19 Wholesome Historical Facts They Probably Didn’t Teach You…
Article created by: Viktorija Ošikaitė
History is far more than dates, big battles, painstakingly detailed lines of succession, and lists of technological innovations. History is the sum of all the experiences and interactions of humankind. At its core, it’s as much about large-scale processes as it is about individuals and the choices that they make, whether for good or for ill.
And though history is full of cruelty and evil, it’s also a testament to courage, goodwill, and charity during hard times. Curiously, what’s often absent from school curriculums is the fact that there have been countless examples of genuine empathy, wholesomeness, and humanity in the midst of war and misery. Members of the r/AskReddit online community shared some of these facts in the hope of giving everyone a fresh, more nuanced perspective about the past.
You’ll find the most heartwarming historical facts as you scroll down, dear Pandas. Upvote the ones that surprised you, and if you feel there’s something missing that you’ve read before, be sure to enlighten us all in the comments.
Bored Panda got in touch with Joe Pierre, MD, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and the author of the Psych Unseen blog on Psychology Today. We asked him about the potential dangers of completely dehumanizing the enemy, and touched on the idea of ‘moral injury’ during wartime. You’ll find his insights below.
An African Maasai tribe donated one of their most precious assets to the United States during 9/11. Which was; 14 cows. To them his was their most precious thing they could give to America to heal.
That to me is wholesome right there.
It’s taught in Ireland but idk about the US. When we had the potato famine. Million of Irish were dying/emigrating. And the choctaw tribe heard of this and despite being extremely poor managed to raise I think around 200 dollars.
And now we’ve helped them out and raised 1.5 million to help them with covid 19!
During the Revolutionary War a British general left his dog behind during a chaotic retreat. When the Continental Army found the lost dog, George Washington had a messenger go under a truce flag to return the dog to its owner.
Mr. Rogers always said he was feeding his fish out loud because he had heard that a little girl who was blind was worried about them. So he audibly said it so she wouldn’t have to worry anymore.
Not really a historical figure, but one we all know.
John Stark, one of the rescuers of the remaining survivors of the Donner Party. Apparently this 220-pound beast of a man rescued all nine children by carrying them out of a deep sunken snow pit, and laughed and joked with them the whole time:
“In Summit Valley the remaining rescuers discussed what to do and took a vote to save only two of the children in Starved Camp. That might have been all they could manage. The others would have to stay behind.
John Stark could not abide that. That meant that nine people, mostly children, would die on the mountain, exposed to the elements down in a very deep hole in the snow. John Stark decided he would save all nine, “Already shouldering a backpack with provisions, blankets, and an axe, he picked up one or two of the smaller children, carried them a little ways, then went back for the others. Then he repeated the whole process again and again and again. To galvanize morale, he laughed and told the youngsters they were so light from months of mouse-sized rations that he could carry them all simultaneously, if only his back were broad enough.” Once they were out of the snow he would eat and rest he said, but not before. He saved all nine.
James Breen, one of those in the pit at Starved Camp later said, “To his great bodily strength, and unexcelled courage, myself and others owe our lives. There was probably no other man in California at that time, who had the intelligence, determination, and what was absolutely necessary to have in that emergency.”
Abraham Lincoln decided to grow a beard because of 11 year old Grace Bedell. She had written him that she thought he would look more handsome and less sad with a beard and women would tell their husbands to vote for him.
So he grew a beard and was elected.
On his way to his inauguration, he took a train and passed through her hometown in Westfield, New York and met her.
Pirate ships were… actually pretty great, relatively speaking. They were *very* democratic and pirate crews were pretty well-cared for. Also they took sexual assault against women very seriously (i.e., they killed you for it).
Norway sends an Xmas tree to London every year in thanks to the help we gave them in WWII. It’s put up in Trafalgar Square.
When persecuted Zoroastrians from Persia came to the kingdom of Sanjan in the West coast of India as refugees, the king wasn’t sure if he wanted to offer them refuge. So he sent them a full glass of milk implying his kingdom is full.
The leader of the Zoroastrians added some sugar to the milk and sent it back to imply the refugees would become part of the kingdom and make it sweeter.
They got to stay, and though are a micro-minority, they are one of the most successful community which has left its imprint on every aspect of India.
When the Pharaoh Mentuhotep II’s harem daughter died around 2050 BC, he mourned. She was only five years old.
Her tomb, touchingly, was inscribed with the pet name “Myt.” This is translated to “kitten.”
In 2006, while the Ivory Coast was in the midst of a civil war, the opposing sides agreed to a ceasefire so that they could all watch the World Cup. The break in fighting paved the way for a peace agreement a year later.
The F1 German grand Prix, in 1976.
After Nikki Lauda crashed, while hitting a barrier and catching alight, rival drivers: Arturo Merzario, Guy Edwards, Harald Ertl and Brett Lunger all stopped their cars and ran to Lauda’s aid. There are many such instance of this happening during the ’50s right through the ’80s, of championship drivers forfeiting a win to save a rivals life.
During the crusades when Richard the Lionhearted had a fever, all he wanted at the moment was some fruit and a cold drink. His enemy, Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt who had seized control over Jerusalem, heard the news and sent him peaches, pears, and a shipment of ice from a mountain. When he heard that King Richard’s horse had been killed, he sent him a bunch of new horses and a stable boy.
On Christmas Day 1914, Both of the sides of WW1 celebrated Christmas together with songs and games. This type of celebrations happened over the whole front in Belgium and France. The soldiers talked to each other like they weren’t in war together. Many soldiers wrote in their diary that they didn’t expect the enemy to be so kind and friendly and that they wanted to meet with them when the war was over.
But a few days later, the leaders of the armies found out about the celebrations and forbid any future meetings between the two sides. They were a few attempts to reconnect (during Easter and Christmas) but the soldiers who attempted were punished or killed.
The Candy Bomber. After World War 2 ended and Berlin was divided, the UK and US dropped food into west Berlin by plane. One Pilot, Gail Halvorsen started to donate his candy rations to the children and soon other pilots started doing the same. To let the children know that it was his plane – the one with the candy- they would “wiggle the plane’s wings” before the drop. Word spread and more and more children would come and it started a new PR campaign and started to change the mindset that Americans had of giving food aide to Europe. I always thought the story was really sweet.
For 30 years, Canada and Denmark were fighting a brutal “war” over an Island in North, by leaving their own homemade whiskeys and troll letter.
Every year the Province of Nova Scotia sends a Christmas tree to Boston as thanks for aid after the Halifax Explosion
Ringo Starr once decided the Beatles didn’t need him and decided to take a holiday with the intention of never coming back. When John, Paul and George found out they went all the way to where he was staying just to convince him to come back. Freakears replied: As I recall, he got sick of all the bickering during the recording of the White Album (so it’s actually Paul playing the drums on the first few songs). When Ringo came back, his drum kit was all decked out with flowers.
