History Facts for Kids
Incredible facts from the past
Ancient Egyptians kept baboons as pets and even trained them to help harvest figs from trees.
Viking explorer Erik the Red named the icy island 'Greenland' around 985 AD to make it sound more appealing and attract settlers.
In 1932, Australia waged the 'Great Emu War' when soldiers were deployed to cull thousands of emus damaging crops. The emus proved so elusive that the military withdrew.
The ancient Maya played a ball game called 'pitz' where players used their hips and forearms to keep a heavy rubber ball moving through stone rings.
In 1814, a massive vat at a London brewery burst, releasing over 1.4 million litres of beer in a wave that flooded nearby streets and houses.
Japanese samurai sometimes wore a special guard to protect their moustaches while drinking tea, as facial hair was considered a mark of status and honour.
In medieval Europe, brewing beer was almost exclusively a woman's job. Women known as 'alewives' brewed and sold beer from their homes.
During the ancient Olympic Games, a sacred truce called the 'ekecheiria' was declared, halting all wars so athletes and spectators could travel safely to Olympia.
During World War II, the British government spread propaganda that carrots helped pilots see in the dark, partly to hide the existence of their secret radar technology.
The Royal Game of Ur, found in modern-day Iraq, is one of the oldest known board games and dates back over 4,500 years.