Random Historical Facts

In 1671, the chief butler to the prince de Conde, Francois Vatel, was charged with overseeing a feast in honor of the visiting Louis XIV. Forgoing 12 days of sleep for the feast preparation, when Vatel discovered he lacked two roasts he said, “I have lost my honor. . . This is a disgrace which is more than I can bear (105).” The lack of sleep and missing roasts proved too much for Vatel when he stabbed himself with his own sword when his fish did not come in time to prepare for the feast. On the road to the church, his corpse passed the cart delivering the fish.

In the 1600s, “[r]edheads were thought to be the product of sex during menstruation and were believed to exhibit the lack of sexual self-discipline inherent in the ill-timed copulation of their parents (109).”

The the Middle ages, after monks were forbidden to practice medicine and dentistry any more, barbers began to assume medical roles. A common practice of the time was bloodletting. Barbers advertised their bloodletting services by displaying "buckets of fresh blood in their windows. When the blood congealed, it was poured into the street, where it spoiled." (34)

Sources for first two: "Sex With Kings" by Eleanor Herman." Sources for third: "Toothworms spider juice and illustrated history of dentistry."

Royal Mistresses part 3 of 3

If you have not read Part 1, please scroll down and read it first.


Gabrielle d'Estrées (1571-1599)

Gabrielle d'Estrées was royal mistress to Henri IV of France, a monarch often at war during the start of their relationship. Gabrielle, even when pregnant, insisted on living with him in his army camp. She washed his clothes, pounding them with rocks when the soap ran out as well as wrote official dispatches for him. At one point, Henri wrote: "Last evening I found three bullet holes burned into the fabric of my mistresses tent, and begged her to go to her house in Paris, where her life would not be endangered, but she laughed as was deaf to my pleas. . . . She replied that only in my presence is she pleased. I entertain no fears for myself, but daily tremble for her" (43)." When Austrian troops advanced within 500 paces of Gabrielle, she yelled and exhorted Henri's troops to bravery until Henri "ordered her to be slung over a horse and taken to the rear of the camp" (43).

When the news of Spain's surprise attack first broke, Gabrielle left the Paris ball she was at, and went and fetched 50,000 personal gold pieces which she gave to Henri to support his troops. From there, she personally canvased 250,000 euros in donations and pawned her best jewelry.

Off the battlefront in 1509, Gabrielle managed a household with "eighty-three ladies and gentlemen, seventeen crown officials, and more than two hundred servants" (145). She also had great political power, such as joining the council and making laws. Henri declared Gabrielle "Titulary Mistress of His Majesty, the King of France," ordering all dignitaries to visit her after visiting him, and allowing her to communicate on his behalf directly to the Pope.

Henri IV had 56 mistresses throughout his life, but was only ever faithful to Gabrielle. Henri wanted to marry her. Indeed, he pressured her husband, Nicholas d'Amerval to declare impotence as grounds for divorce. (Nicholas had fourteen children with his first wife.)

However, Gabrielle died in childbirth one day before Henri was to wed her, make her queen and make her son his heir. Henri, traveling, was unable to make it to Gabrielle in time. Servants stole rings off her body and her father carted off her royal furniture.

Gabrielle had died with a grimace on her face so that "her mouth twisted around toward the back of her head and, at her death, stuck there as if in concrete" (214). Henri placed her wax effigy in his apartments, visiting it often and having it daily dressed in a new gown.

After Gabrielle's death and his marriage to the Spanish infanta, his carriage overturned in 1606 in a river. Ignoring the Queen, Henri saved César, his son by Gabrielle, and left the Queen to be pulled by her hair to safety by a courtier. Henri raised his six legitimate and eight illegitimate children together, keeping a list in his pocket to help tell them apart.

Henriette-Catherine de Balzac d'Entragues (1579-1663)

After Garbrielle's death, Henri's next mistress, Henriette-Catherine de Balzac d'Entragues, whom he fell in love with during marriage negations with the Spanish infanta, demanded 100,000 crowns before she slept with him. Henri's minister, the duc de Sully, spread the silver equivalent on the floor of the cabinet room in protest. Henriette took the money and also asked for written proof of marriage before she slept with him.

Seven months pregnant, she threatened to stop Henri's Spanish marriage negotiations causing him to giver her titles and a castle as appeasement. When Henriette gave birth to a still-born son (a healthy son would have made her Queen), Henri and Henriette made up.

When Henri's new Queen, Marie de Medici arrived from Spain, she arrived to empty apartments as the king had made no provisions for furniture for her. When introducing Henriette to Marie, Henri said, "This is my mistress who now wishes to be your servant" (78). Marie and Henriette soon became enemies. Henriette mocked the queen while the Queen resented her. When the Queen showed Henri letters from Henriette that mocked him, Henriette convinced Henri they were forgeries designed by the queen. Henriette forgave Henri for 6,000 pounds.

Henri commented on his relationship with his wife: "I receive from my wife neither companionship nor gaiety nor consolation, she either cannot or will not show me any kindness or pleasant conversation, neither will she accommodate herself to my moods and disposition" (80).

Henriette fell out of power in 1608 for "traitorous dealing with the Spanish" (80), and in 1610, after Henri's assassination, Marie exiled Henriette from court until Henriette died unmourned.

Source: "Sex With Kings" by Eleanor Herman (a very interesting book).

Royal Mistresses part 2 of 3

If you have not read Part 1, please scroll down and read it first.

Anges Sorel (1421-1450)

"The earliest surviving portrait of a royal mistress is of Anges, painted in 1449, a time when secular portraits were not yet common, and many of the rich and famous still bribed church artists to paint their faces on saints (2-3)." As a result, Charles VII of France had his royal mistress, Anges, painted in a two-part church panel as the virgin Mary offering a breast to the baby Jesus (seen above). Anges died in childbirth soon after the panel was completed.

Queen Maire tolerated her rival, but her son, the heir to the crown, Louis, despised Anges for causing his mother pain. "One day in 1444, Louis, running into Anges, cried, 'By our Lord's passion, this woman is the cause of all our misfortunes,' and punched her in the face (197)."

Anges used her influence with the king, with to raise him from his apathy and help him drive the English out of France. "Charles . . . made a poor king before Agnes, and returned to being a poor king after her" (2). (Charles VII was the contemporary of Joan of Arc.)

Madame de Montespan (1641-1707)

Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart (Athénaïs) was the mistress of Louis XIV of France for 13 years and provided him with 7 children in 9 years.

Athénaïs kept her radiant good looks until age 40 by a lavish regime of creams, oils and cosmetics. Because of the rich court food and the limited exercise options for ladies, Athénaïs daily rubbed herself with pomade and would disappear to a spa to starve herself.

Athénaïs was a strong spirit. Once, when Louis reproved her wearing strong perfume, Athénaïs said it was because he stank so badly. Five months pregnant, Athénaïs insisted on being with Louis as he toured his frontiers, sleeping in farmhouses and bumping in carriages. She loved playing cards. "One Christmas Day she lost the staggering sum of £230,000, kept playing, and won back £500,000 on one play involving three cards" (143). When her illegitimate 12-year old daughter was married to a 17-year-old dwarf for political reasons, Athénaïs pushed for immediate consummation despite the conditions of the marriage contract.

Athénaïs was not interested in politics, and was even unreliable in getting her friends political positions. She was disliked by the court and the public for her haughtiness and lavish spending.

Before Athénaïs married, she had attempted to become Louis' mistress. When married and a lady-in-wating to Queen Marie-Thérése, Athénaïs told the queen she would rather die than be Louis' mistress and criticized his current mistress, Louise de La Valliére, sharply. However, when Athénaïs became Louis' mistress, the queen was the last to find out. Athénaïs, now the mistress, treated the Queen rudely. Athénaïs was also rude to Louise whom she demanded to help her get ready in the morning.

For some time, Louis tried to keep up a public charade. In 1670 and 1671 Louis took his old mistress, Athénaïs and his Queen on journeys to confuse the public and avoid scandal. The crowd called them "the three Queens" (68). At one stop with only one bed, the indignant Queen was given the bed while the King, his brother and sister-in-law, his cousin, Louise and Athénaïs slept on a mattress on the floor. Despite this, the Queen was grateful that Louis treated her respectfully, returning to her bed every night and eating with her. Despite this, Athénaïs enjoyed a 20-room apartment to the Queen's 11.

Athénaïs' husband, the marquis de Montespan, enjoyed the life of a soldier. Once he disguised a girl he seduced as a member of his Calvary. While the marquis was known to storm convents for the girls inside, when he returned to court, he raged about his wife's immorality, boxing her ears and using language so strong it sent several ladies to bed with "the vapors."

After exiled from court for pretending to mourn for Athénaïs' death, he held an elaborate funeral. "He stood by the main door with his two small children, all clad in black, somberly accepting condolences on their loss" (99). After storming another convent and injuring the girl, her mother, the father superior and several peasants, the marquis was sent to prison but escaped to Spain.

In 1667, Athénaïs visited a with for help with seducing Louis. The witch, La Voisin, provided services to wealthy patrons. When innocent Louise invited Athénaïs to dine with the king and her, Athénaïs slipped lve potions made of "dead babies blood, bones, and intestines, along with parts of toads and bats" (107) into Louis; drinks. Soon after, Athénaïs became Louis' mistress, but by the late 1670s her position was unstable, causing her to sulk, storm and scheme against her rivals. Instead of a young beauty, Athénaïs appointed the future Madame de Maintenon as the royal governess but was shocked when Louis fell for her.

In 1680, La Voisin was burned for witchcraft after 218 people were interrogated and 36 more executed. La Voisin's daughter claimed that Athénaïs had been a patron ordering black masses which included infant-sacrifices with its blood drained into chalices. When the police excavated La Voisin's garden, they found the bodies of 2,500 infants-"aborted, stillborn, premature, and those who had been sacrificed alive. There was a small oven in the garden pavilion where La Voisin would burn an infant's body if it was too big to burn easily.

Louis finally understood why for thirteen years he had awoken with a headache every morning after having dined with Athénaïs de Montespan the night before. He was revolted at the quantities of noxious potions he had consumed over the years" (113). Louis hushed Athénaïs' involvement, imprisoning witnesses. While Athénaïs remained at court for another ten years, Louis avoided her and returned to his Queen's bed.

When Athénaïs was exiled from court at age 51, she left protesting and storming. Athénaïs' husband was later pardoned and returned to court, becoming a favorite of the king after Athénaïs' exile. Athénaïs' son with Louis , the duc de Maine, who blamed his mother for his limp, insisted on personally telling his mother of her exile, threw her furniture out the window and took over her apartments for himself. After Athénaïs' exile, forced to follow the lead of Madame de Maintenon, public favor swung back towards Athénaïs. With rosaries and Bibles fashionable, courtiers yearned for the days of Athénaïs.

Louis never visited Athénaïs, despite her fashioning special rooms for his visit and hanging her bedchamber with his portraits. While she remained proud, forcing her visitors to stand when receiving them, Athénaïs founded a hospital, personally sewed clothes for the poor and took to wearing bands of iron-spikes for penance.

When she died, Athénaïs' body received a botched autopsy, was dumped on her doorstep and received a small funeral. According to custom, her entrails were placed in a separate urn, but they disgusted the porter so much that he threw them on the ground where they were eaten by pigs.

At her death, two of her sons openly rejoiced at Athénaïs' death while Louis remained cold. Only Madame de Maintenon (whom Louis had secretly married) mourned.

Source: "Sex With Kings" by Eleanor Herman (a very interesting book).

Royal Mistresses part 1 of 3

Introduction

"In the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, the position of royal mistress was almost as official as that of prime minister (5)." The position of royal mistress was so accepted, that even Frederick III appointed an official royal mistress-whom he never touched. Spain, however, did things differently at the time. Spain's royal mistress had no official position. Plus, with the king being "one step away from God," women were sent to a convent after sleeping with the Spanish king.

"It was reported that Philip IV of Spain (1605-165) chased
a young woman through his palace and hurled himself at the door
she had bared against him, commanding her to let him in. The
sobbing girl cried, "No, no Sire! I don't want to be a nun." (8)

Common non-bedroom duties of the royal mistresses included patronizing the arts and entertaining the king. Even some mistresses whose physical relationship with the king had ended kept their position due to their various skills such as diplomacy, entertainment or companionship.

A royal mistress was most often a well-born and titled lady at court, and most often married. Indeed, it was considered scandalous for an unmarried woman to have a child. If the king was interested in an unmarried woman, he would often marry her to a husband who would look the other way.

The royal mistress was expected to keep up appearances, wearing gowns that outshone even the queen's. Many royal mistresses were left in debt by the end of the month as a result of the gowns, servants, carriages, etc, they were expected to have.

Titles were often given to royal mistresses, but some kings waited until after their mistress was dead to grant titles (so they could have a splendid funeral). The royal mistress was often rewarded with titles, property and jewelry, but she could be removed from her position and have her property and jewels taken at the king's whim. There could only be one official royal mistress at a time and the king's fancies changed.

While the royal mistress was frequently treated better than the Queen, her position was far less stable. For many kings, the queen's treatment of his royal mistress determined his treatment of the queen. The king chose the queen's living quarters, her ladies in waiting, her activities and her allowance. The court, after all, took its cue from the king- if the king snubbed his queen for the royal mistress, so would the court. If the king insulted his queen, so would the court. It was wise to at least tolerate the royal mistress. Some queens even made allies of the royal mistress causing the mistress to ask the king to treat his wife better.

But just as the king's treatment of his queen varied, the king's treatment of his royal mistress varied. Some mistresses were allowed to receive foreign dignitaries, while other were forbidden to dabble in politics-even forbidden from granting titles to their family (a common practice of the time). The king could marry off his illegitimate children by his mistress to profitable marriages, or he could refuse to give them titles at all. The position of the royal mistress was as varied as it was interesting.

Lola Montez (1786-1868)

After the French Revolution, while royal mistresses still existed, their positions were not nearly as powerful as their predecessors, and the public was not as tolerant of excesses.

Lola was very fiery-carrying knives and pistols and threatening to hurt herself if she didn't get her way. She horsewhipped gentleman who she felt insulted by, as well as slapped and hit shop owners and passers-by for the same reason.

Lola was a dancer born in Ireland, raised in India, married and divorced in England who claimed to be French. When Ludwig convinced Lola to stay in Bulgaria, the public grew nervous that their king would be influenced politically by her. Ludwig showered Lola with jewels. While Ludwig made his Queen wear old dresses, Lola would show up to the opera in a 13,000 florin dress and diamond tiara.

Ludwig forced Lola's Bulgarian citizenship through. In 1847 he forced Parliament to make Lola, a countess,but his entire cabinet resigned and Queen Therese shunned those who "received" Lola. Yet, Lola's new title allowed her to drive a carriage with a nine-pointed crown on it.

The public avoided Lola, suspicious of her influence and shocked by her behavior. In the street, boys threw manure at her and people yelled insults. This behavior inspired a volunteer group of student bodyguards called the Alemannia, distinguishable by their red caps. Lola threw wild parties for her Alemannia, but the other students disliked the Alemannia-leaving lectures en mass when they arrived.

When Ludwig heard of the disturbances, he closed the university for a semester, prompting riots which Lola participated in until she was recognized and pelted with manure. When she took refuge in a church, she was thrown out, but escaped to the palace. The next day, the hundreds-strong mob had stormed and trashed police headquarters prompting the city commandant to promise that Lola would be out of the city in one hour.

When Lola, from her balcony, dared the gathered crowd to kill her, her coachman and a lieutenant forced her into her carriage and fled. Ironically, Lola was in a plain dress, without jewels or cloak.

Lola started more riots when she snuck back to see Ludwig disguised as a man. Ludwig abdicated his throne during the riots, but stayed in Bulgaria because his son plead with him not to flee. If Ludwig would have fled, it might have cost his son's claim to the throne.

Ludwig tried for two years to be reunited with Lola, but was prevented. Lola went to America where she made both a dancing, acting and lecturing career as a former royal mistress. She married twice and settled in California. "She raised a bear in her backyard, invested in a mine, and was known to tour the mine shafts chomping on a cigar. . . Lola was known for her charitable works and, surprisingly, Bible study (229)." She donated $300 to a charity for reformed prostitutes upon her death and lived a quiet life at the end.

An older and much more life-battered Ludwig wrote a poem about Lola:

Through you I lost the crown
But I do not rage against you for that
For you were born to be my misfortune
You were such a blinding, scorching light!
(230)

Source: "Sex With Kings" by Eleanor Herman (a very interesting book).

smurfs

In May, ambitious employees at a downtown At&T building in San Jose attempted to clean out an unplugged office refrigerator, removing the food and using chemicals to clean the inside. The building was eventually evacuated and a haz mat team responded. Twenty-eight people needed "treatment for vomiting and nausea" while seven were hospitalized. Immune from the mix of moldy food and chemical smells was the employee who cleaned the fridge. Her allergies blocked the smell. Source

Little Tikes' Cozy Coupe is being inducted into Clevland auto museaum. Selling 457,000 units in 2008, the Cozy Coupe outsold every other car in America. "In the '90s, it outsold both the Accord and Ford Taurus." Little Tike currently produces a Cozy Coupe every minute. Director of marketing for LIttle TIkes, Rosanne Kubisty comments, "It's definitely a recession-proof vehicle." Source Source


When a week-old cocker spaniel puppy came in muddy from the garden, its 4-year-old master tried to bathe him in the toliet. When he pulled the chain, however, the puppy was flushed down the toliet. The boy's mother could hear the puppy crying from her garden drain cover and called Dyno-Rod, a UK drainage firm. Using "specialty camera equipment," the puppy was located and nudged to a manhole cover where it was rescued by a fireman. Video of the resue can be seen here. The puppy is currenlty fine and has been named Dyno.


In June 2009, 2,510 people in Swansea, Wales now hold the world record for most people dressed as smurfs. To verify the record, every person was checked to make sure no natural skin was exposed. At that point, five attempts to break the smurf record had occured over the last 18 months. Source

Rain

According to the concussion theory, aerial explosions disturb atmospheric equilibrium and cause rain. This idea began with Plutarch, a Greek moralist, in 1AD. Plutarch developed this theory after he observed rain after battles.Napoleon, himself, shot cannons into the sky in an attempt to muddy the ground to delay his opponents. Soldiers in the Civil War who fought in water-logged conditions also believed this theory.

In the early 1900s, the theory was popular.In 1910, C.W. Post ordered his cowboys to make 150 kites to carry dynamite into the sky. In the process of launching the kites, however, it began to pour rain and the experiment was scrapped.

During the dust bowl, rain-makers were in especially high demand. Congress appropriated money to test the concussion theory in Texas. Source Dyrenforth ran the tests without results and earned the name “Dry Henceforth.”

Dalhart, Texas paid Thornton three hundred dollars to make rain. Thornton set up four miles out of town and bombed with dynamite for four days, causing neighboring towns to complain. After four days, 1/10^th of an inch of snow fell, and it snowed the following day.

But rain-making was not always a safe profession. Wallace E. Howell, using silver iodine crystals, was taken to court and threatened to be shot on sight by Catskill residents who believed he caused rain to destroy their crops.

Self-proclaimed “moisture accelerator” Charles M. Hatfield was hired by San Diego to produce rain. The contract stated he would produce 40 inches of rain for free, but for every inch between 40 and 50 inches, he would be paid $1,000. When San Diego flooded severely in 1916, some believed Hatfield was responsible and Hatfield has to leave town when a lynch mob was threatened. Despite several press councils, Hatfield was never paid. Oddly enough, the flood was caused by only 28.01 inches of rain, yet Hatfield was hired to produce 50 inches.

Source The Worst Hard Time (p. 191, 231) Source

Weird Patents

"The common house spider is often trapped within a bath or basin. This is mainly due to a spiders inability to negotiate or scale the smooth inner countours of a conventional bath or basin." The solution? A spider ladder as patented in 1994. The ladder is made of metal or plastic to prevent spiders from hiding under the ladder. It is attached with a suction cup. Source

Here is an electric tablecloth designed in 1992 to keep insects from crawling onto food. "The current passing through the insect's body is sufficient to produce a sensation which will discourage further travel across the edge of the cloth. A consumer who may come into contact with the strips will usually not feel the current and, even if the consumer is wet, the current will produce only a slight tingling sensation." Source

From what I understand this 2006 device uses water as a conductor and uses electricity on the phrenic and vagus nerves to cure hiccups. The patent details a history of hiccups. "Hiccups lasting up to 48 hours are classified as 'bouts.' Hiccups lasting longer than 48 hours are called 'persistent.' Those lasting longer than a month are called 'intractable.'" One reason drinking water is a traditional cure for hiccups is that it stimulates the vagus nerve on the drinker's mouth. Source

Have you ever wondered how to swing on a swing? Well this patent will explain how to swing from side to side and in an oval shape. "Another improvement on the swinging method described above is the induction into the side-to-side swinging movement of a component of forward-and-back motion. That is, by skillful manipulation of the body, the present inventor has found it possible to add a relatively minor component of forward-and-back motion to the side-to-side swinging motion, resulting in a swinging path that is generally shaped like an oval."