Weird History

[IceWizard]

AWESOME!!!

[Hotrod77]

Some stories...wow, I think the paranormal is very interesting myself, I was into a series on I believe travel channel awhile back, called paranormal 911...don't know if you ever watched it, but based off real encounters from people in the ems and nurses telling their stories, and some of their stories are very creepy and some are really bizarre, but I'm sure they have encountered a lot in their line of work, I have seen a few things from old places in the past, where me and some friends would go and to try and get pics and evp's, I gotta say I can't explain some of the stuff we seen and captured..... anyone else have any haunted or paranormal stories?? Always interested to read other peoples encounters on here.

[Charon]

All Deemed Weird History.

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Facts About Pompeii We Just Learned That Made Us Say 'Really?'
Alby Thompson
October 6, 2020

19 items
List Rules
Vote up the Pompeii facts you just learned today.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD is one of the most famous volcanic events in human history, largely because of what it left behind. Many of the unfortunate residents of that ancient Roman city were forever frozen in ash, their homes and valuables encased in layers of volcanic material that kept them preserved for centuries.

You may already know a few interesting facts about Pompeii, but archaeologists are still making major discoveries at the site. The city and the volcano that ended it are perennial topics of interest on the Today I Learned subreddit, and we've selected a few of the most interesting city of Pompeii facts below. Vote up the ones you're learning for the very first time.


The Heat Of The Vesuvius Eruption Was So Intense It Turned A Man's Brain Into Glass
From Redditor u/vnavilly:

TIL the Mount Vesuvius eruption's extreme heat turned a man's brain to glass inside his skull!

Source

[Editor's Note: According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the "vitrified human brain tissue" was discovered in Herculaneum (a town located near Pompeii). The transformed brain was identified via DNA, and belonged to a man in his mid-twenties who was lying on a wooden bed at the time of his demise. An analysis of the wood revealed that it experienced a maximum temperature of 520 degrees Celsius, or 968 degrees fahrenheit, during the volcanic event.]


Giraffe Meat Was A Menu Item In Pompeii
From Redditor u/highwiregirl:

TIL giraffe was on the menu in the ancient city of Pompeii.

Source

[Editor's Note: The Atlantic's Megan Garber writes, "the ancient Pompeiians ate in similar ways to modern-day Italians... But the average Pompeiian, it seems, rounded out the staples with a more exotic diet. The [University of] Cincinnati team found, in the remnants even of businesses that would have served the lower classes, evidence of salted fish that would have come from Spain. Via a drain from a property in the center of the plot, they also discovered evidence of shellfish not native to Italy. They found mineralized remnants, as well, of sea urchin. And also! The butchered leg joint of a giraffe."]


Pompeii Contains Two Of The Earliest Examples Of The Sator Square
From Redditor u/Apocalypseos:

TIL of the Sator Square, a palindrome word square found in the ruins of Pompeii. The five words carved into it, "SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS" can be read top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top, left-to-right, or right-to-left.

Sources:

The SATOR ROTAS Square of Pompeii: a Graffiti like no Others
An Early Christian Cryptogram?
Tenet has a link to an ancient unsolved puzzle (because of course it does)

Ancient Pompeiians Were Taller Than Modern Napolese
From Redditor u/pandaemon666:

TIL that the average height of people in Ancient Pompeii was greater than the average height of people in the city of Naples today.


Wine From Pompeii Was Marketed As 'Vesuvinum,' A Latin Portmanteau Of 'Vesuvius' And 'Vinum'
From Redditor u/iwritelies:

TIL the first marketing pun was found in ancient Pompeii - in a wine jar bearing what is apparently the world's earliest known marketing pun: "Vesuvinum" (combining Vesuvius and the Latin for wine, vinum).

Source


Pompeiians Had 'Perfect Teeth'
From Redditor u/homesickalien:

TIL The ancient Romans in Pompeii had nearly "perfect teeth" because of the lack of refined sugar in their Mediterranean diets.

Source

[Editor's Note: The Smithsonian reports "that the people of Pompeii had nearly 'perfect teeth'" due to a "low-sugar diet, rich in fruit and vegetables — along with fluorine that was present in a local water source."]


Pompeiians Were Aware Vesuvius Was Dangerous, And Some Evacuated Before The Eruption
From a Redditor:

TIL that the Romans knew Vesuvius was dangerous to live by and evacuated Pompeii before the gas hit and after the volcano started to erupt.

[Editor's Note: Annalee Newitz of Gizmodo writes, "about fifteen years before the big blast there had been a quake strong enough to level huge parts of the city. At that point, many people abandoned Pompeii. For upper class Romans, this was a resort town where they had vacation houses — fearing the worst, they simply never returned for another getaway." There was also a less dangerous eruption that occurred one day prior to the massive one, which prompted further evacuations. Those who remained in the town were largely too poor to leave, slaves, or government administrators.]


Some Pompeiian Houses Had A 'Beware Of Dog' Sign
From Redditor u/HarryGCollections:

TIL in Pompeii around 2,000 years ago, "Beware Of The Dog" mosaics were used near the entrances to houses, much like modern day signs serving the same purpose.

Source

[Editor's Note: Pompeii's House of the Tragic Poet retains some of its interior decoration. A mosaic depicting a dog contains the Latin inscription "Cave Canem," or "Beware of the dog."]


Pompeii's Erotic Art Was Locked Away For Centuries In A 'Secret Museum'
From Redditor u/Virble:

TIL that for centuries there has been a secret wing to a museum in Naples, where all the erotic art found in Pompeii was locked away. The cabinet remained closed for more than a hundred years – the doorway even bricked up at one point – and was only fully opened to the public in 2000.

Source


It Is Now Believed Pompeiians Perished From Extreme Heat, Not Suffocating Ash Or Volcanic Gas
From a former Redditor:

TIL residents of Pompeii almost all [perished] instantly from extreme heat rather than from suffocation fire to ash/toxic gases.

Source

[Editor's Note: Reporting on a new scientific study on the 79 AD eruption, National Geographic writes, "the volcano, some six miles from Pompeii, produced six different pyroclastic surges - fast-moving, ground-hugging waves of hot, toxic gases and ash... Most of the hundreds of fatalities occurred during the fourth surge - the first to reach Pompeii..." This fourth surge caused temperatures to rise to 570°F, ending the lives of hundreds of people "in a fraction of a second," according to volcanologist Giuseppe Mastrolorenzo.]


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Pompeii Had Fast Food Restaurants
From Redditor u/MacBryce:

TIL Pompeii had snack bars that are likened to fast food restaurants. A 2,000-year-old uncovered thermopolium features colorful frescoes - one is of a sea nymph, but the other is of a worker in a snack-bar environment and is thought to be an early form of advertising.

Source

[Editor's Note: Archaeological remains of such "fast food" restaurants have been found not only in Pompeii but also throughout the settlements of Ancient Rome. Professor Stephen Dyson, former president of the Archaeological Institute of America, has said these fast food joints were like a cross between "Burger King and a British pub or a Spanish tapas bar." ABC Science describes them like so: "Open to the street, each had a large counter with a receptacle in the middle from which food or drink would have been served." These restaurants would have been patronized by poorer Romans that did not have the space or means to prepare food in their small apartments.]


Nearly Half Of The Homes In Pompeii Had Indoor Plumbing
From Redditor u/n3lom:

TIL that not only did 43% of Pompeii buildings have indoor toilets, some also had plumbing for toilets on the second floor.

Source


Mount Vesuvius Erupted Several Times After 79 AD
From Redditor u/sisko2k5:

TIL that Mt. Vesuvius has erupted many more times and in 1631 it killed almost as many people as it did when it buried Pompeii.

Source

[Editor's Note: The December 16, 1631, eruption is depicted in this engraving by Matthäus Merian. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration notes, "What many don’t know is that this eruption triggered a tsunami, in which waves crashed ashore three times, damaging and destroying many boats along the coastline. It is not clear what generated this tsunami (e.g. pyroclastic flows, volcanic earthquake, etc.) However, it is certain the volcanic activity was responsible for the deaths of approximately 4,000 people."]


Volcanic Ash Preserved A Freshly-Baked Loaf Of Bread In A Pompeiian Oven
From Redditor u/WildAnimus:

TIL a loaf of bread made in Pompeii in first century AD was discovered. Impressed on it was a Roman bread stamp, which bakeries were required to do to prevent fraud.

Source

[Editor's Note: Another carbonized loaf of bread was recovered from Herculaneum, a smaller but wealthier town that neighbored Pompeii. Though also destroyed by Vesuvius, Herculaneum is much better preserved, with many fittings, roofs, and wooden structures still intact.]


Archaeologists Are Still Making New Discoveries At Pompeii
From Redditor u/rshepy62:

TIL excavations at Pompeii are still underway and major discoveries have been made in 2018.


[Editor's Note: In 2018, archaeologists discovered the skeleton of a man who was crushed by a boulder while fleeing the eruption. Analysis showed the man was suffering from a bone infection in his leg.]


Pliny The Younger Witnessed The Eruption Of Vesuvius From The Bay Of Naples, And Wrote A Detailed Account Of The Disaster
From Redditor u/TheSanityInspector:

TIL that the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that buried Pompeii and Herculaneum was described in such accurate and useful detail by Pliny the Younger that vulcanologists now call eruptions of its kind "Plinian eruptions."



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[Hotrod77]

wow! that is amazing history...the waylon and buddy story is really bizarre i had no idea that happened, always liked both of their music, its amazing how you can learn so much from history everyday, i love history not so much in school, but now i love it..lol