Backintimehistory

22/08/2025

Women would use lemon juice, vinegar, onion juice and other items to remove or lighten them.

22/08/2025

Britain won the most metals in the event with 5. Should they bring this port back?

21/08/2025

This might be the only man in history to have done this.

19/08/2025

On several occasions in June 1874, two men in a horse-drawn carriage approached 4-year-old Charley Ross as he was playing outside his family's home in Germantown, Pennsylvania, with his 5-year-old brother, Walter.

The men gained their trust. On July 1, 1874, the men gave the boys candy and firecrackers and invited them for a ride in their carriage. Along the way, they gave Walter a penny and sent him into a store. When Walter came out, the carriage—and Charley—were gone.

Soon, ransom letters started arriving at the Ross family home, demanding $20,000. Charley's father, Christian Ross, went to the cops. Attempts to deliver the ransom money failed because the kidnappers never showed.

Five months later, two criminals were shot during a failed robbery. One of them, before dying, confessed that he and his partner had kidnapped Charley. But didn't tell were he was or what happened to him.

Despite massive newspaper coverage and public awareness, Charley Ross was never found.

18/08/2025

In July 1184, King Henry VI of Germany convened a meeting in Erfurt to mediate a dispute between Archbishop Conrad of Mainz and Landgrave Louis III of Thuringia. The assembly occurred on the upper floor of a building near Erfurt Cathedral.

As the meeting commenced, the wooden floor collapsed, weakened by age and supporting the weight of numerous nobles. Attendees fell through to the ground floor, which also gave way, plunging many into a cesspit below. Approximately 60 nobles perished, either from the fall, drowning in the sewage, or asphyxiation from the fumes.

King Henry VI and Archbishop Conrad survived by clinging to a window alcove until rescued. Landgrave Louis III also survived the incident.

Due to the strange happening, the dispute between Landgrave Louis and Archbishop Conrad went unsolved.

The disaster, known as the Erfurt Latrine Disaster, underscored the perils of inadequate infrastructure and sanitation in medieval times.

18/08/2025

On October 17, 1814, a giant vat of porter beer suddenly burst at the Meux and Company Brewery, located in the St. Giles area of London. The pressure from the rupture also caused nearby vats to collapse, releasing a massive wave of beer estimated to be between 150,000 and 388,000 gallons.

The flood smashed through the brewery walls and spilled into the surrounding streets. The beer flooded homes, pubs, and businesses, especially in the crowded, poor neighborhoods nearby. People living in basement apartments were caught off guard and trapped as beer rushed into their homes, drowning several.

In total, eight people died, including three minors, either by drowning, suffocation, or being crushed by collapsing buildings.

The brewery was taken to court, but the incident was ruled an "Act of God," and the victims' families received no compensation. The beer flood remains one of London's most unusual and tragic industrial accidents.

17/08/2025

Should they bring these back to the Olympics?

16/08/2025

16/08/2025

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Fox tossing was a popular sport. People would throw a fox as high as possible, and the person with the highest throw would win.

16/08/2025

The first US census was taken between 1790 and 1791. The final report indicated the USA had a population of 3,929,214 people.

16/08/2025

On December 18, 1900, Scottish lighthouse authorities received a tip from a ship captain that the Flannan Isles Lighthouse was not functioning correctly.

Due to poor weather, it took eight days before several men boarded the relief vessel Hesperus to go and investigate.

The lighthouse was supposed to be manned by three keepers: Thomas Marshall, James Ducat, and Donald MacArthur. However, the lighthouse was dark, with no sign of activity.

The Hesperus crew blew their horn and fired a flare, hoping the men were somewhere on the island, but they got no response.

When they entered the lighthouse, the bed was unmade, and the clock was unwound. Clothing was left behind, and it looked like the men expected to be gone for a short time.

Searchers explored the island and discovered damage near a cliff, where ropes and equipment were scattered. The official theory suggested the men were swept away by a massive wave while securing equipment on December 15th.

No bodies were ever found.

15/08/2025

In Japan, from the Heian to Edo periods, women dyed their teeth black in a practice called ohaguro.

This was a symbol of beauty, refinement, and marital status. Black teeth were believed to preserve the teeth and reflect maturity. White teeth, in contrast, were seen as unattractive or even animal-like.