5 Crazy Historical Facts to Look Up While High

1. Napoleon Bonaparte was once attacked by a horde of bunnies.

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military general, the first emperor of France, and is renowned as one of the world’s greatest military leaders throughout history.

He’s also the guy who was attacked by a group of bunny rabbits. 

This bizarre moment happened in July 1807, after Bonaparte signed the Treaties of Tilsit to end the French-Russian War. To celebrate, he proposed a rabbit hunt – a grave mistake on his part. 

About 3,000 bunnies were gathered ahead of the hunt, but when released, instead of scattering and hiding, they charged directly at Bonaparte and company, resulting in the fluffiest bloodbath in history.

2. The Olympics used to give out medals for the fine arts.

The Olympics has made a ton of changes to their featured sports over the decades, but from 1912-1952, the organization featured fine arts as one of their categories. 

This included painting, sculpting, architecture, literature, and music. We vote to bring this back – although we may be a little biased as writers.

3. Ketchup was sold as medicine in the 1830s.

We all know ketchup as one of the most basic food condiments, but in the 1830s, the sugary tomato sauce was revered as a medicine. Ketchup was prescribed to cure ailments like diarrhea, indigestion, and jaundice. Step aside, Tums.

4. Turkeys were once worshiped like gods.

Today, turkeys are basically ignored – unless it’s Thanksgiving. But in 300 B.C., the birds were viewed by ancient Mayans as vessels of the gods, often playing a significant role in religious rituals as a symbol of power and prestige. 

The Pilgrims truly left nothing sacred.

5. Pope Gregory IX once declared war on cats.

On June 13, 1233, Pope Gregory IX issued the Vox in Rama, which linked cats to satanism and witchcraft. As a result, an essential war was declared on felines, where annual cat-killing festivals occurred and the animals were mass tortured throughout the year. 

It’s unclear why this happened and why things were allowed to be taken this far, but that’s part of the mystique of mass sentiments, and how wildly they can alter themselves over time.

Now, I know everyone isn’t a fan of cats, but c’mon, Pope Gregory.

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