When Napoleon was in power, he took the 14,000 French laws at that time, and simplified them into an integrated set of seven laws. Never before in history had a nation’s laws applied equally to each of its citizens – no more were nobility superior and impervious to the country’s laws. The seven laws created by Napoleon are so remarkable, that by 1960, over 70 governments in the world had patterned their own country’s laws after them, and in some cases, used the same laws, word for word.
One of the greatest practical jokers of all time was a man called Michel de Notredame, who we now call Nostradamus. Nostradamus lived in the 15th century and wrote many verses in an ancient form of French. But what was so ingenious about his writings is that they were so ambiguously written, they could be interpreted to mean just about anything people want them to say. It was a remarkable writing talent, and many of his followers to this day claim he was some kind of incredible prophet. What very few people know about Nostradamus is that he predicted the downfall of Queen Elizabeth I of England. The reason that he predicted her downfall was because he was supported by the French queen Catherine de Médicis, and wanted to please her. Nostradamus’ predictions about the catastrophe about to befall Queen Elizabeth I never came to pass! So next time you hear claims that Nostradamus was an amazing prophet, you’ll know it’s just a bunch of baloney.
Before artists became famous, many starved, and some died before their talent was discovered. You’ve probably heard of the famous Michelangelo. When Michelangelo was young, he sculpted a statue of a sleeping cupid. Because he was an unknown artist, he realised that he would probably not make much money out of it, so he set about creating a deception. Finding some acidic soil, Michelangelo buried the statue deep into the earth, because he realised that the acidity would cause the stone to be affected, and give it the appearance of an antique. Eventually Michelangelo sold the statue to Cardinal Riario of San Giorgio, but the Cardinal soon found out about the hoax and demanded his money back. But so impressed was he, and everyone else with Michelangelo’s obvious artistic talent, that the Cardinal allowed Michelangelo to keep his percentage of the sale. Michelangelo’s joke was soon forgotten, and his climb to fame began. Unfortunately, the cupid disappeared and has never been seen since.
At one time Claude Monet the artist was painting a picture of a large leafless oak tree which stood on a cliff near his home. Unfortunately Monet could not continue his work because of 3 weeks of bad weather and when he returned to continue his painting, Monet found the tree was completely covered in buds and new leaves. Monet spoke to the mayor of the village and the Mayor arranged for some of the townspeople to pull off every bud and leaf from the tree, so that Monet could finish his painting.
John D Rockefeller is well known for being a very wealthy man. What very few people know is that he began giving away his money at the age of 16. By the time he died 82 years later, John D Rockefeller had given away over $530 million.
Thomas Alva Edison became deaf at an early age. While courting his wife-to-be he taught her morse code so they could talk to each other. Thomas Edison even proposed to her in morse code, and she accepted - in morse code. Once married, the two would often talk to each other using the code, and if the two attended a play, Mrs Edison would morse the actor’s words onto her husband’s knee so that he could also enjoy the play.
Almost everyone has heard of that famous "Lady of the Lamp", Florence Nightingale. Did you know that wherever she went she carried a pet owl in her pocket?
Do you drink soymilk? Well Henry Ford believed that the soybean was a promising raw material that could be made into many useful products. At a convention, Ford arrived dressed entirely in clothing made out of soy except for his shoes.
Do you drink soymilk? Well Henry Ford believed that the soybean was a promising raw material that could be made into many useful products. At a convention, Ford arrived dressed entirely in clothing made out of soy except for his shoes.
Abel Tasman was a Dutch explorer who in 1642 sailed south from the East Indies looking for a possible continent. For 10 months he explored all around Australia but never actually say any of it. He did find a little body of land right in the southeast of Australia that is now called Tasmania. On a later voyage, Tasman finally saw the Australian shore. In his late teens, Mohandas Gandhi spent many hours practicing arranging his hair and his tie in order to become a gentleman in polite English society. He also took lessons in music and dance.
In Rome, Julius Caesar called for a ban of all wheeled vehicles during the hours of daylight. You see, Rome was experiencing increasing traffic jams.
Who was Granny Smith and why was there an apple named after her? Maria Ann Smith and her family emigrated from Sussex to Sydney in 1939. Maria budded and grafted some seedlings that had grown in her garden and eventually developed apples that were far superior to any other apples at the time. Cases of the apples were stamped with the words "Apples from Mrs Smith" and were very popular. Soon professional fruit farmers began growing the apples which became known as Granny Smiths.
In the 1770’s Rev August Montague Toplady was walking in Somerset when he was besieged by a violent storm. Rev Toplady was forced to shelter in the split of a large rock. Whilst sheltering from the storm, the Reverend composed the word and music for one of the best known hymns of all time, "Rock of Ages".
A century ago, the French literary critic Sainte-Beuve was challenged to a duel. As was the custom in those days, the critic was allowed to choose the weapons. Sainte-Beuve turned to his opponent and said, "I choose spelling - you’re dead."
The first US Methodist Episcopal bishop, Francis Asbury covered 434,523km of the frontier between 1771 and 1816. He preached to people everywhere including in riverboats and bordellos as well as from church pulpits.
St Patrick was actually British and not Irish. One time he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and brought to Ireland, which was the first time he had ever set foot there. One St Patrick escaped Ireland, he became a priest and a bishop and eventually returned to Ireland as a missionary. It was his success as a missionary that made him the patron saint of Ireland.
Most people at one point would have heard of Helen Keller who was blind and deaf from an early age. It seems that she developed a keen sense of smell and could recognise her friends by their individual personal odours.
After becoming Emperor of Rome, according to the Roman chronicler Suetonius, Nero’s cherished ambition was to sing in public. Nero took singing lessons and then made his debut in Naples. While Nero was singing, a small earthquake shook the theatre and some of the audience fled in terror. After that performance, Nero made sure that the gates were locked so that no-one could escape while he was on stage. During some of his performances, women gave birth in the stands and some men leaped over the wall. In one instance, three people tricked the guards into letting them out. One pretended to be dead while the other two carried him out. I guess nobody was brave enough to tell Nero how awful he really was.
President Theodore Roosevelt is indirectly responsible for toy teddy bears. President Roosevelt, who always disliked his nickname "Teddy" was on a hunting trip in 1902 in Mississippi, when he refused to shoot a bear cub. The Washington Post newspaper portrayed the incident in a cartoon and a Boston shopkeeper cashed on the publicity by making toy bears which he named "Teddy Bears".
Many famous movie stars have changed their names. Fred Astaire was originally known as Frederick Austerlitz and Michael Caine was Maurice Micklewhite. Danny Kaye was first called David Daniel Kaminsky and Mickey Rooney’s real name was Joe Yule. Judy Garland changed her name from Frances Gumm and Cary Grant from Archibald Leach. Poor Dirk Bogarde’s real name was a mouthful – it was Derek Julius Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde. But probably one of the most loved of movies stars was John Wayne who loved to play tough roles in westerns. Mr Wayne’s real name was Marion Morrison.
Some people may recall the Marx brothers who acted in many movies some years ago. But did you know that there were actually five Marx brothers? There was Chico (whose real name was Leonard), Groucho (Julius), Zeppo (Herbert), and Harpo (Arthur), and there was another brother Gummo (Milton) who never acted in a film.
Have you ever wondered where musical groups got their names from? The Beatles got their name from beat, as in a musical beat and beetles after Buddy Holly’s backing group, the Crickets. Another well-known group is Dire Straits. They named their group because of their financial situation when they first started.
Johann Sebastian Bach came from a very musical family. Hans bach, his grandfather was known as "the playing man" and Johann’s Sebastian’s cousin Johann Michael also became a famous musician. Johann was taught music by his elder brother and father, and he married 2 singers and had 20 children, 5 of whom became distinguished musicians. The Bach family produced almost 50 musicians.
You may have heard of the famous circus showman PT Barnum. In North Carolina at one time when his circus went into a town, he decided to announce the arrival of the circus by hitching an elephant to a plow beside the train. The exhibition attracted the attention of the public and lots of newsmen. Soon after that a law came into effect in North Carolina that still remains today – it is now illegal to plow a field with an elephant.
In 1835, the year Samuel Clemens, writer, reporter, and publisher was born, Halley's Comet passed over. Twain vowed that he would not die until he saw the famous comet again. Then, just before Twain died, Halley's Comet passed over. He died the next day - April 10th, 1910 at 6:30 p.m.
