t share, thus increasing sales. The choice was entirely arbitrary, with the colors initially reversed (boys = pink, girls = blue). pic.twitter.com/EHVKgjUglw

— Weird History (@weird_hist) March 17, 2018

The Queen trying not to laugh as she passes her husband (Duke of Edinburgh) in uniform. pic.twitter.com/I00e4KIBcK

— Weird History (@weird_hist) June 30, 2018

Nördlingen is a German town built inside a 14 million year old meteor crater. pic.twitter.com/eVu6qFwX1k

— Weird History (@weird_hist) December 22, 2017

During WW2, a Great Dane named Juliana was awarded the Blue Cross Medal in 1941 after she extinguished an incendiary bomb by peeing on it. pic.twitter.com/z980Qhhf8E

— Weird History (@weird_hist) February 1, 2018

According to Herodotus, in the battle of Pelusium (525 BCE), the Persians used cats as shields because Egyptians were forbidden to kill cats. pic.twitter.com/l6KHdLR6Jz

— Weird History (@weird_hist) January 9, 2018

Around since 2011, the account has over 154,000 followers.

Time a person would have to work to pay for an hour of light:
Babylon, 1750 BCE: 50 hours (sesame oil lamp)
1800: 6 hours (tallow candle)
1880: 15 minutes (kerosene lamp)
1950: 8 seconds (incandescent bulb)
Today: 0.5 seconds (LED bulb)
A 360,000X reduction in night reading cost! pic.twitter.com/ZSgQzQNsgx

— Weird History (@weird_hist) August 6, 2018

A Japanese Consul in WW2 saved 6,000 Jews by giving them Japanese Visas, contrary to his government’s wishes. pic.twitter.com/dZCoY4XQRt

— Weird History (@weird_hist) June 16, 2018

The ancient Egyptian word for cat was pronounced ‘meow’. pic.twitter.com/kyOyRn5guj

— Weird History (@weird_hist) November 16, 2018

Louie Armstrong plays to his wife Lucille (1961). pic.twitter.com/JP7nqOFv33

— Weird History (@weird_hist) October 17, 2017

Yoda was a common figure in medieval imagery. pic.twitter.com/wcw22xAX0D

— Weird History (@weird_hist) February 22, 2019

Nine kings of Europe posing together in 1910. In four years, they’d all be at war. pic.twitter.com/aWUZIHYMnU

— Weird History (@weird_hist) July 2, 2020

Elmo the puppet is the only non-human to ever testify before the U.S. congress. pic.twitter.com/PRuIigbMb3

— Weird History (@weird_hist) September 8, 2018

Molds to be worn underneath shoes of WW2 commandos, to make the Japanese think their tracks were from barefoot islanders. pic.twitter.com/qCcihXdxGh

— Weird History (@weird_hist) July 11, 2018

Napoleon’s toothbrush from 1795. pic.twitter.com/KvmCD7la48

— Weird History (@weird_hist) September 29, 2017

There are around 7,000 languages in the world, but 12% of them are spoken exclusively in Papua New Guinea. pic.twitter.com/6t2mp94fLS

— Weird History (@weird_hist) September 26, 2017

Marie Curie’s Notebook’ (used 1899-1902) is still so radioactive that it can’t be safely handled. pic.twitter.com/b7hVFnpvlv

— Weird History (@weird_hist) November 16, 2019