The Byzantine Empire, located in modern-day Turkey, was quite an interesting civilization with a unique culture—they called themselves Romans but spoke Greek. And thanks to all their surviving artwork, literature and architecture, we have a pretty clear picture of what life back then must have been like back then. There’s so much to cover but for now, here are five surprising facts about the Byzantine Empire that will blow your mind.

1. They Created Greek Fire

Greek fire sounds like something straight out of Game of Thrones, but it couldn’t have been more real. What made this fire so uniquely dangerous was the fact that it burned over water, making it even more difficult to put out. The birthplace of Greek fire where it played a huge role in battles up until the 15th century when it strangely disappeared from history. It was described as a sticky and mysterious and alchemical kind of napalm that was most likely made with petroleum, sulfur, quicklime and naphtha.

2. Chariot Racing Was Huge

Americans love their football but perhaps not as much as the Byzantine loved chariot racing. It was sort of like the ancient version of NASCAR racing, but powered by horses instead of engines. Fans and competitors alike were drawn to the ring in large numbers but for different reasons—the latter often did it to earn their freedom and for the prize money of up to 15 bags of gold. And like any sport, overly passionate fans often broke into fights, like that one 3,000 fans were wiped out by overzealous enthusiasts of an opposing team.

3. They Created Their Own Silk Industry

Up until the 6th century, anyone in search of silk would have to travel through Persia to China to get some. But the silk industry had its difficulties that often arose when Persia “The Silk Road” during war. Many buyers found this inconsistency to be frustrating, especially Emperor Justinian who resolved to fix this issue once and for all. Under his command, he sent two monks to China to snatch some silkworms, then smuggled them back to the capital in their canes. It may have taken them two long years but that didn’t matter, as the Byzantine silk industry immediately took off, putting a huge dent in China and Persia’s stronghold on the silk industry.

4. Constantinople Fell to a Massive Canno

At the heart of the Byzantine Empire stood its capital, Constantinople, which was surrounded by walls that stood strong for approximately 1,100 years. During that time they were attacked a total of 23 times, but no one managed to break through their defenses. That is until the Ottoman Empire commissioned a 27-foot-long cannon which had to be dragged by 200 men and 60 oxen some 140 miles to Constantinople. The long and tedious journey was well worth it as the ginormous cannon managed to do what no one else did—blast through the previously unconquerable city.

5. The First New England Was There

Nowadays, when someone mentions New England, they’re often referring to the northeastern region in the United States, such as Massachusetts. But it should be mentioned that the first New England came way before the one we’re familiar with, specifically in the year 1075 when a group of English immigrants settled in the Byzantine Empire. Their numbers totalled around 4,000 and they called their new home “Nova Anglia” meaning “New England.” These people moved there shortly after the Norman conquest of 1066, so they were most likely refugees of war.

Without a doubt, Abraham Lincoln is one of America’s most cherished presidents whose achievements marked some of the greatest turning points in the nation’s history. Everyone knows of his role in the Civil War which led to the signing of the 13th Amendment. But did you know that he was the first to make Thanksgiving a national holiday? Or that he approved of the shift from gold to printed money? Well, all this and more is true, as you’ll find out in this list below.

1. The Yosemite Grant Led to the Creation of National Parks in the United States

On June 30, 1864, President Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant Act, originally called the Senate Bill 203, which granted federal lands over to California including the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Tree Gove. As stated in the act, these lands were to be held for public use, resort, recreation and leasing to other entities, to name a few. It also paved the way for President Ulysses S. Grant’s signed legislation which made Yellowstone as the first National Park, and the subsequent state and national parks that came after.

2. Thanksgiving as a Federal Holiday

Most people associate Thanksgiving with Black Friday sales, football games and hearty meals, not “Honest Abe.” But they should, as he was the one who made it a federal holiday in the first place. In October 1863, Lincoln made a proclamation which declared that the last Thursday in November to be a national holiday, as “a day of thanksgiving and praise.” The idea quickly took hold, and by the 1930s, Thanksgiving was already associated with the beginning of the holiday season and shopping sprees.

3. The Legal Tender Act of 1862

It was Abraham Lincoln who helped the American government transition from gold and silver reserves to printed paper money. Initially called “greenbacks” due to the color of ink on the reverse side of the notes, they were deemed as “legal tender in payment of all debts, public and private.” Naturally, many people were wary of this shift, especially so-called financial experts and bankers who expected it to fail furiously. But they were all proven wrong as federal bank notes quickly became the standard currency in America, with $500 million greenbacks being printed during Lincoln’s presidency.

4. The Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862

Abraham Lincoln was not the first to pass the Morrill Land-Grant Act. It was first legislated in Congress in 1859, though President James Buchanan completely rejected the idea. But three years later, Lincoln breathed new life into the act by signing it into law on July 2, 1862. With this, 30,000 acres of federal territory was assigned to a state for every representative that state had in Congress, as well as its two Senators. Many states took advantage of this act, and used the lands to build educational institutions, such as the Iowa State University and Cornell University.

5. The Revenue Act of 1862

The Revenue Act of 1862 was preceded by the failed attempt just one year prior. This act was meant to be a source of revenue for the federal government, but poor planning and coordination prevented it from taking off smoothly. The revised act tackled the issues associated with the first one, including replacing the previous 3% tax on incomes over $800, with a more progressive tax system and a lowered threshold of $600. They also hired three detectives who pursued tax evaders. And this was pretty much the beginning of the much loved branch of the federal government, the Internal Revenue Service.

Be it due to friendship, gratitude or celebration, the exchanging of gifts is a really old tradition that has been around for thousands of years. Many times, a country will often go to great lengths to strengthen their ties with another, usually for diplomatic reasons. And in this article, we’ve selected five remarkable items that nations have given away as a gift. 

1. France Gave the United States the Statue of Liberty 

Despite being a symbol of the United States, Lady Liberty is actually French, given the fact that she was constructed in Paris. So how did she make her way to America? It all began in 1865, when Edouard Rene de Laboulaye, a French law professor and politician, suggested that the statue be given to the United States as a gift. The statue was built in France then shipped in over 300 crates aboard the frigate Isère, just in time for the 1876 Centennial Exposition, a celebration of the Declaration of Independence’s 100th anniversary.

2. Since World War II Ended, the People of Netherlands Have Given Canada 20,000 Tulip Bulbs Every Year

Every year, since 1945, the Dutch royal family and its citizens have sent an estimated over 20,000 tulip bulbs to Canada as a sign of gratitude and friendship. The Canadians in turn graciously accept the gesture, and plant the flowers in beds all over Ottawa. This is because the Dutch were deeply grateful for the warmth and generosity that the Canadians showed them when they fled their home country following the German invasion during WWII. Their Princess Juliana temporarily made Canada her home too, and even had her third child there.

3. China Paid for and Built Costa Rica’s Estadio Nacional, a Soccer and Multi-use Stadium 

Although Costa Rica’s Estado Nacional is considered as a gift from the Chinese, many view it as nothing more than a pricey business deal. Sure, China paid $100 million for the state of the art football facility and had their workers build it too, but that was because of the many things they got in exchange including Costa Rica severing their diplomatic ties with Taiwan, Chinese workers being exempted from all Costa Rican labor laws, and a free trade agreement.

4. President Nixon Presented the Soviet Union with a Custom-Made Porcelain Chess Set 

So it turns out that the Soviet Union and its now independent republic are huge fans of chess. That’s what inspired Richard Nixon to commission a custom chess set as a gift from the people of the United States, and present it to Soviet Premier Brezhnev. It was truly one of a kind, with a measured height of 7 inches and a width of three feet by three feet. Also, what made it unique was the fact that it was based on 14th century tapestries “The Nine Heroes” and characters from Arthurian legends.

5. Great Britain Gave the Soviet Union the Sword of Stalingrad, Inscribed by King George VI

To commemorate their victory over the Germans in the Battle of Stalingrad, Prime Minister Winston Churchill suggested that the British prepare a gift for the Soviet Union. They settled on what was dubbed the “Sword of Stalingrad,” made from the finest Sheffield steel with the words “To the steel-hearted citizen of Stalingrad – the Gift of King George VI – in token of homage of the British people,” inscribed on each side. Churchill personally delivered the gift himself to Soviet Premier Stalin at the 1943 Tehran Conference.

Modern humans, especially in western countries, live a life of relative ease, despite always finding petty things to complain about. We live much longer than we ever did before thanks to all those amazing discoveries and technological advancements. But what about days gone by when people had to do everything themselves? Well in the article, you’re going to find out about just exactly how things worked before those life-changing inventions came to be!

1. Before Crash Test Dummies, Living Volunteers Were Used

In the 1930s, prior to the crash test dummy, corpses were the go-to test subjects in order to analyze the impact of a crash on the human. Although this was helpful, it still wasn’t enough. That’s when, between 1960 and 1975, researchers like Lawrence Patrick, a biomechanics professor who, along with his students, volunteered for all sorts of tests including 400 rides on a rocket sled and crushing blows to the head and body. It was totally worth it because one of his students, Harold Mertz, went on to develop Hybrid III, the current standard crash test dummy.

2. Before Modern Erasers People Used Bread Crumbs

Rubber erasers came into existence in 1858. And before that? Well, bread crumbs were the go-to option for clearing out your mistakes. Sounds weird at first, but it really isn’t. This is because erasers work by sticking to the graphite marks on the paper, then grind them away as you rub against it. And this principle is pretty much the same with a lot of other substances, including breadcrumbs. So from about 1612 and 1770, whenever someone made a mistake, they’d just reach over for some leftover bread!

3. Before the Heart Lung Machine, Cross Circulation Connected Two Living Patients Together

The heart-lung machine, a key component in undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass, was developed during the 1950s. It basically takes over the function of the heart and lungs while the patient is undergoing surgery on these organs. But before that was a thing, doctors came up with the ingenious idea of connecting two living patients together. This is known as cross-circulation and in 1954, a father and son were put under anesthesia and had their veins and lungs connected while the latter underwent surgery to repair his heart.

4. Before Insulin, Diabetics Had to Live on Dangerous Low Carb Diets

Most diabetics today live a fairly long healthy life thanks to Frederick Banting’s discovery of insulin in 1921. Before, they were only given a life expectancy of only three to four years from diagnosis, and it was a pretty rough time for them. The only treatment was a strict diet that was completely void of carbohydrates. This sometimes worked for type II diabetics. But that wasn’t the case for type I’s whose body is unable to produce insulin. Some only consumed a mere 450 calories a day, which, unsurprisingly, led to starvation and death.

5. Before Radar, War Tubas Helped Detect Enemy Aircraft

The invention of radar was one that took war to a whole new height, making it much easier for soldiers to detect incoming enemies before it was too late. But it only came to be in 1935 and the closest thing to a radar before this was the war tubas which was devised by the Japanese. Like the name indicates, the war tuba was a giant horn that pointed upward at the sky so that the wide-opened mouth end would catch the sound of an approaching aircraft. Seemed like a great idea, though there really isn’t much evidence that it worked.

The stock exchange is a key aspect of finance which offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to raise large amounts of capital and revolutionize the world. Five days a week, stockbrokers and traders buy and sell stocks and bonds. This economic activity seems complex to many and has become even more fascinating with the introduction of cryptocurrency. Although it is said that the market never sleeps, there have been incidents that have surely shut it down. Here are five things that have led to such an outcome.

1. COVID-19 Pandemic 

From March 2020, the world plummeted into a time of uncertainty, turmoil and great distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) shut down in March 2020; something that no one anticipated. It temporarily closed and was forced to resort fully to electronic trading. This was the same for other stock markets. After being shut down for a little over two months, the NYSE reopened in May 2020. This unprecedented event saw a drop in economic output and crashed the stock exchange. Who would have ever imagined that a virus could shut down the stock exchange?

2. Solar Storms

On August 16, 1989, a solar flare shut down the Toronto Stock Exchange. Scientists attribute the events to an extraordinary surge of solar activity. Trading was halted for three hours because three disc drives crashed in quick succession on a computer system that was intended to be “fault-tolerant.” This came as a great shock to officials. A few months prior, the sun’s unusual activity was noted. This period was characterized by solar flares, charged particle discharges and magnetic storms on earth which caused many personal computers around Toronto to malfunction.

3. Squirrels

Squirrels seem to be raging a silent waging war on the US stock exchange. The tiny rodents were the culprits in the shutdown of the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Service (NASDAQ) for eighty-two minutes on December 9, 1987. Officials explained that a squirrel with a sense of adventure started the power outage in Trumbull, Connecticut. It was estimated that the power outage prevented the trading of a little more than twenty million shares. When the power was restored, the power surge rendered Nasdaq mainframe computers inoperable and significantly affected the complex’s electrical infrastructure, leaving backup generators useless.

4. A Loud Noise

In 2018, a North European stock market was brought to its knees when the computers were affected by a loud noise. The fire prevention system made the noise when it was activated. Data centers frequently use devices that release inert gas to displace oxygen and extinguish fires instead of spring water which can damage delicate equipment. The gas leak was loud and the high decibel whistle took down Nasdaq servers at Digiplex data center in Stockholm. This incident halted trading in seven countries which lasted for several hours.

5. Groucho Marx

Groucho Marx was an American comedian, actor, writer, singer and television star from 1905 to 1976. He was one of Hollywood’s big stars. In 1950, he was invited to the New York Stock Exchange to have a tour of the facility. Marx, the superb showman, took over the public announcement system and started singing “Lydia the Tattooed Lady” for the traders who were present. He expressed that they owed him at least one song because he had lost all his money in 1929 when the stock market crashed. He closed the market for fifteen minutes as he had caught the interest of all the traders who gave him their undivided attention.