The 8 strangest random historical facts you won't believe

From ancient cultures to current wars, history is an endless source of fascinating knowledge. But some facts are difficult to accept.

These strange and random historical facts will make you want to travel through time! Check out these fascinating facts about the strangest parts of history!

1. The Middle Ages did not smell bad!

When we think of the medieval period, what comes to mind? People in stock? Knights? Smelly peasants covered in dung? Well, contrary to popular fantasy, medieval people weren't smelly at all! In fact, medieval Europeans took bathing seriously. They had full bathrooms specially designed for washing. Cleanliness was not always easy to maintain in the Middle Ages, but they considered cleanliness to be of great importance! However, later people, such as Georgians and Altiodor, may not have been so clean!

2. People used to lock on tea

You might think people love tea today, but how far they've come in Stewart and Georgian Britain has been a bit crazy! At that time, tea was imported from China, so it was expensive, and only the rich could afford it. It was so expensive, in fact, that special tea boxes with locks were made on them, so no one could steal your tea! It has always been kept in a place where the lady of the house can see, which is why making tea is such an occasion! You will not trust your servants to make you a cup! Will Yorkshire Gold tea bags close today?

3. Napoleon was not so short

If you know one thing about Napoleon, you'll know that he was short in stature. But it wasn't. His height was actually 5'6, which was the average height of men at the time! Perhaps his enemies mocked him in propaganda pictures as "small", to sound less powerful, but Napoleon himself was not shorter than most men! He also liked to surround himself with tall soldiers, which made him look smaller too.

4. Britain once banned Christmas

Can you think of something worse than that? But that's true, between 1644 and 1660, Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell (a kind of unelected prime minister) banned the celebration of Christmas! Cromwell was Puritania, a type of very strict Christian who believed that fun things like dancing, music, and even makeup were sin and disturbed God. Unsurprisingly, this was not so popular, and there were even riots because of it! The English may not have liked it, but the Scots were not bothered - in Scotland there was no Christmas celebration from 1640 until... 1958! Well, it wasn't a public holiday anyway. This means that your great-grandfather probably had to go to work at Christmas!

5. More than one English king died in the toilet

Can you think of a more embarrassing way? We hate when someone accidentally enters us, let alone found dead in the bathroom! The first English king to die in the bath was King Edmund in 1016, who was stabbed to death while doing his work. In 1216, exactly 200 years later, King John died in or near his toilet of dysentery. Then, in 1760, King George II also went to his maker sitting on the porcesellini throne. King Henry I died in 1135 after devouring lambray (a species of river eel), meaning he may have had toilet disorders. If you want to know more about historical deaths from toilet use, Wikipedia already has a page about it!

6. The Pope once declared war on cats

You may not be a fan of cats, but you certainly can't hate them as much as Pope Gregory IX. Between 1233 and 1234, Gregory, who wielded much power as leader of the Catholic Church, decreed that cats were agents of Satan and must be eradicated.... Maybe he once scratched his couch really badly? This led to the mass killing of poor cats, which in turn may have led to an outbreak of plague, as there are now not many cats to kill rats. Nice work, Gregory! Isn't it!

7. A Roman emperor once declared war on the sea!

Must be something Italian... According to the stories, Emperor Caligula, who was known to be a bit nervous, was returning home from a failed invasion of Britain, and was desperate to go to war with something - it would be embarrassing to return home empty-handed, wouldn't it? Well, Caligula decided to declare war on the closest thing he could find - Neptune, the god of the sea! He ordered his men to strike the waves and collect shells as a sign of victory. Historians aren't 100% sure of the veracity of this story, but the fact that people believe in it shows how weird Caligula is!

8. The Vikings did not have helmets with horns

If we ask you to imagine the Vikings, you're probably imagining a hairy old man wearing a helmet with horns. But in reality, Viking helmets did not have centuries! Horns may be impractical in battle, although there is evidence of horned helmets in other civilizations! Horned helmets became associated with Vikings only during the nineteenth century, when many series were written about them.