Normally I reserve the lists on facts and myths to myself, but this one, recently sent in, was so interesting that I have decided to make an exception in this case. Be sure to share your own favorite factlets with us in the comments.
1. Hello wasn’t always the first thing people said when they answered the phone. After the first proper phone service was started in the US in 1878, people said “Ahoy”.
2. Bagpipes were invented in Iran and then brought to Scotland by the Romans.
3. In medieval Japan, it was fashionable for women to sport black teeth.
4. Apollo 11 had 20 seconds of fuel left when it landed.
5. The Chinese used “the fingerprint technique” as a means of identification as far back as AD700.
6. Charles Dickens earned as much for his lectures as he did for his twenty novels.
7. When the Mayflower was no longer of use, they took it apart and recycled it as a barn (pictured above).
8. In English gambling dens in the 18th century, there was a person who was hired solely to swallow the dice in the event of a police raid.
9. The gold ring that many sailors wore were often used to pay for a decent burial after their deaths.
10. A model named Grace Robin was the first person to demonstrate contact lenses in 1930.
11. In ancient Rome, a person with a crooked nose was considered to have great leadership potential.
12. In 1915 William Wrigley Jr. Sent chewing gum to everyone in the phone book.
13. In 18th Century Britain, you could take out insurance against going to hell.
14. The youngest parents in recorded history were eight and nine and lived in china in 1910.
15. In 17th Century England, a woman had, on average 13 children.
16. Out of the 266 men who have been appointed Pope, 33 have died in violent circumstances.
17. Olive oil was once used for washing the body in some Mediterranean countries. It is still, however, a lot more seldom practiced today.
18. India was one of the richest countries in the world until the British invasions in the 17th Century.
19. In ancient Egypt, noblewomen were given a few days to ripen after death in order to remove “temptation” from embalmers.
20. George Washington’s false teeth were actually carved from cows teeth and hippopotamus ivory and were fixed together with metal springs.
Is Factlet a word? They still make the world go round all the same.
#19 Temptation? LOL
Wish there was more info on these than just few lines. Oh,is that what it is,a factlet of a fact like… a piglet of pig,uh?
20 seconds of fuel left? That might sound like a close call, but I find it phenomenal planning and engineering that they carried a near-perfect weight of fuel for the journey.
NASA rocks!
Mmmm…ripening.
Contact lenses must have been awfully uncomfortable in 1930…
I agree with El the Elf, it would have been nice to have a bit more information for each one, but otherwise great list.
brilliant list, i was actually inspired to research more after reading each one!
The youngest mother “factlet” is incorrect:
http://youngest_mother.tripod.com/
am actually trying ti pecture the women of medieval japan with their black teeth…
on second thoughts, i will not…
i dont want no nightmares man…
oral b anyone???
that was ‘trying to picture in my mind’
see… nightmare already effecting my mind…
thanks NiMur90 for the nightmares…
@ants1 (1):
Apparently not, but it should be!
@El the erf (5):
Thanks! I will try and write more next time
Thanks Jamie for publishing my list!
@Tom (11):
The link you posted refers to just the youngest mother and omits any details about the father, whereas the factlet is referring to the “youngest parents”, so is technically correct.
I’d like to add in no.18,before its invasion, India was known as the golden bird… This list is so frustratingly underdeveloped I can’t help wondering the what, why, when, where, how and i dunnowhatelse of these factlets.
Lmao AT 13!!!
And that’s what I like about this list!
Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Wow this is easily one of the most lazily researched list that it makes Jamie look like an idiot for publishing this heap of dung!
I disagree with the general opinion here. Each fact is very short, so if you want more information on a fact that really interests you, you can do some research yourself.
It’s just a quick and fun read, loved it.
HELLO
At no 16 – Someone should make a list of 10 MOST VIOLENT POPE DEATHS.
#11 apparently cleopatra had a big sniffer thats why romans considered her so attractive
Ripen the body to guard against necrophiliacs? o_0 woW!
@Kabbi (12): oral b anyone???
Giggity
Oooh, I already knew about the Egyptian one
Herodotus wrote about it after visiting Egypt…
Regarding # 8 – I used to have a job like that.
When the police or feds busted in to the gambling den I would swallow the dice.
Later on after it was safe I would shoot “craps”
@Luka (27): Herodotus wrote about it after visiting Egypt…
Herodot: Why the body is lying in the sun?
Egyptians: What body? Oh, that one!. It’s because.. uh.. Oh yeah, it’s to remove temptation from embalmers
Herodot: Ooooh (writes it down)
Egyptians: hehehehe (very silently)
lame lame lame…
Interesting list, good job. Knew a few of these, others were new to me. However, I thought Tom’s (#11) link was the most interesting thing here! That’s some cuh-razy stuff! More here, replete with disturbing photograph…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lina_Medina
The crooked nose thing started with Julius I believe? In ancient egypt however, the case might have been just the opposite…Cleopatra had a very pretty nose you see.
At 32, Cleopatra’s nose was very crooked. If you see some of the coins minted in her reign, it’s not today’s ideal of beauty by any means.
Ships and boat’s timbers were often recycled as roof beams, my own house is an example of this.
AHH, YESSSSSSSSS, A much better list then yesterday’s. Today was something to look forward to. I’m in the thirties again–guess I missed first–Don’t you just love when they say “FIRST” and they’re second or third or even fourth?
Hi, everyone!
Great list. I’ve really enjoyed it…
Short but sweet. Or maybe just short. Haha
@The_Snowdog (28): Is it true that they sometimes give you die-arrhoea??
@Tom (11):
It wasnt a “youngest mother” fact, it was “youngest parents”. The 5yr old girl wasn’t impregnated by another child.
@Troezen (33): Caeser, Obelix and Getafix the druid respectfully disagree.
On November 7′s list (2009), 10 More Myths Debunked # 10 was also all about George Washington’s teeth. I realize that there’s bound to be redundancies and overlapping on a site with all lists, but it seems like there could be a new factlet this soon after.
Just sayin’
I liked this list. Just enough info to start my day.
@ kat87 (39): I read about the youngest mother at age 5. Kinda disturbing – who was the father of that child? Also, I wonder if any criminal charges were ever sought if it was an adult? Do you know?
”India was one of the richest countries in the world until the British invasions in the 17th Century”
Britain never ”invaded” they just traded civilization with Indian riches! The Indians wouldn’t mind that…
Colonialism is the father of poverty in the east
And now they’re developed,Our 3rd world economy is weak!
Now they are gone, still sense their existence
In the form of Bars, and corrupted spineless politicians
- 3rd World Dweller aka Skrillah
This list is presented in such a sparse fashion that it almost sounds made up. I understand a factlet is a tiny thing but the richness of this website is the embellishment of the fact that truth is stranger than fiction. To that extent, at least a few citations would be a welcome addition.
You learn something every day…but with Listverse, you learn 20 things every day! I actually knew most of these already (12 of them to be precise), but it was an interesting read nonetheless.
@Moonbeam (41): You beat me to it! I remembered seeing something about Washington’s false teeth on a recent list when I read this one.
I knew of bunch of these but liked learning more! Cool list. I especially like this one:
13. In 18th Century Britain, you could take out insurance against going to hell.
I would bet that the insurance salesmen at that time came out better from that one. mmmmm….
Nice list, by the way NiMur90. I won’t say great because, like get a clue (44) put it, “this list is presented in such a sparse fashion that it almost sounds made up”, and I completely agree.
@oouchan (47): lol, yeah that one was pretty funny
Mr. Burns still saya “Ahoy-hoy” when he answers the phone.
@ El (40)
haha Asterix and Obelix f*king ruuuuule!
i read them books so many times as a kid!
india wasnt a country until the 1940′s.
there were different kingdoms rule by muslims, hindu’s and sihks. therefore india wasnt one of the richest countries in the world as it didnt exist.
Hello isn’t always the first thing people say when they enter the phone. Russians say “Alo” first, then hello.
@alexman (52):
In other words they didn’t have flag. No flag, no country!
It is still, however, a lot more seldom practiced today.
??
@Skrillah (43):
I hope that was sarcasm.
Because civilization is not about going around in horse-carriages than bullock carts or living under concrete roofs than mud houses,I believe.
It has more to do with the inner conscience and the intent of human being.
The English had the full intent of invading India and they were indeed successful in doing so. However when their conscience came to talking terms with them, a certain bald man did not face much trouble in shooing the whole empire away.
But yes, they left their remnants out there in the form of sacky-***** politicos who are eating up the countries of the eastside side of the globe like leeches.
@kat87 (39):
well said!
I love the one about Apollo 11 and the one about the Mayflower.
About the one with the embalmers in Ancient Egypt: what source is that from? I have studied Egyptology and this is the first time I’ve heard this story. Since my specialty were mummies/mummification, I was quite surprised to see this faclet I knew nothing about.
great list!
concerning #3, i’ve seen women with black teeth in period japanese films before and always just assumed it was a traditional makeup technique to imply the teeth were missing.
The one about the mayflower is not technically true, I live literally two minutes drive from the Mayflower barn in the picture (between Seer Green and Jordans, Bucks, England) and it is not known for a fact that the barn really is made from timbers from THAT perticular Mayflower, there were a lot of ships thushly named at the time and all that is known was that it uses timbers from a ship with that name, it’s more of a local legend that it was THE Mayflower. Nice list though!
Middle Eastern bathing involved a long process of steam sauna, cool water, *****, lathering, a depilatory (if desired), all performed upon you by a personal servant or two, in a Hammam.
The olive oil was applied to the body early in the process to trap the dirt and grime that sweated out during the steam sauna, after which an attendant would give a full body scraping, using a variety of wooden paddles and other tools made for this purpose.
The lathering process was called “cham-po”, from which we get the word shampoo. Marco Polo quite enjoyed the process, and would seek out a hammam during rest stops while on caravan.