In the late 1700s and 1800s…

In the late 1700s and 1800s, there was widespread panic about the evils of book-reading, which was described as “an outrage on decency and common sense”. People were concerned that avid novel-readers were ‘addicted’ and were becoming anti-social. 00

A guy made a fictional…

A guy made a fictional restaurant the #1 restaurant in London using trip advisor and fake reviews. He served microwaved food and customers said it was the most exquisite food they ever tasted. 00

Socrates was very worried…

Socrates was very worried that the increasing use of books in education would have the effect of ruining students’ ability to memorise things. We only remember this now because Plato wrote it down. 10

At the start of Operation Good Hope…

At the start of Operation Good Hope, US forces were supposed to land on the beaches of Mogadishu under the cover of darkness. Instead, they were met by CNN who was covering the landing live on television. 10

In a study of 640 dream journals…

In a study of 640 dream journals conducted by Harvard, psychologists determined the dreams of prisoners in WWII POW camps were less aggressive than the standard male population. Rather than visions of extreme violence, the majority of soldiers dreamed of escape, family, loneliness, and home. 00

After cutting off his ear, Vincent van…

After cutting off his ear, Vincent van Gogh painted a portrait of the doctor who treated him, then gave it to the doctor. The doctor hated it and used it to repair a chicken coop before giving it away. It’s now worth $50 million. 00