In August 1945, Japanese officers tried to seize the Imperial Palace, destroy Hirohito’s surrender recording, and keep World War II going. This is the story of hte 1945 Japanese coup attempt to stop the public from hearing the Emperor’s voice.
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Learn about Confederate General Richard Ewell and his strange delusion that he was a bird.
Convicted murderer James W. Rodgers was put in front of a firing squad in Utah in 1960. When asked if he had a last request, he replied, “Bring me a bullet-proof vest.”
Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age (Czech: Taneční hodiny pro starší a pokročilé) is a 1964 novel by the Czechoslovak writer Bohumil Hrabal. It tells the story of a man who recounts various events from his past, and in particular his love life. The novel consists of one long sentence covering 96 pages. See…
King Louis XIX succeeded to the throne of France upon the abdication of his father, Charles X. Twenty minutes later he abdicated in favor of Henry V.
Sobhuza II, King of Swaziland from December 10, 1899 to August 21, 1982, holds the record for the longest reign of any monarch in history, with 82 years, 254 days on the throne.
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” — Winston Churchill. Read more great quotations. Read these fun facts about government.
“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” — Ronald Reagan
Frank Hayes made history in 1923 by winning a horse race at Belmont Park after suffering a fatal heart attack in the saddle.
The word uncopyrightable is the longest English word in normal use that contains no letter more than once. Read more fun facts about the English language. See more ridiculously long words.
There are more than 168,000 Bibles either sold or given away per day in the United States according to the Gideons, Wycliffe International and the International Bible Societies. Historically it has been said that the Bible is the most sold book of all time. It is regularly on various best seller lists. The Bible has…
Hamilton Mausoleum in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland holds the record for the longest echo of any man-made structure in the world. It takes 15 seconds for the sound of a slammed door to dissipate. Read about more world records. Read more fun facts about Scotland.
The Austrian/American logician and mathematician Kurt Gödel died on January 14, 1978, from being a picky eater.
The American revolutionary James Otis Jr. hoped his death would come by a bolt of lightning and often told his friends and relatives about it. His sister reported him telling her, “My dear sister, I hope, when God Almighty in His righteous providence shall take me out of time into eternity that it will be…
The shortest scheduled flight in the world is from Westray to Papa Westray in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The distance is one and one-half miles, and the flight lasts 74 seconds. Read more fun facts about aviation. Read more fun facts about Scotland.
In 1755 Henry Hall, aged 94 years, who was the oldest-known member of the Hall Family of Lighthouse Keepers that kept lights around the English and Welsh coasts, lost his life due to ingestion of a melted lead. It all started when the lamp he lit caught the roof on fire. Soon the whole of…
