1. In the past you could win an art medal at the Olympic Games. Although it might seem weird today, starting with 1912 and ending with 1948 there were fine arts competitions at the Olympics, thus remembering the fact that ancient Greeks had art festivals during the games. So in keeping with that tradition you could compete in music, painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, and actually win an Olympic medal. Even a gold one. In time 151 medals were awarded in those categories before the organisers decided to abandon this tradition. Yes, the host cities had to organize cultural events aside from the games, but it wasn't the same thing. 2. Let's imagine just for the fun of it that Earth's history was reduced to just one year. So us humans would "make our entry" on the stage on December 31st, at about a quarter to midnight, and our recorded history so far wouldn't mean a lot. It would really mean very little in the space of the whole year. About 60 seconds.
3. The Great Fire of London was a tragic event that nearly destroyed the famous city, and still 1666 is a bad year in the history of London. Over 13,000 houses were more or less destroyed, over 80 churches turned to ashes - including the famous St. Paul Cathedral - and tens of thousands lost everything they had. Yet despite the disaster there was a very good part, as only 8 people died in the fire. So one of the most difficult times in London's history actually wasn't as tragic as it could have been.
4. Maybe much of our ancient history is lost forever, but even some important events in the recent past are not as well known as they should be. For example did you know that the longest was in recorded history lasted... over 300 years? The conflict between the Isles of Scilly and the Dutch started in 1651 and lasted until 1986. So 335 years and 19 days, no casualties. Actually the Dutch had simply forgotten that they were in a state fo war with the tiny islands. They forgot. And made a historical record.
5. Among the jobs that have disappeared is the knocker-up one. In Britain and Ireland, since the years of the Industrial Revolution and lasting all the way into the 1950s, when you had to wake up for work you could hire someone, for a small price, to do just that. Every morning, at the chosen hour, the knocker-upper came to your house and knocked on your door or windows with a stick, until he or she managed to put you on your feet. So before the alarm clocks you relied on the knocker-upper. Of course, later this job was no longer needed, and who even remember it?
Foto: olympic.org
