No, this alleged torture gadget did not exist. The widespread usage of the term "mediaeval" is a typical 18th-century fiction, fueled by conceptions of the Middle Ages as a generally uncivilised era of murder and mayhem. (They weren't awful, but they weren't great.)

After the 1914–15 season, the Football League ceased its schedule, and amateur competitions were tough to organise with so many men in the war, so women stepped in. Munitions workers, or'munitionettes,' organised football teams and competed against other plants. Munitionette football had a large fan base, and many matches were held on the grounds of professional teams. When the conflict ended, the female players were forced to hang up their boots and return to the domestic life they had been leading before to the war. However, the sport continued to thrive until 1921, when women were barred from playing on Football League fields.

If you thought cats spent a lot of their lives sleeping, you’d be right. According to Veterinary Hub, Cats actually spend 70% of their lives sleeping, which works out to around 13-16 hours a day. It’s a cat’s life!

Here's some interesting DC trivia for you superhero fans! Because of a legal dispute, DC's Captain Marvel is also known as "Shazam." When Marvel learned that DC was planning to resurrect an old hero named "Captain Marvel," they swooped in with a copyright for their own "Captain Marvel" before DC could complete all of the paperwork. That's when Detective Comics decided to rename its hero "Shazam."

Redheads are more prone to acquire skin cancer due to their pale skin and susceptibility to UV exposure. According to the International Journal of Disease, natural redheads are around two and a half times more likely to get hazardous cancer than persons with other hair colors.

Valletta, Malta's capital, was Europe's first planned city. In 1565, the city was sketched out by the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

Joan Benoit Samuelson of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, became the first woman to win a marathon in the Olympic Games. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, she earned a gold medal. In 2000, she was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame. She returned to the circuit in April 2019 at the age of 61, finishing the Boston Marathon at 3:04.

Part of our propensity for believing in conspiracy theories may be due to a social psychological bias that coincides with our distaste for random events. The propensity to think that the actions of others are intentional rather than the result of external events is known as Fundamental Attribution Error. As a result, when things happen randomly or unintentionally, we may feel compelled to seek a purposeful explanation. This might conceivably contribute to the development of conspiracy ideas.

Because earthenware is porous and allows for even heat distribution, the food cooks more tenderly and tastes better. The benefits and goodness of nutrition and flavor are retained in the food cooked in these pots, which keeps it fresher for longer.

 The lack of natural predators in their usurped habitat is why sea lampreys have been so successful in their penetration into the Lakes. This increases the urgency with which the administration must cope with the invasion.

A female shrimp will give birth to an insane number of eggs that will hatch in two weeks during a single season. As long as there is food, they can also thrive in any.

What’s with the long face? In Milan, the law compels you to smile. It’s prescribed by a city regulation from Austro-Hungarian times that was never repealed. Exemptions included funeral goers, hospital workers or those at the bedside of an ill family member. For everybody else there is no excuse for being glum, the alternative being a fine.

Lions prefer hunting at night as they have eyes that are adapted to the dark. And these features give them a great advantage over their prey. Lions also prefer hunting during the storms as the noise and wind make it harder for the prey to hear or see them, and hence they can easily attack them. A great strategy, isn't it?

The first tightrope walk occurred in 1859, when Charles Blondin wore pink tights and walked a one-inch-thick tightrope over a part of Niagara Falls. Blondin returned to Niagara Falls numerous times more, including one excursion while blindfolded. In 2012, Nik Wallenda became the first person to walk across the Niagara Falls on a tightrope. Wallenda walked in front of tens of thousands of people and had his journey broadcast live on television.

According to a 2019 poll of 1,132 menopausal women conducted by Newson Health Clinic, 76% of their companies did not provide any type of menopause assistance, despite the fact that over 90% of respondents felt that their symptoms were negatively impacting their job.

In 1920, German citizen Hans Riegel of Bonn founded his own confectionery business. He was tired of his unfulfilling job as a confectionery worker. He initially made hard, colourless sweets, and his wife delivered them for him. When his hard candies stopped selling at street fairs, he had the idea to make fruit snacks out of gelatin. The recipe wasn't entirely his own invention, but he did perfect it. They draw influence from Japanese rice candies and Turkish delight.

Speaking of Hannibal the cannibal, while Anthony Hopkins turned the crazy-smart serial killer into an unforgettable cultural touchstone, the role was originally supposed to go to Gene Hackman, who bought the rights to The Silence of the Lambs and had planned on directing the film himself. He backed off the project when he decided that the role was too dark for his taste.

Popsicles could end up being one of the world's most happy accidents if we have our way. According to National Public Radio, the magnificent summer treat was created in 1905 on a winter's night by a little boy by the name of Frank Epperson. He mistakenly left it out in the cold overnight after mixing a soft drink with soda water power and water with a wooden stirrer, which was thought to be a popular activity at the time. That's when a popsicle appeared!

How much melanin, or pigment, is present in the eye affects the color of the eye The color of the eyes will be darker if there is a lot of melanin present. 

It is a sin to visit Bangkok and not meander through the lanes of Chatuchak weekend market. Located on Kamphaeng Phet 2 road, it is the world's largest and most diverse market with an astounding 15,000 stalls divided into 27 sections. Objects and tidbits of all kinds are found here, and it's easy to get lost amongst the crowd of 200,000 - 300,000 daily visitors. Just remember to use maps and stay hydrated with some iced tea. If you want something smaller and more manageable, fret not. Almost every part of Bangkok has a weekly market. Some notable ones to check out are the night markets at Phra Ram 9 MRT station and JJ greens. 

The relationship between spirituality and religion can be complicated. There are so many different religions today, and some of them have similar beliefs about God or an afterlife. Anyone can enjoy and benefit from spiritual practices, regardless of their religious beliefs (or lack thereof). The relationship between spirituality and religion is that religion is (hopefully) spiritual, but spirituality is not a religion (defined as a set of rules or dogma).

Bed bugs are nearly impossible to eradicate and can spread as quickly as water cooler gossip. But it's also possible that's why they've lasted so long. According to a 2019 study published in Current Biology, scientists believe that the bugs have been around since the time of the dinosaurs, first appearing around 115 million years ago. "It was a revelation to think that the pests that live in our beds today evolved more than 100 million years ago and were walking the earth alongside dinosaurs," said researcher Mike Siva-Jothy. "It demonstrates that the evolution of bed bugs is far more complex than we previously thought."

Many fans recognise the portmanteau that makes the name "Gundam" as "gun" and "freedom," but this is just half the tale. While it was the original notion, and how the authors arrived to "Gundam," they finally chose "Gundam." Yoshiyuki Tomino, one of the series' animators who helped conceive the concept, imagined the Gundam as a robot brandishing a pistol so strong that it would hold back foes like a dam holds back water.

Abraham Lincoln was crowned wrestling champion before becoming the 16th President of the United States. In his roughly 300 matches, the 6'4" president suffered only one defeat. He developed a reputation as an outstanding boxer in New Salem, Illinois, for this. He eventually won his county's wrestling championship.