Historical FACTS That WILL BLOW Your Mind!

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On this list I've gathered some really outstanding facts about history that will blow your mind! Let me know how many of these you already knew!
History (derived from Ancient Greek ἱστορία (historía) 'inquiry; knowledge acquired by investigation')[1] is the systematic study and documentation of human activity.[2][3] The time period of events before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory.[4] "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of these events. Historians seek knowledge of the past using historical sources such as written documents, oral accounts, art and material artifacts, and ecological markers.[5] History is not complete and still has debatable mysteries.
History is also an academic discipline which uses narrative to describe, examine, question, and analyze past events, and investigate their patterns of cause and effect.[6][7] Historians often debate which narrative best explains an event, as well as the significance of different causes and effects. Historians also debate the nature of history as an end in itself, as well as its usefulness to give perspective on the problems of the present.[6][8][9][10]
Stories common to a particular culture, but not supported by external sources (such as the tales surrounding King Arthur), are usually classified as cultural heritage or legends.[11][12] History differs from myth in that it is supported by verifiable evidence. However, ancient cultural influences have helped spawn variant interpretations of the nature of history which have evolved over the centuries and continue to change today. The modern study of history is wide-ranging, and includes the study of specific regions and the study of certain topical or thematic elements of historical investigation. History is often taught as a part of primary and secondary education, and the academic study of history is a major discipline in university studies.
Herodotus, a 5th-century BC Greek historian, is often considered the "father of history" (as he was one of the first historians) in the Western tradition,[13] although he has also been criticized as the "father of lies".[14][15] Along with his contemporary Thucydides, he helped form the foundations for the modern study of past events and societies.[16] Their works continue to be read today, and the gap between the culture-focused Herodotus and the military-focused Thucydides remains a point of contention or approach in modern historical writing. In East Asia, a state chronicle, the Spring and Autumn Annals, was reputed to date from as early as 722 BC, although only 2nd-century BC texts have survived.
#amazingfacts #history #metatron

[@metatronyt]

The first 1,000 people to use the link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare skl.sh/metatron04231 For a limited time (now through April 30, 2023), Skillshare is offering 40% off your first year of membership - one of their best offers out there! skl.sh/metatron402

[@konradcurze8176]

Inshallah

[@thanasisgeronimos9124]

the sketch you made about how many Alexandrias did Alexander founded , reminded me of Horrible Histories from bbc.... the have a similar sketch...omg i still remember it and it give me the chuckles

[@guardiancologne9034]

Going over the first fact, the first thing I think of is "these are the last days".

[@cocacola4blood365]

The articles you debunk remind me of a bit from one of the late night talk shows in the mid 90s (I think Letterman or Leno) where people on the street were asked about their knowledge of history. One was a history teacher who thought WW3 was in the sixties. Around the same time there was a show called Street Smarts, which interviews random people on what they know. I recall the promos: "What is an erongenous zone?" "It's where erogenized milk is made!" and "What lady stands with a torch in one hand and a tablet in the other?" "XENA!!!"

[@GhostChickenTV]

@Metatron Pope Gregory the 9th is now my sworn enemy

[@matthewconner7800]

“You’re a fan of the Macedonian Empire? Name 5 of their cities.” “Alexandria” “That’s on me, I set the bar too low.”

[@achimdemus-holzhaeuser1233]

You also never said how many there are/were

[@Tenchi707]

​@@achimdemus-holzhaeuser1233 whoa calm down bro we're friends here

[@tryhardfinessedyou]

I was annoyed I didn't get this, but now at the end of the video lol

[@LoveBagpipes]

Don't forget the city he named after his horse...Bucephala

[@noladavis5085]

The Horrible Histories sketch on Alexander is great 😁

[@Crimea_River]

I've got one. By the time Rome occupied Egypt, the pyramids were older to them than the Roman empire is to us now.

[@Enyavar1]

True, and more mindblowing than anything in the video.

[@alexandresobreiramartins9461]

As Panoramix said to Obelix: "Obelix, from the top of those pyramids, 2000 years look down on us!"

[@BlackQback]

@@Enyavar1 Well... the most mind-blowing thing for me was Metatron claiming that Middle Ages lasted 1000 years. Not so. From roughly 9th to onset of Renaissance - 14/15th c. Renaissance marks the start of the New Era.

[@Enyavar1]

@@BlackQback oh, here I jump to his defense! If you include the so-called dark age in Europe, then 450s to 1450s is roughly a thousand years. Really, a European sword from 520 AD is definitly medieval.

[@valeriored83]

Middle age starts with the fall of roman empire, conventionally 476 AD to the discovery of America in 1492. Of course it is a really broad definition of a really long period of time but that is the official definition.

[@easternlights3155]

Fun fact: there is a church in eastern Czech Republic that leans harder than the tower of Pisa and unlike the tower, it actually used to be straight, but due to a coal mine collapse (which also caused a good chunk of the nearby town to sink below the ground) it sunk 36 metres and the only reason it is still above ground is that it used to stand on a hill.

[@Enyavar1]

Fun fact, there are leaning towers all over the world, and the one in Pisa is hardly the most leaning. The one in Nevyansk (Russia) saw similar construction stops as the one in Pisa, they tried to rectify it but then finished anyway.

[@giulyanoviniciussanssilva2947]

​@@Enyavar1 the tower of Pisa it's the Mona Lisa from Leonardo da Vinci's works it's not the best it's not the most amazing, but it was the most popular one, only a popularity that doesn't make people seek out and learn about the rest.

[@FUnazis]

@@Enyavar1 Funnily enough, when I visited Firenze (it was before Corona, so 2019 or 2018 it must have been), I asked a local man if it was worth to take a small trip to Pisa (since it's basically right around the corner.) He told me not to visit Pisa, but instead to visit Siena instead, since it is also very close, and that it's much more worth it. Well, I went there, and man oh man, it was SO worth it. For a city of that small size, it was definitely the most impressive I have seen. And even compared to all the cities I have visited, it is definitely at least in the top 3, with Firenze also, I should say. So yes, to anyone who plans to visit the Toskana anyways, definitely also check out Siena. It is 100% worth it, I guarantee!

[@turkoositerapsidi]

What is that town in Čekhia called?

[@Enyavar1]

@@FUnazis yup, avoid the tourist traps!

[@kanrakucheese]

Comparing the length of the stone age to later ages reminds of the Arthur Conan Doyle quote "Some eighty thousand years are supposed to have existed between paleolithic and neolithic man. Yet in all that time he only learned to grind his flint stones instead of chipping them. But within our father's lives what changes have there not been? The railway and the telegraph, chloroform and applied electricity. " Really though, my favorite story about Alexander is that time the Island of Tyre made him so angry he turned it into the into the Peninsula of Tyre.

[@dr.sleaseball441]

It seems that Tyre was historically impossible to conquer as many tried before Alexander so the people of Tyre thought they were safe. Conquerors before would just stop trying to take it after a while and make a deal with Tyre.

[@alexandresobreiramartins9461]

Changes come about when we need them to. The paleolithic and neolithic men had no environmental pressures to make them change. Conan Doyle's error is in thinking we're more intelligent than they, which we aren't. We just have immense social/economic pressures to make us change way too fast, actually too fast for our own good, it would seem.

[@kanrakucheese]

@@alexandresobreiramartins9461 Except the very next line is actually him explicitly rejecting "thinking we're more intelligent than they". "Ten years now go further than a thousand then, not so much on account of our finer intellects as because the light we have shows us the way to more. Primeval man stumbled along with peering eyes, and slow, uncertain footsteps. Now we walk briskly towards our unknown goal."

[@alexandresobreiramartins9461]

@@kanrakucheese That's the Metatron, not Conan Doyle. Conan Doyle would never say that.

[@gedq]

​@@alexandresobreiramartins9461lifestyle as well of course - if you're hunter gatherer nomads you're not dragging an anvil around with you. Stone is perfect for nomads.​

[@Pilot-X]

5:12 I’m Mexican born and bred and your life is spared, friend. You pronounced Tenochtitlan perfectly. 10/10.

[@forbidden-cyrillic-handle]

So Aztec named it hard to pronounce on purpose. Someone mispronounces the name and here is the pyramid. Right?

[@luisoncpp]

I'm mexican and the pronunciation sounded well for me, however I'm not sure that we(modern mexicans) know the correct pronunciation of Tenochtitlan.

[@williamjeffersonclinton69]

​@@luisoncppI have had Mexican employees almost go to blows on how to pronounce Tapatio.

[@marcello7781]

Imagine being an inhabitant of the Malay archipelago and one day you and all the people around you lose their hearing forever because of the loudest blast ever. That generation must have had quite some struggles in the aftermath.

[@Enyavar1]

An entire population loses their hearing forever? Hm yeah: _NO_ , acoustic shock is not always permanent. Busted eardrums usually heal over some weeks or months, provided safe conditions. A large percentage of the population might suffer long lasting impairments, but not everyone.

[@FishMcFish420]

I'd so be down for more content like this, you look like you're having so much fun with it! Not that you -don't- look like it in other videos, you're just particularly animated and happy in this one.

[@SergioLeonardoCornejo]

This is what we needed in education as history classes.

[@TRACTOOOOOOOOOR]

I agree with this comment. I really like exploratory content. Not saying I don't like correction videos, but I like these more. Love your content!

[@jesustyronechrist2330]

It is fun, but the problem is that very quickly you'll run out of the most interesting and cool facts and then you end up grasping for straws. *cough cough* all those "top 25" trivia channels *cough cough*

[@waynemackie3113]

I used to love Metatron channel when it was all like this but most of the time now he just reacts to all the bs that exists on the internet and belittles himself to the same level. Stick with making history interesting, those who care for history appreciate you for it

[@redakumaproduction]

Amen !

[@Isylon]

Is it me or he never actually told us how many cities Alexander named after himself?

[@Schnittertm1]

I think no one really knows. Also, I don't want to work at a post office, having to deliver mail or parcels to Alexandria.

[@shockthetoast]

I came to the comments trying to figure out if I somehow missed it...

[@Dice_roller]

Around the numbers twenty-four if I can remember correctly.

[@stevenpeeters5887]

Thought I was the only one who missed it

[@dr.sleaseball441]

I was taught in school that is was like 16. Ironically I live in a city named Alexandria but it was not named by Alexander.

[@Cozonac3000]

"The University of Oxford is older than the Aztec Empire" I did not expect that loool.

[@Jeca1789]

Fun fact from History: Cleopatra was Greek, Queen of Egypt, but Greek by blood. So, white, maybe brown skined, but for certain not black (I am Black).

[@shelbyspeaks3287]

And probably uglier than we imagined

[@brandonf.6495]

Great video! As both a Catholic and a cat fan, I appreciate your debunking of the myth about Pope Gregory IX!

[@willfakaroni5808]

Catolic

[@thebelmont1995]

The catholic church is still pretty evil. So I don't know why would you want to be catholic knowing the history.

[@giulyanoviniciussanssilva2947]

With the facts to prove he went from someone despicable to just a product of his time.

[@MegaMaxiepad]

I loved the comment about cats being quite adept at breeding. Yes they are, and with delicious rats all over the place, their population must've fully recovered in a matter of months.

[@Hamstray]

@@willfakaroni5808 Cat•holic

[@grecoroman61]

Thanks! From a Greek Italian who throughly enjoys your channel

[@metatronyt]

Thanks!

[@i.willacceptfood9352]

Hello from Alexandria South Dakota! There’s only 700 of us, but we are named after Alexander Mitchell, a railroad tycoon who owned the land the town was built on

[@kathleenhensley5951]

He also named a city for his horse, Bucephalus.

[@NemiBoros]

You did great with the Tenochtitlan pronunciation 😊 Eres increíble, Metatrón!

[@kaltaron1284]

I'm always confused by the name. That German has two different 'ch' doesn't make things easier.

[@NemiBoros]

@@kaltaron1284 oh dude. I can't imagine how hard hat must be. Some people here in Latino América has issues too when saying that name so, no worries. I am sure it sounds metal as F in german.

[@marcello7781]

​@@NemiBoros same happens to me when I want to pronounce some of those names (like Xochitl) and I confuse the sound of X with CH.

[@demonkingbadger6689]

I can spell it, cant say it.

[@LeWayak]

@@marcello7781 When the X is at the beginning, it usually sounds like an S. when it's on the middle, like a SH

[@Chuacixe]

I like Metatron in a good mood when he's not having to correct very wrong takes about history from people who don't know what they're talking about 😅

[@mykullthecimmerian7183]

100% agree! Not only is he a learned man and one of very few youtube personalities I don't think is full of shit, he seems to thrive on all the same interests I have. Keep it up mighty Metatron!

[@Tenchi707]

​@@mykullthecimmerian7183 i think lots of youtubers are pos, hard to find people who seem real or keep it real

[@samr.england613]

I agree that Meta is a valid, credible historian. But, he's only human, and he's not always absolutely right, as historical research always encompasses interpretation, as best as we can interpret. After all, none of us were actually there decades or especially centuries or millennia ago.

[@tuomaskoivurinne1653]

I love this channel. Little typo though: Krakatoa was in 1883.

[@taylorjensen2787]

True

[@ulrikjensen6841]

Tambora 1815 (same month as Waterloo ?) Lord Byron wrote a scaring doomsday-laden epos about it inspired by the "year without summer" 1816 😮😲😦

[@drsch]

I think the reason we think of the Aztec empire as ancient is because technologically they were so far behind the west that we compare how they were living to a time in history that lines up with the same time period in the west which was much, much earlier.

[@jamesabestos2800]

The peruvian/inca empire being founded in the 1100s or 1300 idk brought me back to reality...

[@jamesabestos2800]

When you accidentally spread misinformation: 1438, btw

[@CoryTheRaven]

Likewise... The Indigenous peoples of Western Canada and United States were living in the Stone Age while Europe was in the Industrial Revolution. Not a judgment,just a fact.

[@ImpetusOmnipotens]

I've always wondered how that is possible, that one part of the world would be so advanced and one backwards. It's mind-boggling.

[@Marveryn]

@@ImpetusOmnipotens lack of communication and innovation. for a while china and central asia was more advanced but their was an technical explosion in europe once the crusade were over. (china had cannons and rocket weapons but never advance their firearms in the same way or improve their cannons at the same speed that it was done in europe.

[@BigNews2021]

Since Cleopatra has been a topic as of late, one little factoid regarding span of time, is that Cleopatra is closest in time to the invention of the iPhone (or any other modern thing) than she is to the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

[@fidalf99]

11:30 just an interesting piece of trivia. Czech writer and publicist Karel Čapek was inspired by the explosion and wrote a novel called 'Krakatite' about a chemical substance so destructive it was named after the volcanic island. In the novel he ponders what humans will do with this substance, now that they can effectively destroy themselves, kinda predicting the atomic bomb but in 1924.

[@Sethrain]

I was born in Alexandria, Scotland. Horrible Histories also did a sketch on Alexander's love of naming cities after himself.

[@namechangerfre7296]

Yes, such a funny sketch... 'Skinnymandria'. Horrible Histories - my favourite history teachers. I got married in Scotland, but not in Alexandria 😅

[@iolando]

Great content as usual. Little correction 10:56 Krakatoa erupted in 1883 not 1833.

[@DavidFMayerPhD]

Tambora explosion in 1815 was much BIGGER, causing world-wide crop failures.

[@varanid9]

@@DavidFMayerPhD It was bigger, but not "much" bigger. Krakatoa also caused world-wide crop failures.

[@DavidFMayerPhD]

@@varanid9 Both were world-wide disasters.

[@alifkazeryu8228]

ah, that make more sense. since in the vids it said the explosions were heard all the way to Los Angeles, and I don't think US is all the way to Los Angeles yet in 1833.

[@Enyavar1]

@@DavidFMayerPhD and indeed, Tambora's aftershock was worse, hitting a war-devastated Europe with two years of crop failure. Now THIS might blow your mind: 1816 was so bad that in Switzerland and Austria people ate grassroots because there was nothing else to eat... during the *summer* . And *that* was the winter when the text of _Silent Night_ was written.

[@Kendro311]

I appreciate the direction the channel is going. A broader range of topics and still all interesting. Where many channels plateau, I smell this one is gonna keep on growing 😎

[@Enyavar1]

nothing in the video was an interesting new fact about history. This channel has taken a steady turn for the worse, becoming more and more shallow.

[@GenJuhru]

Hopefully Subscribers (continue to) suggest topics or formats, keepin' it a win-win relationship. ☺️

[@galadballcrusher8182]

Reminds me of the more casual tone of casual geographic

[@prinz5816]

Could you cover Scandinavian history? Maybe armour development, tactics, wars, whatever. Thank you for your great content!

[@pierrecibandit3877]

+1

[@TheHimalaiaNinja]

Celts also were great with steelworks and gold

[@jimpickens4067]

​@@TheHimalaiaNinja Iron, not steel

[@TheHimalaiaNinja]

@@jimpickens4067 steel weapons such as the falcata were already around, its just iron in alloy form, i dont see the need to be anal about it anyway, if you want to be even more pedantic just pretend i mentioned "metals"

[@JHaven-lg7lj]

Oh, that would be great!

[@nagyzoli]

@Metatron Longest war with no armistice or peace in between lasted between 1641 and.. 1987. Basically during the english civil war's turmoil somehow the island of scilly (near UK) and Netherlands declared war on each other.. and nobody signed any armistice or peace. Scilly being super small, everyone simply forgot until an amateur historian dug this out and the dutch signed the peace treaty :D

[@willfakaroni5808]

actually it would be the third punic war, since carthage was destroyed and could not sign anything, it lasted until the 1980's when a peace treaty was signed between the mayor of rome and the mayor of cartage

[@extract]

The Krakatoa eruption took place in 1883, not 1833 and the Tamboa eruption om the Indonesian island of Sumbawa in 1815 was much more powerful and deadly, but it took place before the advent of the telegraph, so few people heard about it.

[@GayJayU26]

Correct! I have given talks about Tambora.

[@aarons6935]

It's not about "hearing about it" it's about hearing it with peoples own ears.

[@mgntstr]

Legend has it the mountain of Krakatoa got it's name from a famous explorer who cracked his toe while climbing to it's beautiful summit.

[@tianwong152]

it is what caused the eruption as the cracking of his toe annoyed the mountain gods

[@CatsAttackAgain]

We've a pub here in Ireland that was first opened in 900AD. Take that, Oxford.

[@barrankobama4840]

Good opportunity to remind English speakers viewers that the university of Bologna is older than Oxford's and is the oldest university still in operation. There are even older learning institutions in Morocco and India that reformed themselves in the XX century to become universities.

[@ianhansen6840]

Probably also worth reminding English speakers that they would be unable to understand English speakers until the 1400s.

[@magister343]

Oxford being older than the Aztecs is one thing, but The Inka empire was so young that there were already Conquistadores in the New World before it was founded.

[@SuperDaxos]

You should make more of these. Love those little facts, and I am sure you have many more you could share

[@Enyavar1]

Hey Robin, now please tell me what the shortest war of history was about. (besides _about 38 minutes_ when counting only the actual fighting). Did he tell you? DID HE???

[@ichhabe330]

Stopped at 1:50 and my guess would be around 2 million years give or take a few decades. 😁

[@FREEMAN....]

Your videos are so good I always give you a thumb up before starting to watch. And I'm never wrong. Thanks so much for your excellent work, your humour and your pedagogy.

[@katanalx]

The sky on Edvard Munch's "The Scream" is historically accurate. It was painted at the time of Krakatoa

[@breakinggood3601]

I believe this new form of content will bring in a lot of new people to the channel, good on you metatron 🎉

[@kaltaron1284]

At least the Alexandrias in the USA and Australia you can't blame on Alexander. I like the story about the cats but yeah, it doesn't hold much water.

[@zsigzsag]

During Covid lockdown in China it happened. Cats were rounded up and placed in huge plastic bags, then beaten to death saw news video of this, horrible! Cats can contract Covid guess they thought it would lessen the spread. Humans haven't really advanced in the way of compassion.

[@kaltaron1284]

@@zsigzsag Was it really proven that they are a vector or was it just a rumour and people overreacted?

[@WickedlNl]

Not as epic or old but I was surprised about the length of the cowboy era. Considering how many westerns are made to this day you would think this was 200+ years of cowboys vs indians but actually it only lasted about 40 years.

[@PickBit]

Yeah TOTALLY blew my mind. When you asked the question about the stone age I immediately got a smug grin on my face and went like: "yeah homo sapiens is roughly 300k years old, so that's basically how long the stone age lasted" and I was so incredibly proud of myself for immediately getting the "right" answer... Mmh... this humble pie is pretty tasty, if I have to be honest

[@Enyavar1]

and you were not wrong. 300'000 years ago was the start of the middle paleolithic. The Mesolithic era (the Holocene, which more ignorant people count as the "real stone age") started in Europe in the 10'000 BCE, and I guess Metratron wanted to shock that latter group. Archaeology says that the stone age started 2.5-3.3 mio years ago, before the advent of Homo s.s., but Paleontology studies everything up to the Holocene age, so there is some overlap.

[@dangerousdiscourse]

Lol, 300k years imagine believing that haaha

[@PickBit]

@@dangerousdiscourse It's not believing it's looking at the evidence, sorry. And I'm referring to scientific evidence, not a dusty old book full of fantasies, talking snakes tempting mankind into "sin", imaginary worldwide floods that miraculously leave no trace and that says that humans were made out of mud with some kind of ridiculous golem spell

[@Enyavar1]

@@dangerousdiscourse I admit, 3300kya and 2500kya are more sensational, and we have evidence of stone tool usage by hominids in that time, so yes they count into the stone age, too. But around 300k years ago, some changes happened which also cause the archeologists to split up before 300kya and afterwards. Belief has little to do with it, and I'm perfectly fine if scientists come and move the begin of the middle paleolithic by some 20000 years up or down.

[@dangerousdiscourse]

@@Enyavar1 i mean, the mainstream historical narrative says that, but I am not disputing that, I am disputing the uniformitarian dating and I am calling geologists, specifically, liars... anyone involved with carbon dating. Lying. There is far too much empircal evidence suggesting the opposite, landmass(s) do not form over a gazillion years (lol) rather landmass are formed rather quickly. This is why, people like Metatron, whilst being highly competent, high iq, and genuine cant even remotely construct a proper worldview. People don't even know what year we are in, or how many callendrical systems we've went through. People don't know that this entire realm resets via cataclysm in cycles, local and regional happen all very 138years approximately. Every 4 cycles of the aforementioned time frame indicates a catastrophic change. Go look at maps of north America, inforget what year exactly, but some year in the 1600s all of the maps clearly show the great lakes - were not there. Then, following said date that is now alluding me, those lakes appeared, they appeared due to an event like I've described. It is a very, very fatal flaw to believe the darwinian nonsense of rip, if you fall for that you are locking yourself into a paradigm automatically that is inorganic, and non real. Think logically for a second, and take a step back, what did they tell us about our past? Even the scientists of renown were all Christians. A society with an overbearing, dogmatic mindset would have to have so much evidence of ape to human evolution that it would be impossible to ignore, right? That is not what you find, you find the most flimsy theory, replacing thousands of years of belief. This was a system initiative, and it was inorganic, again, to lay the foundation of a false paradigm a person filters their reality through, thereby disallowing and real knowledge from being acquired.

[@andrewthehope]

Thank you Metatron for continuing to dispel historical myths and for bringing us truly educational and entertaining content!

[@szeleddie]

Very fun and informative video as usual Metatron!!! Except one tiny little detail you missed to mention is:how many towns and settlements was named after Mégas Aléxandros??? Its debatable until today but i think more than 70 + 1 after his horse!!! He was something else! something unfathomable!!!

[@BlackQback]

17 or 18, not 70 (70 cities would be too many even for The Great One). Plus Bucephala. E.g. Encyclopaedia Britannica says that Alexandros founded "some twenty" cities.

[@yourmum69_420]

@@BlackQback perhaps 70 is counting those named after him much later, such as in the USA

[@thebigone6071]

Whenever I’m feeling down I think about the fact that I live in the same era as the unimaginable genius of the Metatron, the greatest person in human history!!!!

[@Enyavar1]

brown-noser. He has good content occasionally, but there are and were greater geniuses than this man.

[@thebigone6071]

@@Enyavar1 You need to stop hatin’ my g!!!

[@yearight1205]

Here's my favorite one. The conquistador Cortez is vilified and his writings were considered propaganda and lies until in 2015 and 2018 archeology backed up his accounts of events. He said that he went to the Aztec city, and it was far more advanced than all the other areas in the America's he had seen. Then after watching the Aztecs perform a human sacrifice where they cut the heart out of a man from a neighboring tribe against his will, Cortez took two steps; the first, he would try and get rid of their religion and replacing it with Christianity, and secondly he managed to wage a war against the Aztecs with all the local tribes on his side because they no longer wished to live in fear of being sacrifices to gods. Cortez became rich and those religions are gone. Just another character in history who was purely vilified, yet he did both good and evil, so it's an interesting thing.

[@robert48719]

Fun fact: the stone age is not called as which because people only used stones. In fact every other tool or product of that time has been biodegraded by now, except for stone. Thats why

[@davidmedlin8562]

New research seems to show that the first beings to use stone tools werent even our ancestors but our cousins homo afarensis or something im not good at remembering the names

[@chiluditospro2]

I'm Mexican, and your pronunciation of "Tenochtitlan" is actually perfect, better than many Mexican I know btw jaja. I always appreciate it a lot when people actually try to pronunciate things properly, be it in whatever language it may be. Cheers!

[@TheMaulam12345]

ofc he most likely pronou it correctly or even better than some Mexican, u wonder why?

[@morgangallowglass8668]

Epic as always! Please, more content like this!

[@joetamaccio9475]

Totally enjoy all your videos much respect.

[@samamies88]

Great video. Very educative. But did i miss how many cities Alexandria named after? I think i hear 2 different teasers about you soon getting to the number but then you started talking about pope and cats? Did i just miss it or misunderstand? Still a entertaining video.

[@300fusionfall]

It's missing from the video

[@styxspeedrun]

I also was left hanging on this

[@benjaminrees3687]

Yeah same. He never said I believe. Just left us hanging

[@gregkirschke5559]

Okay I am not crazy, or some how blacking out (repeatedly) at the exact same moment this big reveal is made! Very relieved. 🤣. Anyway very fun video despite this

[@ImpetusOmnipotens]

I believe it's about 20 something

[@AlbonitumG]

Interesting video, but if I may criticize a little: you never mentioned why shortest war was so short, was it an official war or just border conflict etc, and forgot to tell how many cities Alexander called Alexandria. Also, Tower of Pisa is in fact leaning due to engineering problem, and so it wasn't always leaning - not until they put three stories up. Otherwise, it was entertaining and informative, thank you.

[@Ilwenray85]

Sorry for my English, is not my first language. On the last point, maybe he started counting when the building was finished, and the last stone was placed. One could argue that, because once those mistakes were found they didn't start over, but kept building while compensating the leaning instead, that the leaning ended up being a part of the design. Not at the start of Tower of Pisa's existence, but before its completion. You are free to disagree with that point of view of course xD Edit: Grammar, probably there is more mistakes there, that I can't notice in my ignorance.

[@AlbonitumG]

@@Ilwenray85 don't worry, English is not my first language too :) Either way, you speak well enough so I got your point. Also, if you can understand Metatron despite his accent, you are not as bad as you think. Well, they did choose to complete the tower, so you could say that actually became part of the design. The tower still stands, meaning a lot of effort was put into compensation for it's leaning.

[@lidijaplestenjak2129]

Really enjoyed this video, thank you!👌

[@ZachOfSteel]

I would love for this to become a regular thing on your channel! Great content as usual

[@xxTerraPrimexx]

Your videos are awesome dude.

[@fernandocardenas2264]

Funny and fascinating!!! Great work, as always!!! Greetings from Nevada!!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@skycaster9948]

Great content as always. I like to see you more chilled. keep it up

[@rustyk4645]

These Facts LITERALLY Blew your Mind! You seem to have Recovered well. Glad you were able to piece it back together.

[@FourOf92000]

12:44 to elaborate on "shatters eardrums 40 miles away": at that distance (and so, probably the topic under discussion) is the British ship _Norham Castle._ The captain writes in the ship's log: > So violent are the explosions that the ear-drums of over half my crew have been shattered. My last thoughts are with my dear wife. I am convinced that the Day of Judgement has come.

[@billkipper3264]

So, how many cities did Alexander name Alexandria?

[@marcz2903]

I think part of the reason we think of the Aztec empire as ancient is also because, while their culture was very complex and sophisticated, technologically, they were still in the stone age when the Spanish encountered them, and we tend to think of stone age civilizations as existing in prehistory. We forget that technology advanced at different rates in different places.

[@AnimeHiro]

Please more of these videos! That was very interesting👍🏻

[@Whayleejay]

There is a great sketch on this show I watched as a child about Alexander naming all his cities "Alexandria". Horrible Histories was the name of the show.

[@themubloom]

Alexander also sniffs some dude's hair in that scene.

[@Whayleejay]

@@themubloom "Skinny-man-dria"

[@hazemeid5460]

Alexandria (Egypt) managed to be the most famous among the other cities this could be contributed to Ptolemy Soter and Ptolemy Philadelphos

[@hazemeid5460]

@Fureori this is also true

[@emilioi.valdez6680]

Going for the Krakatoa section of the video, the 1833 eruption or at least one of the eruptions in the 1800's is the basis for the frozen apocalypse setting in the video game Frostpunk by 11 Bit Studios. Basically it was a global volcanic winter caused by Krakatoa in an alternate Victorian era.

[@Enyavar1]

1883 (Krakatoa) or 1815 (Tambora) ? The former is more famous for the atmospheric effects and dbid happen in Victorian times, the latter was more desastrous (look up the "year without summer").

[@Enyavar1]

He talks about: - Stone age lasted really long. No surprise to anyone who heard of Neanderthals. - Aztek Empire was founded in the 14th century. Yeah, and the Inka in the 11th century. Duh! - Leaning tower of Pisa was never upright. - Anglo-Zanzibar war lasting 38 minutes (no mention what the conflict was about!) - Krakatoa explosion was loud. Yeah no kidding. - There are many Alexandrias. How many? Wait, that comes lat... nevermind. - Mythbusting: Gregor did not exterminate cats. COME ON that was wholly disappointing.

[@chris210352]

I am soooo impressed with your pronunciations of names, especially Krakatoa and Djakarta! ❤

[@kamikaze5528]

Now, remember that Oxford is not the oldest university around. That would be the University of Bologna.

[@kgosimagano8966]

Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world, no one's disputing Bologna University's longevity

[@lisacook8235]

Wasn't the Krakatoa eruption in 1883?

[@Enyavar1]

yes

[@Americandream2]

It was so educational.so glad to fount ur channel!plus ur Xbox is looking outstanding there.fitting well in the spot.

[@sadrera3593]

Thanks so much for these. You've definable made work more enjoyable tonight. Subscribed.

[@cadethumann8605]

A more modern example, but there was a man in ww2 named MadJack Churchill who fought with a longbow and a sword. And guess what? He kicked a whole lotta ass.

[@styxspeedrun]

That dude was totally crazy and one of the most interesting figures in ww2 I've read about.

[@cadethumann8605]

@styxspeedrun His story does sound a bit like Captain America's (at least the first movie that is) if you think about it.

[@staC-wh6ik]

He sounds like a character from Team Fortress 2

[@Matthewjs33]

I just look him up. What an interesting, brave and eccentric figure in history. He also invented fresh water surfing in his later years.

[@danielmalinen6337]

If you want to hear one mind-blowing thing more.... Foreigners often ask us Finns how Finland won in WWII, but the reality is that even though we were victorious, we actually lost and Finland was forced into territorial cessions and war reparations. But it was a bit like Finland's victory with a bitter payments because our independence was kept. For some, this is mind-blowing and difficult to internalize and understand. However, this is a much more recent historical fact than what was told in the video.

[@mandowarrior123]

Well yes, it was a conditional peace, but a nigh unbelievable one. You can see how they made the mistake as Finland broke the back of the Soviet union's new modern Soviet mechanized army using tactics new and old executed to near perfection. A perfect asymmetric war. And the Soviets were meant to be THE cold weather force. It just isn't possible without the Finns being daring, stubborn and unbreakable. Finland paid dearly in blood, land and money but nobody wants to try that again. Precious few nations are 'too costly to capture' and it still pays dividends today. Finland had lots of help of course, but it is a stark contrast to european nations that folded like a house of cards at the first sign of war.

[@realbobphilips]

Loved the Video !!

[@NickBR57]

Nice selection of facts. Thanks!

[@Svartalf14]

OK, I'm blown, I never thought our ancestors had been tool users for that long. but yeah, Oxford is an old institution, while the Aztecs were newcomers to the empire game... I suspect the same can be predicated about the Tawantisuyu/Inca empire.

[@willfakaroni5808]

Did you know Oxford is older then the German empire

[@Svartalf14]

@@willfakaroni5808 which one? the one founded on Prussia, or the original Holy Roman Germanic Empire?

[@omargerardolopez3294]

@@Svartalf14 Nobodu calls the HRE the German Empire

[@willfakaroni5808]

@@Svartalf14 the only one that called themselves the German empire

[@Svartalf14]

@@willfakaroni5808 Dritter Reich?

[@fredazcarate4818]

Brilliant video with a touch Italic humour. You Sir a gifted instructor. Carry on Metatron.

[@nazarnovitsky9868]

Thank You for new video ! 😊

[@labrat9296]

Excellent Video. Thanks

[@lezanoloserio7944]

Mind blowing fact: "Cleopatra isn't black"

[@uberdonkey9721]

Beautiful video. I knew about the stone age as I'm a biologist, but what's interesting to me is just the huge development that happened in Europe esp. Oxford uni. The development of thought is surely one of the main things that we as humans have achieved. Comparing that many people can discuss how to find life on other planets, whereas in the stone age we likely didn't even know what stars are.

[@ABC1701A]

Also Bologna University has been continuously operating since 1088, Salamanca since 1134, Cambridge since 1209 and St. Andrews in Scotland since 1413 so all are older than the Aztec Empire. Mind boggling in a way.

[@Sirillius]

Great video man.

[@lostincase858]

Great video mate 👍

[@Masterhistory1492]

Hey Metatron you should review or stream the Medieval murder mystery game Pentiment for its historical accuracy! Big fan of your channel!

[@n.d.m.515]

These Eras, such as Paleolithic, are not set in stone. They are terms set up by those who study the past to make it easier to discuss in an academic setting. Yes, there are things that can be pointed to as qualities of those times, but that is still arbitrary choices.

[@shelbyspeaks3287]

"Not set in stone" good one... 😂😉

[@IrishScouseViking]

METATRON U R THE MAN , love your work brother,

[@pepper4942]

Hey Metatron, if you get the chance to read this, I was wondering your take on the theory that human civilazation is much older than we currently believe? Not so much a super advanced civilization or anything, just much earlier civilizations of some form? There's mounting evidence in the last few decades like the Tepe sights. I just find it hard to believe civilization is only a few thousand years old. Especially with human DNA now dating back over a million years now. So maybe the stone age wasn't 3 million or 3 hundred thousand years long, maybe we have had more than one stone age. I think these are interesting theories to ponder and look forward to new archeological discoveries to expand our understanding of human progression over the last million years.

[@h.w.4482]

hey mettatron I wonder if you ever covered pope boniface VIII and the appointment of the Avignon pope! I started reading about it a while back, and it's really interesting!

[@awesomehpt8938]

Anyone who kills a cat deserves a place in hell.

[@boblabla4756]

If all my history teachers talked like you, I would know more history.

[@johnbarry1965]

Brilliant channel, spend many happy hours here xxxxx

[@omalleyshepherd2936]

Wow! The stone ages…Staggering length of time!

[@saudisinaudis]

Hey Metatron! I thought you might find this interesting because it reminded me of something you mentioned in this video regarding the leaning tower of pisa. It was specifically you said that the tower itself was eight stories high, but they noticed that their leaning issue occurred beyond the third storey... I'm a British Civil Engineer and interestingly, when you construct a wall under the guidance of the original British Standard (the official engineering guidance) it says that you cannot build a wall eight times higher than it is three times wide and tall without providing appropriate supports hence, without the these supports the wall is more likely to lean or even collapse! This is very much a very old fashioned 'rule of thumb' and now it's backed with relevant calculations in the more modern documents and I was just wondering if it was a coincidence or something passed down as common knowledge through ancient stone masons and so on... It then made me think it would be really cool to hear some facts that you might be able to find from ancient engineering technology. I would also even be happy to give you some engineering explanations or principles for your own understanding to support your commentary on such a video! Have a good day!

[@alessandromazzini7026]

Fantastic videos as always❤

[@keeper1978]

Thank you for your content been watching All you videos I really like the historical stuff you post

[@chrisowen8444]

Krakatoa erupted in 1883 not 1833.

[@ShrexyGuy]

The stone age actually didnt surprise me because i remember a story from an archeology site, I think it was linked to the Smithsonian, that found a 2.9 million years old flint tipped spear. The University of Oxford one did stun me though

[@kaltaron1284]

That it's that old or that the Aztec Empire is that young? Or both?

[@ShrexyGuy]

@@kaltaron1284 that it's that old. As an American I don't really pay much attention to English monuments or universities so I never knew it's age

[@kaltaron1284]

@@ShrexyGuy To be honest many Europeans are also surprised how old some of our universities are.

[@rustyshackleford7288]

Your channel is perfect !! 🎉❤

[@xXLunatikxXlul]

I would love to see a video on history books you recommend reading!

[@thossi09]

The "phalleolithic"? Is that when men where hard as a rock?

[@forsetigodofjusticeexcelle7506]

I had no idea the Aztecs called themselves the Mexica. Considering they are the the entire reason Mexico has it's name, you would think that would be more well known? Or do i have this backwards, was it called Mexico before they got there and they named themselves after the land?

[@vladprus4019]

They were initially calling themselves "Aztlan" (this is the source of the word "Aztec"), according to the legend and changed name to "Mexica" after migrating into Tenochititlan. The land was than named after than... but only the land around their city initially, it got wider meaning after the Spanish conquest. It's also worth to know that language and cultures of people related to Mexica is called Nahuatl and that Mexica "Aztects" were just one of those peoples that just happened to be dominant among the rest around the time of Spanish conquest (note: Maya are not considered Nahuatl, but a separete neighboring cultural/linguistic group)

[@DeeezNutttts]

Filled with Simplicity ‼️‼️