Unusual History

Why do humans do such strange things? Oddities of the Human World: Strange Beliefs, Unusual Rituals, and the Surprising Histories Behind Them is a short, pocket-sized tour through some of the most curious corners of human culture. Nathaniel Hargrove explores how different societies celebrate, grieve, eat, dress, love, and believe in ways that can seem bizarre at first glance - but all have stories to tell. This is not an exhaustive academic textbook. It’s a compact, easy-to-read collection of cultural curiosities and weird history, perfect for curious readers who enjoy strange facts, ...

This volume in a series of world history case studies reveals the life of an Ethiopian woman who personifies a time and place same way that Catherine de Medici does for sixteenth century France and Cixi does for nineteenth century China. Eleni served as regent three times in forty years in the fifteenth century, continually guiding her nation towards European alliances to help her resist Muslim expansion in the Horn of Africa. Eleni’s steadfast rule and vision helped her to overcome fractious court, a divided Orthodox Church, and fraught diplomatic challenges. Her life also helps us to ...

101 Curious Stories from History" – A Fascinating Journey Through the Strangest Moments of the Past! Uncover the most bizarre, surprising, and captivating stories history has to offer! Step into a world where history is anything but boring! 101 Curious Stories from History by Prof. Heinrich Müller takes you on a journey through time, revealing forgotten, strange, and mind-blowing events that shaped our world in unexpected ways. What’s inside? This book gathers 101 unique historical anecdotes—some little known, others completely bizarre—that prove how unpredictable history can be. ...

Who doesn’t love random facts and odd trivia? Have fun learning weird and curious facts in this audiobook of unusual knowledge and funny trivia. Discover fun and interesting facts about the world and our fascinating history. An amazing facts book for kids and teenagers of all ages, full of fascinating facts and trivia to educate and stimulate young minds. Discover fascinating new knowledge you will keep forever!

Strange Historical Facts for Sleep is a calming collection of unusual true stories, forgotten events, and quietly fascinating moments from history—carefully written to relax the mind rather than excite it. Inside, you’ll discover odd but gentle historical facts, curious human behaviors, and little-known episodes from the past, all presented in a slow, soothing style ideal for bedtime listening.

The history of war is filled with extraordinary battles, heartbreaking tragedy, and deadly weapons. Trace the history of war from the ancient Greeks and Romans to the modern day fight against terrorism. From knights in armor to aircraft armed with powerful bombs, discover how wars have changed the course of human history.

This volume in a series of world history case studies explores the development of the Reformation by shedding light on the experiences of a cautious theologian who helped bring Protestantism to Strasbourg, France. After Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses in 1517, Wolfgang Capito devoted himself to seeking compromise and reconciliation between various Protestant factions. The futility of his persistent efforts illustrate the irreconcilable theological differences between Anabaptists, Calvinists, Catholics, and Lutherans, and help us to understand one of Europe's greatest social ...

Newbery Honor-winning author Gail Carson Levine shares a story of family, prejudice, faith, and unlikely friendship in medieval England, for every child who is more perceptive than they seem, and braver than they know. Chera, Lummie, and Joan are unusual in medieval Winchester, England. Two...

This volume in a series of world history case studies investigates the career of East Germany’s Walter Ulbricht, one of the few communist leaders to live long enough to experience the most important events of the twentieth century. Too often discounted or ignored by historians, this ever-calculating man survived World War I, Hitler’s rise to power, Stalinism, and World War II to become the architect of Berlin Wall and a man committed to creating a utopian socialist state at any cost. Ulbricht’s perspective helps us to understand Europe’s modern history in a new way.

From the author of A Witch in Time comes a magical story spanning from Jazz Age Paris to modern-day America of family secrets, sacrifice, and lost love set against the backdrop of a mysterious circus. Paris, 1925: To enter the Secret Circus is to enter a world of wonder—a world where women...

This volume in a series of world history case studies analyzes the life of the uncompromising Black labor leader and anarchist Lucy Parsons. Parsons’ vivid writings and the fascinating, if painful, ways in which she experienced Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, Progressivism, and the Red Scare of the 1920s shed a unique light on the issues of class, race, and gender through crucial transitional periods of our nation’s history. This book is a volume in the Understanding World History Through Biography series.

From the author of A Witch in Time comes a haunting tale of ambition, obsession, and the eternal mystery and magic of film. A vanished star. A haunted film. A mystery only love can unravel… 1968: Gemma Turner once dreamed of stardom. Now the actress is on the cusp of obscurity. When she’s...

Weird but True Stories from the Roaring 1920s: Strange and Bizarre Tales from the Prohibition Era is a riveting collection of real, historically documented events that prove truth is stranger than fiction. From haunted courtrooms and dance marathons that drove people to madness, to bootlegging schemes, deadly medical frauds, and a massacre that changed organized crime forever, this book explores the weirdest corners of 1920s America. Set against the backdrop of Prohibition, jazz, flappers, and gangsters, these ten unforgettable stories showcase the bizarre side of the decade that redefined ...

What if the quirks that made you feel different were the very things that built America? Gilded Age Geniuses delivers hilarious, fast-paced, and inspiring stories of the inventors, business titans, and justice fighters who refused to fit the mold—and ended up changing history. Featuring lively true stories of Edison, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, and more, this engaging nonfiction collection makes Gilded Age history unforgettable. Perfect for parents wanting to inspire teens, educators looking for engaging classroom reads, and adults who love ...

Before lawyers, before courtrooms, before the presumption of innocence. There was the crocodile. In the ancient world, justice looked very different. Trial by ordeal, divine judgement, brutal punishments, very odd real laws, and other strange facts from history, which shaped the earliest legal systems of human civilization. This entertaining, popular history book explores strange laws, quirky historical facts, bizarre punishments, and unusual justice systems from ancient civilizations. In ancient Egypt, a man accused of a serious crime might be thrown into the Nile. If Sobek, the crocodile ...

This volume in a series of world history case studies investigates the life of the Japanese emperor who abdicated in 1629 and then dedicated the rest of his life to promoting Japanese cultural traditions and artistic forms as a poignant resistance to the assertion of Tokugawa authority. The story of Go-Mizunoo’s defiance, which was deeply tied to the development of Buddhist sects in Japan, presents the familiar story of the rise of the shoguns from an unexpected perspective that helps us to understand the complexities of seventeenth century Japan in a new way. This book is a volume in the...

This volume in a series of world history case studies utilizes the compelling but little-known journal of a surgeon in the Dutch East India Company (VOC) to explore the social history of seventeenth century Holland, South Africa, Indonesia, and Thailand. Gisbert Heeck’s vivid account stands as one of the great travel narratives of his era and provides us with a unique lens to explore early modern life, including everything from the history of Western medical science to mercantilism, from the tradition of Dutch still life painting to Jewish life in Amsterdam. What emerges is a rich ...

In defiance of the stereotypes trotted out by yesterday's pundits, modern India's rise is both unusual and unexpected. It is unusual because some of the sharpest economic improvements are being observed in those sections of Indian society which were thought to be the most disadvantaged: women...

The world of magic is filled with impossible feats, extraordinary fame, and closely guarded secrets. This Unusual History book traces the magical art from its roots. Learn about the ancient Egyptians who mystified pharaohs, the heart-stopping escapes of Harry Houdini, and modern-day marvels who defy the laws of science.

1,200+ COLLECTION OF UNUSUAL FACTS A Collection of Weird But True, Wacky, Fun, Surprising Facts from the Wildest Corners of Nature, Animals, the Human Body, Food, Planet Earth, Outer Space, Science, History, and Beyond for Curious Kids Think you know the world? Think again! From octopuses with three hearts… to cheese that’s full of live maggots… to a planet made of pure diamond—this unusual facts book is stuffed with the weirdest, wackiest, and most wonderful truths ever discovered. Perfect for fans of Weird But True books for kids, it’s a page-flipping adventure into the bizarre,...