Armored knights raised their visors to identify themselves when they rode past their king. This custom has become the modern military salute.

At the height of its power, in 400 BC, the Greek city of Sparta had 25,000 citizens and 500,000 slaves.

The worldwide "Spanish Flu" epidemic which broke out in 1918 killed more than 30 million people in less than a year's time.

Britain's present royal family was originally named Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The name was changed in 1917, during WW1 because of German connotations. The name Windsor was suggested by one of the staff. At the same time the Battenberg family name of the cousins to the Windsors was changed into Mountbatten.

Canada declared national beauty contests canceled as of 1992, claiming they were degrading to women.

In the Middle Ages, everyone believed, based on Aristotle’s belief, that the heart was the seat of intelligence.

The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.

Fourteenth century physicians didn't know what caused the plague, but they knew it was contagious. As a result they wore an early kind of bio-protective suit which included a large beaked head piece. The beak of the head piece, which made them look like large birds, was filled with vinegar, sweet oils and other strong smelling compounds to counteract the stench of the dead and dying plague victims.

Captain Cook lost 41 of his 98 crew to scurvy (a lack of vitamin C) on his first voyage to the South Pacific in 1768. By 1795 the importance of eating citrus was realized, and lemon juice was issued on all British Navy ships.

In 1892, Italy raised the minimum age for marriage for girls - to 12.

The Black Death reduced the population of Europe by one third in the period from 1347 to 1351.

In England and the American colonies they year 1752 only had 354 days. In that year, the type of calendar was changed, and 11 days were lost.

In the Holocaust between 5.1 and 6 million of Europe's 10 million Jews were killed. An additional 6 million 'unwanted' people were also executed, including more than half of Poland's educated populace.

Members of the Nazi SS had their blood type tattooed on their armpits.

Napoleon took 14,000 French decrees and simplified them into a unified set of 7 laws. This was the first time in modern history that a nation's laws applied equally to all citizens. Napoleon's 7 laws are so impressive that by 1960 more than 70 governments had patterned their own laws after them or used them verbatim.

Of the 262 men who have held the title of pope, 33 have died by violence.

The ancient Egyptians slept on pillows made of stone.

Acupuncture was first used as a medical treatment in 2700 BC by Chinese emperor Shen-Nung.

The first country to abolish capital punishment was Austria in 1787.

The first modern Olympiad was held in Athens in 1896. 484 contestants from 13 nations participated.

The first-known contraceptive was crocodile dung, used by Egyptians in 2000 BC.

The House of Lancaster, symbolized by the red rose, won England's 'War of the Roses.'

The Hundred Year War actually lasted 116 years (1337 to 1453).

The longest reigning monarch in history was Pepi II, who ruled Egypt for 90 years; 2566 to 2476 BC. The second longest was France's Louis XIV, who ruled for 72 years, 1643 to 1715.

The peace symbol was created in 1958 as a nuclear disarmament symbol by the Direct Action Committee, and was first shown that year at peace marches in England. The symbol is a composite of the semaphore signals N and D, representing nuclear disarmament.

The seven wonders of the ancient world were: ... 1. Egyptian Pyramids at Giza ... 2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon ... 3. Statue of Zeus at Olympia ... 4. Colossus of Rhodes - or huge bronze statue near the Harbor of Rhodes that honored the sun god Helios ... 5. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus ... 6. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus ... 7. Lighthouse at Alexandria.

The shortest war on record was fought between Zanzibar and England in 1896. Zanzibar surrendered after 38 minutes.

The supersonic Concorde jet made its first trial flight on January 1, 1969.

The Titanic was the first ship to use the SOS signal. It was adopted as the international signal for distress in 1912, and the Titanic struck the iceberg in April of that year.

From the Middle Ages up until the end of the 19th century, barbers performed a number of medical duties including bloodletting, wound treatment, dentistry, minor operations and bone-setting. The barber's striped red pole originated in the Middle Ages, when it was a staff the patient would grip while the barber bled the patient.