My History Facts Trivia

  In a world without cameras, biometric databases, or even consistent spelling, identifying individuals could be quite a complex challenge. Before photography helped fix identity to an image, societies developed a range of creative methods to determine who someone was — a task that could be surprisingly difficult, especially when that someone was outside their home community. From scars to seals to signatures, here’s how identity was tracked before photo IDs. Credit:  Vita exclusive / Alamy Stock Photo  Names (and the Trouble With Them) A name was the most basic marker of identity for centuries, but it often wasn’t enough. In ancient Greece, to distinguish between people with the same first name, individuals were also identified by their father’s name. For example,  an Athenian pottery shard  from the fifth century BCE names Pericles as “Pericles son of Xanthippus.” In ancient Egypt, the naming convention might have reflected the name of a master rather than a p...

  The rise of Freemasonry in Europe during the 18th century sparked tensions within the Catholic Church, which regarded the secretive nature and political influence of the fraternal order with suspicion. In 1738, in response to this unease, Pope Clement XII issued a decree prohibiting Roman Catholics from participating in secret societies, including Freemasonry — a ban that continues to this day. In defiance of this papal prohibition, a Catholic leader (whose identity remains unknown, although many suspect it was Archbishop Clemens August of Bavaria) established a para-Masonic secret society called the  Order of the Pug , drawing its name from the breed’s qualities of loyalty, trustworthiness, and steadfastness. The group attempted to reconcile elements of both Freemasonry and Catholicism, instituting their own initiation rituals, oaths of loyalty, and hierarchical framework. Diverging from Masonic tradition, however, the Order of the Pug welcomed women as members and allowed ...

  The world of dating has undergone significant changes throughout history, from arranged couplings in ancient Egypt to medieval courtship to the modern-day use of technology to find a partner. In the 1950s, dating was governed by a set of traditions and rules that reflected a postwar society that emphasized stability and conformity, and was largely influenced by the era’s adherence to traditional gender roles. Men were expected to take the lead, covering the bills and demonstrating chivalry, while women were held to standards of modesty and femininity.  Though they may feel antiquated compared to more recent moves toward gender equality, independence, and a rejection of rigid cultural norms, the conventions that defined dating in the ’50s are fascinating to look back on. Here are some of the rules that defined dating etiquette in the 1950s. Credit:  Harold M. Lambert / Archive Photos via Getty Images Women Didn’t Order for Themselves The dynamics of a dinner date were ma...

  Amid the bloodshed of the Hundred Years’ War in the 14th and 15th centuries rose a figure who seems as much of a shadowy legend as King Arthur, but was very much a real person. Somehow, an illiterate teenage woman not only convinced the dauphin of France that she was sent by divine forces to place him on the throne, but also actually helped achieve exactly that, by spurring royal forces to a string of victories despite not having a shred of military training. While most everyone knows the name Joan of Arc, few know more than the vague outlines of her accomplishments from a distant era. Here’s a look at her remarkable life story, from its humble beginnings to its troubled conclusion and her reemergence as one of history’s most celebrated figures. Credit:  FPG / The Image Bank via Getty Images Joan of Arc was  born around 1412  in Domrémy, a village in northeastern France that sat in disputed territory between subjects loyal to Henry VI of England and those devoted t...

  00:23 04:59 Decades before Albert Einstein became a pop culture phenomenon by sticking out his tongue on his 72nd birthday, he was an emerging theoretical physicist on the brink of a major revelation: that massive objects cause space-time to curve, resulting in gravity. Einstein’s theory of general relativity, published in 1915, introduced the groundbreaking idea that gravity is not a force but a curved field created by the presence of mass. The problem was proving it. Einstein claimed the theory could be tested by measuring the position of stars near the sun, which would appear to shift slightly as gravity from the sun bent the path of light. This type of experiment was difficult to perform in the early 20th century, but a perfect opportunity soon presented itself: the total solar eclipse on May 29, 1919.    Britain’s Royal Astronomical Society sent two expeditions to test Einstein’s theory during the eclipse. A group led by British physicist Arthur Eddington was based...