Cultural and historical facts that amaze you

steddyeddy

The Kogi people are a pre-columbian tribe that live in Columbia. They have been isolated from modern civilizations. They perform a bizarre ritual where they prepare they select new born children for priesthood and make them spend the first 18 years of their life inside a cave. They are taught all about the tribe's cultural ethos and traditions. Then at the age of eighteen they are brought outside and experience their first sunset.

Cultures fascinate me and the I think the anthropologist Wade Davis summed it up for me with the quote:

“The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.”

I think our culture and history is equally fascinating so I thought I would start a thread similar to the science facts thread. So what moments in history, cultural or geographical facts amaze you?

fleet_admiral

Im here in my sitting room on a laptop connected to the internet via wifi, my son is sitting beside eating his dinner watching cartoons in hd on a very large television. 15 years ago none of that would have been possible. Evolution is incredible and imagine what technology we will have in another 15 years

tomwaterford

The seemingly fact that nowhere in the poem does it say Humpty Dumpty was an egg :eek:

kneemos

tomwaterford wrote: »

The seemingly fact that nowhere in the poem does it say Humpty Dumpty was an egg :eek:

Who said Humpty Dumpty was an egg?

tomwaterford

kneemos wrote: »

Who said Humpty Dumpty was an egg?

No one :pac:.....but always depicted as that in any pics

Notavirus.exe

Toilet paper wasn't invented until 1857.

How did early man survive?

DEFTLEFTHAND

Notavirus.exe wrote: »

Toilet paper wasn't invented until 1857.

How did early man survive?

Dock leaves.

wakka12

How do they children survive that long in a cave without sunlight ? Im sure that would be extremely unhealthy and result in bone deformation and serious skin problems

kneemos

tomwaterford wrote: »

No one :pac:.....but always depicted as that in any pics

What else breaks when it falls?

mr.anonymous

wakka12 wrote: »

How do they children survive that long in a cave without sunlight ? Im sure that would be extremely unhealthy and result in bone deformation and serious skin problems

I'd have thought blindness too. Your eyes need light to continue to function.

Notavirus.exe

kneemos wrote: »

What else breaks when it falls?

Hmm, I think you're on to something there.

I've just found this thing, whether it's true or not, I don't know.

The_Valeyard

Dueling in Paraguay is legal as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

mr.anonymous

1st January 1914: The first fare paying passenger on a scheduled flight.

1st January 2014: Over 8 million passengers carried in one day by commercial aviation.

Guy:Incognito

kneemos wrote: »

What else breaks when it falls?

A skull?

Notavirus.exe

It used to be illegal in the UK to die in Parliament.

No joke.

Whitewinged

I watched a documentary a few years ago about The Capuchin Catacombs in Palemero, Italy.

I had to look it up again but it contains thousands of mummified bodies, the oldest, a 400 year old monk i think. It started out as a place for the monks after they died but it became popular for well off members of the public who wanted their family members there so they could visit them.

The last person to go there was a little girl named Rosalia who died in the 1920s of pneumonia aged only two. Her father couldnt deal with the grief so he went to a professor of chemistry, Alfredo Salaphia who preserved her body using a unique method of embalment which perfectly preserved her and she is known as "Sleeping Beauty". Apparently her eyes appear to open and close depending on the light.

Also I remember when I went to Crete. We went on a day trip to an island called Spinalonga. I cant remember all the history of the island but from the 1900s up until something like the 50s, it was used as a leper colony. It was sad in that people were separated from their families but as far as i know, they were treated well on the island and made a life there.

The Messina Earthquake of 1908.

Hard to think that in the 20th century there was an earthquake in Europe where up to 200,000 died.

Wibbs

wakka12 wrote: »

How do they children survive that long in a cave without sunlight ? Im sure that would be extremely unhealthy and result in bone deformation and serious skin problems

Maybe with diet high in vitamin D they got around that? But yeah sounds dubious alright Wakka.

Local cultural fact? You see those spaces between words we take as a given? A recent enough development in language. In ancient Rome, Greece, China, Mesopotamia et al, it was morealongthelinesofwordsrunningintoeachotherandyouhadtotakeyourtimetowadethroughitall. At some earlier points some Romans had added dots so it.was.a.little.easier.to.work.out.what.was.what but the spaces between letters and the punctuation that followed? That was Irish monks transcribing new languages to them like Latin and Greek and adding in the spaces.

steddyeddy

Here's a gruesome fact about the CPR dummies they use to give first aid lessons. They're based on a suicide victim called L'Inconnue de la Seine or the unknown woman of the Seine in English. She was an unidentified woman that was found in the river Seine. Her image struck such a chord with people that a plaster cast was taken of her face and circulated among Parisian artists. Her face was also used to model the CPR dummy that is used to give first aid lessons!

steddyeddy

steddyeddy wrote: »

Here's a gruesome fact about the CPR dummies they use to give first aid lessons. They're based on a suicide victim called L'Inconnue de la Seine or the unknown woman of the Seine in English. She was an unidentified woman that was found in the river Seine. Her image struck such a chord with that a plaster cast was taken of her face and circulated among Parisian artists. Her face was also used to model the CPR dummy that is used to give first aid lessons!

Nice one.

Speaking of the Seine, the Silent Massacre is pretty amazing, where French police set upon Algerian protestors in 1961 in Paris and beat and drowned up to 200, dumping them in the Seine. Despite the fact that their bodies washed up for days afterwards, the French blocked any coverage of the massacre and only officially announced it in 1998, limiting numbers to 40.

So when we ever give out about freedom of the press and human rights in Ireland...

retalivity

The basque language and people, how its not related to any other language in the world.

Notavirus.exe

God created the universe in only six days!

Wibbs

retalivity wrote: »

The basque language and people, how its not related to any other language in the world.

And in the language words for tools contain the sub word for "stone" maybe because it comes from a pre metal age when it was the material used. Though the Basques themselves have turned out not to be so ancient genetically. Ancient folks in the region had different genetics. They're slightly different from surrounding Spaniards, but it's more down to isolation than antiquity. And the Irish aren't particularly related to them contrary to popular.

recylingbin

The dutch are the tallest people on the planet.

mr.anonymous

Notavirus.exe wrote: »

God created the universe in only six days!

Did you know that even to this day there are people who still believe this! :O

conorhal

recylingbin wrote: »

The dutch are the tallest people on the planet.

Na, that would just be the high horse they're always sitting on :pac:

Notavirus.exe

mr.anonymous wrote: »

Did you know that even to this day there are people who still believe this! :O

Well, you're right. There weren't days until the sun was invented.

hatrickpatrick

Pretty minor compared to some of the other stuff here, but my parents tell me that before the 90s, carjacking and hotwiring of parked cars were so common in Dublin that a lot of people didn't bother driving into the city at all just because it was so likely their cars would get robbed. Couple of epically hilarious stories about the lengths people went to to stop it happening

FloatingVoter

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

Pretty minor compared to some of the other stuff here, but my parents tell me that before the 90s, carjacking and hotwiring of parked cars were so common in Dublin that a lot of people didn't bother driving into the city at all just because it was so likely their cars would get robbed. Couple of epically hilarious stories about the lengths people went to to stop it happening

Sure...back in the 80s I'd rock up in a Datsun and take home a Volvo. Safer when drunk.
Then claim insurance on the burnt out Jap wreck and split the proceeds with the cops. Fun days.

major bill

In Ancient Egypt when a Pharaoh died all their living servants and pets + possessions were buried with them in order to serve them in the afterlife

poor bastards

FloatingVoter

major bill wrote: »

In Ancient Egypt when a Pharaoh died all their living servants and pets + possessions were buried with them in order to serve them in the afterlife

poor bastards

True, you die a Pharaoh and wake up realising the cat is a God....eternity changing litter trays and opening doors for an uninterested deity.

OU812

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

Pretty minor compared to some of the other stuff here, but my parents tell me that before the 90s, carjacking and hotwiring of parked cars were so common in Dublin that a lot of people didn't bother driving into the city at all just because it was so likely their cars would get robbed. Couple of epically hilarious stories about the lengths people went to to stop it happening

Happened all the time. My dad used to leave the car door open in case it was stolen so they wouldn't break the window

Capt'n Midnight

Whitewinged wrote: »

Also I remember when I went to Crete. We went on a day trip to an island called Spinalonga. I cant remember all the history of the island but from the 1900s up until something like the 50s, it was used as a leper colony. It was sad in that people were separated from their families but as far as i know, they were treated well on the island and made a life there.

Guess how Leopardstown got it's name ?

We had TB sanatoriums too. Wasn't until the 1950's that we first started to get it under control. Part of Dr. Noel Browne's legacy.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/health/the-silent-terror-that-consumed-so-many-128709.html

FOR much of the last century in Ireland, TB was the AIDS of its day, a scourge that ravaged the country.
...
Its effect was all-embracing, even among those who were healthy. A coveted job in the civil service or a bank was not yours until a chest X-ray film was reported as normal. In the 1950s, a work colleague might disappear for some months of sick leave. After treatment, most victims returned to the workplace, their gaunt features and weight loss confirming the unspoken diagnosis.

hatrickpatrick

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

Pretty minor compared to some of the other stuff here, but my parents tell me that before the 90s, carjacking and hotwiring of parked cars were so common in Dublin that a lot of people didn't bother driving into the city at all just because it was so likely their cars would get robbed. Couple of epically hilarious stories about the lengths people went to to stop it happening

Joyriding was such an issue in the 80s that it prompted the conversion of Spike Islands fort into a prison for joyriders.

http://www.rte.ie/archives/category/society/2015/0313/686951-spike-island/

Kev W

Notavirus.exe wrote: »

Well, you're right. There weren't days until the sun was invented.

Let's all hope Amaterasu doesn't decide to go back into her cave or we'll all have to learn to do without it again!

LordSutch

steddyeddy wrote: »

Cultural and historical facts that amaze you find amazing

I find it amazing that the oldest traces of human habitation on the island of Ireland only stretch back 10,000 years (approx), while the oldest traces in Britain stretch back nearly 100,000 years!

So it took 90,000 years until some smart geezers (heritage unknown) to sail west and check out this green and pleasant land. Amazing to think this neighboiring island lay uninhabited for so long after Britain was settled (Just twelve miles between the two islands at the nearest point).

I guess the end of the last ice age played a part, but still fascinating to think that we were 'human free' till relatively recently vis a vis next door!

Markcheese

tomwaterford wrote: »

No one :pac:.....but always depicted as that in any pics

Humpty Dumpty was a cannon during the English civil war- on the royalist side

suicide_circus

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/nov/18/africans-apologise-slave-trade

Peregrinus

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

Pretty minor compared to some of the other stuff here, but my parents tell me that before the 90s, carjacking and hotwiring of parked cars were so common in Dublin that a lot of people didn't bother driving into the city at all just because it was so likely their cars would get robbed. Couple of epically hilarious stories about the lengths people went to to stop it happening

There was a bit of a moral panic about theft of cars (and theft from cars) in the 1990s and, in truth, it had been on a steady rise since the early 1970s. But in fact the rise in car-related crime simply tracked the rise in car ownership and usage. The more cars you have on the roads, the more cars parked in public or accessible places, the more you expect opportunistic car crimes. Think about it; if you left any other item of moveable personal property along on the roadside for hours at a time, would you expect it to be there when you got back?

Car crime in fact peaked in the 1980s and was already on a slow decline by the time we had our panic. The decline is probably down to improved technology - better immobilisers fitted to more cars, etc.

Wibbs

LordSutch wrote: »

I find it amazing that the oldest traces of human habitation on the island of Ireland only stretch back 10,000 years (approx), while the oldest traces in Britain stretch back nearly 100,000 years!

So it took 90,000 years until some smart geezers (heritage unknown) to sail west and check out this green and pleasant land. Amazing to think this neighboiring island lay uninhabited for so long after Britain was settled (Just twelve miles between the two islands at the nearest point).

I guess the end of the last ice age played a part, but still fascinating to think that we were 'human free' till relatively recently vis a vis next door!

Actually habitation in Britain goes back much further than 100,000 years, closer to 800,000 with earlier species of humans and they were ranging as far as Scotland. I would bet anything that they were here too and over a similarly long period of time. After all the second the ice retreated modern humans came here.

However the ice ages very efficiently scoured our landscape of earlier deposits that would have contained evidence of earlier habitation. Conversly the south of England always remained ice free and escaped the scouring, so their geology is far more diverse than here in Ireland(as is their flora and fauna) and has preserved deposits that give a snapshot of the last million years. We also lost much earlier stuff like the layers that would have contained dinosaur fossils.

Peregrinus wrote: »

Car crime in fact peaked in the 1980s and was already on a slow decline by the time we had our panic. The decline is probably down to improved technology - better immobilisers fitted to more cars, etc.

+1, pre 2000 cars were easy to steal and pre 1990 stuff was farcically vulnerable to theft. What might back the improved security angle up was that period where we went nuts for Japanese imports. They have traditionally very low car crime so Japanese models often lacked immobilisers and the like of their European versions and there was also an upward blip in car crime around that time.

Wibbs

major bill wrote: »

In Ancient Egypt when a Pharaoh died all their living servants and pets + possessions were buried with them in order to serve them in the afterlife

poor bastards

Only in the very early days of Pharonic Egypt. 1st dynasty period and it was dying out by the end of that. It's more a Hollywood myth that retainers were buried in pyramids and the like. They did bury clay and wooden figurines representing their servants and armies etc to serve them.

Speaking of Pharaoh. He was considered a living god, or receptacle of a god(Horus IIRC). The name pharaoh means or started of meaning great house/palace where the god king lived, later it became the word for the king himself. Some of their rituals were well odd, apparently once a year the pharaoh would go into a secret room in the temple and *ahem* crack one off onto a sacred stone so the waters of the nile would rise to nourish the land. They also wore false beards. One female ruler(whose name escapes) who reigned after her pharaoh husband died young took to wearing a false beard a few years later. Her name became masculinised in writing too. Seems she was very well liked by her people so they saw no reason to stick a bloke on the thrown.

Kev W

The genre of Science Fiction was invented by a teenage girl in the early 19th century.

Jawgap

OU812 wrote: »

Happened all the time. My dad used to leave the car door open in case it was stolen so they wouldn't break the window

Yep - I remember that along with radios that you removed and took with you - they evolved into ones where you just took the front part......

.......my Dad removing the distributor cap when he came home from work each evening - thieves just brought a bag of distributor caps when they went robbing

.....big fúck-off chains you'd wrap around the seat mounts and steering wheel as well as all kinds of contraptions for locking a steering wheel

....shatter files for breaking windows and hair thin wire for pulling locking mechanisms

.....the Guards getting 2.8L Granadas to chase the scroats

.....it almost make you nostalgic for those long summer evenings listening to the car chases on the radio scanner:)

sbsquarepants

Strange cultural fact - Most Rwandan women are squirters. Not just by some sexy accident of genetics or whatever but through the carefull teaching of certain techiques from mother to daughter down through the generations:eek:

recylingbin

It's good to have a flat head in India.

Shenshen

Wibbs wrote: »

They also wore false beards. One female ruler(whose name escapes) who reigned after her pharaoh husband died young took to wearing a false beard a few years later. Her name became masculinised in writing too. Seems she was very well liked by her people so they saw no reason to stick a bloke on the thrown.

Hatshepsut, was it? To me, she would be the most fascinating figure in all of ancient Egypt. But most of the records have been purged of her name after she died. Bit like Echnaton, too far ahead of their times.

melissak

I'm not sure if it is true but read that basques don't have the same unconscious tells eg looking a certain way when lyin, as everyone else.why??

whisky_galore

Deleted User wrote: »

Joyriding was such an issue in the 80s that it prompted the conversion of Spike Islands fort into a prison for joyriders.

http://www.rte.ie/archives/category/society/2015/0313/686951-spike-island/

The 80s in Ireland were pretty bizarre, GUBU in fact.

A good proportion of this country's population stared at concrete statues back then under the belief they would dance a jig or something.

Earthhorse

Kev W wrote: »

The genre of Science Fiction was invented by a teenage girl in the early 19th century.

Are you going to share her name and that of her work with us or do we have to guess? I can't find any mention of this over on the wiki page which also cites work like Gulliver's Travels as some of the earliest SF and which was written centuries earlier.

Kev W

Earthhorse wrote: »

Are you going to share her name and that of her work with us or do we have to guess? I can't find any mention of this over on the wiki page which also cites work like Gulliver's Travels as some of the earliest SF and which was written centuries earlier.

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein.

Sorry, thought it was more common knowledge!

I don't know by what metric Gulliver's Travels could be called Science Fiction.