James Smithson is buried in the Smithsonian and is said to still be presiding over the place. Employees claim to have seen his ghost roaming around the building.
There were so many reports of Smithson’s ghost that the museum decided to open his casket in 1973 to make sure his remains were still intact.
The Sinking of the Titanic May Have Been Predicted in a Book
Fourteen years before the Titanic would sink, a man named Morgan Robertson wrote a novel about a British ship named the Titan. Just like the Titanic, the Titan was called “unsinkable” but proceeded to hit an iceberg and sink. The book even included details about there not being enough lifeboats to hold the passengers onboard the Titan.
Perhaps Robertson was clairvoyant because fourteen years after the book was published in 1898, the Titanic emerged and sank in a way that exactly mirrored the sinking of the Titan.
Dentures Used to Be Made of Real Teeth
More like dead-ures, dentures used to be composed of teeth that were collected from dead soldiers.
The teeth were harvested and placed in synthetic gums for use by people who needed a new set of chompers. Teeth were taken from both Union and Confederate soldiers to be repurposed this way.
Liberty Island May Be Home to a Pirate Ghost
The famous Liberty Island used to be occupied by teams of pirates. In 1892, during the time when a fort was erected on the island, two soldiers heard rumors of the island’s past frequenters and decided to try to find buried treasure that was said to be left behind by some pirates.
They actually found the treasure box, but when they tried to open it a demon supposedly appeared to stop them. The figure was thought to be the spirit of Captain Kidd, a famous pirate who was said to have buried his treasure on the island.
Parents Used to Tag Their Abandoned Children So They Could Identify Their Bodies Later
Things were pretty bleak in the 17th and 18th centuries and many parents did not have enough money to care for their children They either left them at the hospital or sent them to be reared in work homes.
Often, the parents would give the children small tokens such as buttons or lockets, things that were specific enough for the parents to be able to recognize the tokens later so that they could identify their children if they met them again, or if they happened to pass away.