12 Random Facts That People Probably Wish Never Happened

Remember those boring history classes when it seemed all the teacher cared about was throwing random dates at you? And all the facts were blah, meh, whatever? Well, now we’re at the head of the class and we’ve changed the lesson plan. We’ve searched some of history’s darkest corners and come back with everything too gross, too creepy, and just plain weird that we think you should know. Actually, you might wish some of these didn’t happen. No matter what, it’s time to stop daydreaming because class is in session and we guarantee it won’t be a snoozefest!

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1. Ancient Romans used crushed mouse brains as toothpaste.

They mixed it with baking soda to get those pearly whites.

2. In some the earliest Highland Games, one event involved tearing all four legs from a dead cow.

The lucky winner got a sheep — which we hope kept all its limbs.

3. Despite being responsible for the deaths of up to 20 million people in his lifetime, Joseph Stalin was nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize.

His nominations came in 1945 and 1948 for his efforts to end World War II.

4. Getting into a fight in the old American South meant eye-gouging, hair-pulling, biting, and crotch shots.

Fighting dirty became so popular that laws were made to ban it outright. In 1772, “gouging, plucking, or putting out an eye, biting or kicking or stomping upon” were made felonies. Other tactics that had to be legislated against included cutting out tongues, and “slitting, biting, and cutting off noses.”