For all of the somber and mundane events that have occurred throughout human history, others are absurd enough to make you laugh out loud. The history website historyfacts.com has published some of them. Continued from last week, here are more:
The eagle once depicted on US coins was a real eagle named Peter
The eagle seen on early US coins was a real creature with a surprisingly common name: Peter. In a rather patriotic confluence of events, none other than an eagle took residence at the US Mint in the 1830s, where he became a companion and mascot. Historians believe the eagle featured on the silver dollar was based on this beloved bird.
“LOL” used to be an acronym for “little old lady”
Long before anyone laughed out loud on the internet, “LOL” was in use by virtue of a different phrase: “little old lady.” The acronym was popularized in the 1960s by San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen, who used it in many of his works. In his 1960 book Only in San Francisco, for instance, he described an outfit that included a tricorn hat topped with a bird as the “regalia of the authentic LOL.”
The Greek mathematician Pythagoras had a phobia of beans
Pythagoras, the namesake of the Pythagorean theorem, was a highly influential early Greek philosopher and a major inspiration for the likes of Aristotle and Plato. He was also a notorious hater of beans—specifically fava beans, also known as broad beans—and he strictly forbade his followers, the Pythagoreans, from coming into contact with the legumes.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams stole a piece of Shakespeare’s chair
In 1786, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams took a weeklong tour of England, and one of their first stops was the house where Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon. Among the many relics at the house was the Bard’s own chair, where the poet and playwright supposedly sat and wrote his great works. When the founding fathers left, they sliced off a piece of the chair to take home as a souvenir.
The creator of Fabergé eggs once made a Fabergé potato
You’re probably familiar with Fabergé eggs, most of which were made for the Romanov family in their last few decades as Russian rulers. Fabergé didn’t just make eggs, however, and among all his intricate and ornate treasures, one unexpected subject stands out: a potato, just under 4 inches long, crafted in a realistic, irregular shape.