In 2012, Australian researchers conducted studies to identify the world’s least appealing color. Their goal was to discourage smoking by using unattractive packaging. The result was Pantone 448 C, a drab greenish-brown shade described as resembling “death” and “dirty.”

In December 1750, Benjamin Franklin attempted an unusual culinary experiment: killing a turkey using electricity. Franklin believed that a turkey killed by an electrical charge would be more tender and flavorful than one killed conventionally. Using a Leyden jar, a device that stored static electricity, he conducted a demonstration for his friends.

In December 1919, Boston’s Post Office Square hosted a unique Christmas celebration—for workhorses. Organized by the MSPCA, the event featured a tree decorated with corn and carrots, barrels of oats, and apples for the horses. Passersby helped chop carrots and feed the animals.

For around 150 years, a still life painting depicting a half-eaten pie and nuts collected dust in Woodford Academy, a 19th-century school in Australia. The painting was one of many artifacts donated to the National Trust of Australia and recently rediscovered in a major collection review.

In November 1983, NATO ran a military exercise called Able Archer 83, simulating nuclear escalation in Europe. Soviet intelligence watched closely, suspecting it might be a cover for a real attack. As NATO forces practiced raising DEFCON levels, Soviet forces readied their nuclear arsenal.

On May 5, 1961, Alan B. Shepard Jr. prepared to become the first American in space, but after hours of delays, he faced an unexpected issue—the need to relieve himself.

In 1972, Martha “Marty” Goddard volunteered at a crisis hotline for teens in Chicago and encountered alarming patterns. Sexual assault survivors lacked a way to prove their cases, often left without justice due to inadequate evidence collection methods.

Throughout history, some cultures have worshiped deities associated with toilets and sanitation. In ancient Rome, Sterculius was honored as the god of manure and fertility. Romans believed he transformed human waste into fertilizer, essential for agricultural productivity.

On August 2, 1830, King Charles X of France abdicated during the July Revolution. His son, Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, was next in line and briefly became king. However, political turmoil forced his reign to be the shortest in French history.

In 1853, George Crum, a chef in Saratoga Springs, New York, unintentionally created the potato chip. When Cornelius Vanderbilt complained about thick fries, Crum sliced potatoes wafer-thin, fried them crisp, and sent them out as a joke. Vanderbilt loved them.