An army against emus, a deadly wave of molasses, and a war shorter than a lunch break.
In 1932, the Australian Army was sent to fight emus.
“The Emu War (or Great Emu War) was a nuisance wildlife management operation undertaken by the Australian Army in late 1932.”
Source: Emu War, Wikipedia. Checked 2026-10-31.
In 1919, a flood of molasses tore through a Boston neighborhood.
“The Great Molasses Flood, also known as the Boston Molasses Disaster, was a disaster that occurred on January 15, 1919, in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.”
Source: Great Molasses Flood, Wikipedia. Checked 2026-10-31.
In 1518, a 'dancing plague' broke out in Strasbourg and lasted for months.
“was a case of dancing mania that occurred in Strasbourg, Alsace (modern-day France), in the Holy Roman Empire from July 1518 to September 1518.”
Source: Dancing plague of 1518, Wikipedia. Checked 2026-10-31.
The shortest recorded war in history lasted between 38 and 45 minutes.
“The conflict lasted between 38 and 45 minutes, marking it as the shortest recorded war in history.”
Source: Anglo-Zanzibar War, Wikipedia. Checked 2026-10-31.
Roman emperor Vespasian taxed urine from Rome's public urinals.
“Vespasian imposed a urine tax on the distribution of urine from Rome's public urinals”
Source: Pecunia non olet, Wikipedia. Checked 2026-10-31.
Tug of war used to be an Olympic event.
“Tug of war was contested as a team event in the Summer Olympics at the Games of every Olympiad from 1900 to 1920.”
Source: Tug of war at the Summer Olympics, Wikipedia. Checked 2026-10-31.
The Olympics once handed out medals for art, music and literature.
“Medals were awarded for works of art inspired by sport, divided into five categories: architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture”
Source: Art competitions at the Summer Olympics, Wikipedia. Checked 2026-10-31.
The world's last government-sanctioned guillotine execution took place in France in 1977.
“10 September 1977) was a Tunisian criminal who was executed by guillotine in France … the most recent government-sanctioned guillotine execution in the world.”
Source: Hamida Djandoubi, Wikipedia. Checked 2026-10-31.
Woolly mammoths were still alive centuries after the Great Pyramid was built.
“Woolly mammoths survived on the island until around 2000 BC (4,000 years ago), the most recent survival of any known mammoth populations; for perspective, these mammoths were living during the times of ancient Bronze Age civilizations, post-dating the construction of the Great Sphinx and the Great Pyramid of Giza by several centuries.”
Source: Wrangel Island, Wikipedia. Checked 2026-10-31.
The Eiffel Tower was supposed to be temporary, and was due to be taken down in 1909.
“Originally commissioned as a temporary structure for the 1889 Exposition Universelle, Eiffel was slated for dismantling in 1909”
Source: Eiffel Tower, Wikipedia. Checked 2026-10-31.
There is evidence of teaching at Oxford as early as 1096.
“There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world”
Source: University of Oxford, Wikipedia. Checked 2026-10-31.