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President Grant did when he visited Central City, Colorado.

It was 1873, and Central City was in the middle of a gold and silver mining boom. Throughout Colorado and elsewhere, the town was known as the "richest square mile on earth."

That claim may or may not have been true, but for awhile the town was very rich indeed. The town fathers were so proud of their town that they invited President Grant to pay them a visit.

When he agreed, they were astonished and pleased. They wondered how they could impress their important visitor. They found their answer in silver bricks. Read more »

Petalesharo was the son of a Skidi Pawnee Chief whose tribe had captured a young and beautiful Comanche girl in the year 1817.

For an entire year she was treated like a royal princess, unaware that she was soon to die as part of a human sacrifice ritual.

At the appointed time, she was given a last, delicious meal, her beautiful clothes were stripped away, and the startled young girl was tied to a scaffold high in the center of the village. Warriors fitted their bows with poison arrows, awaiting the signal from tribal elders that would lead to her death. Read more »

Blackbeard the Pirate used to put lighted matches under his hat so he could enjoy the sound and smell of his hair burning.

Blackbeard's real name was Edward Teach. He was born around 1680 in Bristol, England. From a very young age he wanted to be a pirate. In order to learn his "trade," he became an apprentice to another famous pirate, Benjamin Hornigold.

Soon, Edward Teach had learned enough about sailing, robbing, and murder to be able to go out on his own. His favorite hunting ground became the seas off the coast of North and South Carolina. Read more »

The Zulus are a tribe of people who live in Africa.

When their country has been without rain for a long time, they bury their children in the earth leaving only their heads above ground. It is the Zulus' belief that the sky will take pity on the youngsters and send down rain.

When the Dun tribesmen of Australia have been without rain for a long time, they dress themselves with bird down and try to look like fluffy clouds so the sky will send rain to them.

In the United States the Hopi Indians of Arizona have long been famous for doing a snake dance that is supposed to bring rain. Read more »

They don't have presidents in India, but there is a group of people called Todas who think the milkman is the greatest hero on earth.

They think he is far more important than a president. In fact, he is the most important man in town. In spite of the honor this man has, he has to do several unusual things.

He cannot cut his fingernails or toenails, nor can he cut his hair. On Mondays and Thursdays, no one can speak to him, and never, no matter what day it is, can anyone touch him.

Doesn't sound like such a great job, does it? Read more »

It happened in 1914, during the early days of movies.

Movie makers wanted real-life pictures for a war movie. They knew that Pancho Villa, the Mexican revolutionary leader was about to go to war against the dictator of Mexico. The movie company signed a contract with Villa.

Villa agreed to fight his war the way the movie director wanted him to. Since the early movie cameras could "shoot" only when there was plenty of sunlight, Villa had to fight his war between the hours of nine in the morning and four in the afternoon. There was to be no fighting at night. Read more »

The famous French poet Charles Baudelaire took great delight in shocking both his friends and strangers.

One of his favorite pranks was to walk a lobster through the streets of Paris on a leash. A few years earlier, the famous Countess of Eglintoune tried to shock her friends in another way.

She would invite them all to her house for a big dinner. When they were seated at the table with their food before them, she would tap on the wall. Out of a hole would come a pack of rats who would eat the guests' food before they had even had a bite. Read more »

Queen Elizabeth I got in a lot of trouble when she first ate with a fork.

The leaders of the Church of England said that she had insulted God when she didn't use her fingers to eat meat. Of course, all of this happened back in the 1600's, right after the fork was invented. Read more »

Ludwig Van Beethoven, one of the greatest composers of all time, believed that having cold water poured over his head helped him to dream up beautiful music.

Many people called "creative geniuses" have had strange ideas of what helps them create. The famous writer Charles Dickens said his bed always had to face the North Pole because its magnetic forces helped him create.

Rudyard Kipling, author of The Jungle Book, said he couldn't write unless he had black ink. A famous poet named Schiller had to keep a supply of rotten apples handy so he could smell them. Read more »

What this great American president hated was his nickname, Abe.

He even disliked the nickname "Honest Abe." Lincoln was honest, but he wasn't above trickery. While serving as a state lawmaker, he had a very cunning trick.

If he didn't think his side was going to win a vote and knew that if he wasn't around there wouldn't be enough people to take a vote, he'd just jump out a window. That way his side wouldn't lose. Read more »