Fired Historian

Marriage after death? There are many different wedding customs and traditions in China. Among the strangest traditions, one that has been around for more than 3,000 years, is the practice of ghost weddings. Once ghost weddings came into existence, they were marriage ceremonies between two deceased people who were single when they were alive. The family of the deceased 'bride' asked for a bride price, and the dowry included paper offerings such as a large house and expensive jewellery. A 'wedding ceremony' was afterwards performed in the cemetery, where the tombstones of the future spouses were located. When the ceremony was over, the bride's remains were dug up and reburied in the groom's grave. Whether or not the spouses were age-matched and compatible in the afterlife was decided previously.

Famine due to the extermination of sparrows In 1958, Mao proclaimed a war on sparrows in China — they were supposed to eat all the crops. People zealously set about enforcing this decree. There are people on the roof waving rags. The fact is that sparrows need to rest every 15 minutes. But people kept the birds from landing by scaring them with sounds, rags and other devices. The sparrows would drop dead and be taken to special collection points. In just a few days more than a million sparrows were exterminated, and in a few months, they disappeared altogether all over China. The next year a terrible famine began — the caterpillars ate all the crops and these famine years were compared with World War II in terms of the scale of losses.

Dike The ancient Greek goddess of truth, Dike, was a minor character in the pantheon but gave her name to two zodiac signs at once. According to legend, she lived on Earth with humans and then ascended to the sky and became the constellation Virgo. And her constant attribute, the scales, similar to the scales of justice of her mother Themis, became the constellation Libra.

Edward VIII King Edward VIII of Great Britain had it all: title, wealth and a kingdom to boot. In 1930, while still Prince of Wales, Edward met Wallis Simpson, née Warfield. Immediately a tumultuous romance began between them. In 1936, after the death of his father George V, Edward ascended the throne. But he did not forget Wallis. The king decided he would certainly marry her, even though Mrs. Simpson had not a drop of royal blood in her. Moreover, she was married! And divorce under English law is an insurmountable obstacle for any woman who wished to marry a king. Parliament was horrified. The royal family too. As a result, Edward VIII was given an ultimatum: marriage or throne. And he made his choice. Wallis divorced her husband, and Edward signed a renunciation in favor of his brother George VI in late 1936. Wallis and Edward — now Duke of Windsor — married in 1937 at the Château de Cande and lived happily ever after until Edward's death in 1972.

[ Фотография ] An attempt to eradicate snakes has increased the snake population The British authorities, represented by the Government of British India, were worried about a large number of poisonous cobras in Delhi and offered a generous reward for every dead cobra delivered to officials. Things went as they should: cobras were constantly being brought in, money was paid — but there were no fewer snakes. Later it became known that many inhabitants started to breed cobras in order to kill them and get the reward, which exceeded the costs. Then the authorities of British India revoked the reward for cobras. Hindus realized that they would now no longer be paid for killed cobras and released them directly into the streets of Delhi, causing a spike in deaths from snake bites. Such a decision caused even more cobras in the Indian city than there were before the anti-snake campaign began.

Hemingway and his non-paranoia It is known that Ernest Hemingway committed suicide by shooting himself with his favorite gun. The writer spent the last years of his life being treated in a psychiatric clinic — he saw the FBI surveillance and their bugging bugs everywhere. He developed a deep depression and paranoia. When Hemingway called his friend from the hospital, he complained that the FBI had bugged the hospital as well. Fifty years after Hemingway's death, the FBI admitted that he was indeed being watched, tapped by phone, and bugged.

"The Unknown Rebel" Tiananmen Square. June 4, 1989, People's Republic of China. From 15 April to 4 June 1989, a series of demonstrations took place in the People's Republic of China, the main participants of which were students. The demonstration on June 4 was quelled by army units and hundreds of protesters were killed. This iconic photo, famous for its popularity, features "The Unknown Rebel". That was the name given to the man (whose identity is still unconfirmed) by the press. He held back a column of tanks for half an hour, standing in front of them unarmed.

The hope of freedom Although many may think this image may have been altered, it has not. This is real photography, taken on 25 October 1977, when a group of unarmed Puerto Rican activists gathered for a protest demanding the release of Puerto Rican nationalist prisoners. It was a symbolic act illustrating their hopes for freedom.

The collision of the B-25 with the Empire State Building On the morning of June 18, 1945, dense fog blanketed New York City. The B-25 bomber, piloted by Lieutenant Colonel William Smith and two other passengers on board, was 40 kilometres from Newark Airport, where it was flying for the commander. The pilot requested the weather conditions over the radio and the dispatcher recommended landing at the nearest airport because of poor visibility due to fog. However, having received explicit instructions from his military command, William Smith continued on his way to Newark. Along the way to the airport, the pilot lost his bearings in the poor visibility of the fog and went astray. Despite being told not to fly below 600 metres, the officer at the helm descended to 300 metres to locate his position. What was his surprise when he saw he was surrounded by skyscrapers.

"Black Salute" African-American athletes Tommy Smith and John Carlos protest against racism at an awards ceremony at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Silver medallist Peter Norman of Australia also took part in the protest. All three athletes have anti-racism organization badges on their chests. The black athletes raised their hands in black gloves ("black salute"). There was only one pair of gloves, so Smith wore the glove on his right hand and Carlos on his left. In April of the same year, Martin Luther King was killed and protests erupted in the US one after another with many anti-racist organizations springing up. Many movements called for a complete boycott of the Olympics, but they were unsuccessful. However, some sympathetic athletes decided to protest at award ceremonies. Both African-American athletes have kicked off the US team and were expelled from the Games, while Peter Norman was attacked by the conservative press and public upon his return to Australia.