The mustache cup: The special tea cup used by the Victorian men to protect their mustache from getting dunked into their tea
‘fragging’ is the deliberate killing of a senior ranking military officer, usually with a frag grenade. Over 700 cases during the Vietnam war
The US invented an inflatable plane, could be dropped behind enemy lines for downed pilots
Udny Mort House: 19th century building which protected corpses from body-snatchers
Ruins of the Clifden Castle witness the first Gothic Revival building in Ireland
There once was a “beard tax” in England (and in Russia), those who payed the tax were given a token
The last emperor of Mexico was offered a chance to escape execution, but he felt that shaving his beard to avoid recognition would ruin his dignity
At his coronation, King Pedro I of Portugal dug up the body of his dead wife, placed it on a throne and demanded that his vassals kiss her hand
The Lisbon Earthquake in 1755: natural disaster or God’s punishment?
Madame d’Esperance: one of the most popular spiritualist frauds in 19th century
