During the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, some hotel guests were especially unlucky. The sociopath and serial killer, H.H. Holmes designed an insane and intricate hotel equipped with rooms that held secret gas lines, which Holmes used to murder unsuspecting guests. There was even a sealed room where Holmes would trap people and then starve them.
He got away with killing hundreds of people this way. They would go missing and their families would have no way of tracking their bodies down because Holmes had an incinerator in the basement of the hotel. How horrifying is that?
President Millard Fillmore Was Involved in a Teacher-Student Relationship
When Millard Fillmore was 19, he met his first wife Abigail Powers. She was 21-years-old and also happened to be his teacher! A romance between the two happened somewhere along the way and the two were married when President Fillmore was 26 and Abigail Powers was 28.
We’re not sure if the two started seeing one another while Fillmore was still a student of Powers, but extra credit goes to anyone who can find out!
The Donkey Symbol of the Democratic Party Originated from an Insult!
In 1828, a random antagonist called Andrew Jackson a jackass. Rather than letting the insult get to him, Jackson decided to one-up the insult flinger and adopted the donkey as the symbol of his party.
The symbol that originated from a rude remark exists to this day! Talk about not letting the haters get you down!
North and South Carolina Are Home to the Venus Fly Trap
The only native habitat of these carnivorous plants is in a small area of North and South Carolina. North Carolina even named the Venus Fly Trap its State Carnivorous Plant.
You may see them in your favorite oddity stores, but wild Venus Fly Traps are actually at risk of extinction. One more reason to take better care of our precious environment!
In 1776 the First Submarine Attack Occurred
David Bushnell invented a submarine that was specially designed to attach powder kegs to ships. Named The Turtle, Bushnell’s submarine attached a keg to a British ship in New York Harbor.
That’s certainly not a turtle anyone wants to mess with!