Not taught in school! A roundup of historical trivia and fun facts

Accompanist / Piano Instructoryuri
Accompanist pianist × piano instructor × web writer. I began piano lessons at age four and, inspired by my piano teacher, decided to pursue music. I went on to specialized music programs in high school and university, where I discovered the appeal of accompanying instrumentalists and singers. Currently, alongside teaching piano, I work mainly in my home region of Aichi as an accompanist for flute, voice, choir, and more. Through lessons, my students often introduce me to trending songs, and my hobby is trying anything on the piano—Japanese and Western pop, commercial jingles, and beyond. Since 2021, I’ve also been active as a web writer, covering music and a variety of other genres.
Keyboard playerSAKI
I’ve been playing the Electone since I was six, mainly performing Disney music, anime songs, and music from dramas and films. I post performance videos on YouTube and social media, and I also give concerts. Building on my Electone experience, I took up synthesizer and piano during my student years and performed at school-sponsored events. As a writer, I’ve covered not only music-related topics but a wide range of genres, so I hope to draw on my experience to deliver articles that make readers think, “I want to try that!” or “I want to listen to that!”

History that everyone studied in school.

Some people aren’t good at it, while others feel a sense of romance in a worldview completely different from today’s.

Most of what we learn in school focuses on major historical events, and it’s common not to touch on the small episodes around them.

So in this article, we’ll introduce trivia and fun facts about history that you wouldn’t cover in class.

We’ve focused on the surprising anecdotes of great figures and incidents that happened behind historical events—the interesting side of history you can’t learn in lessons.

Whether you love history or not, be sure to check it out!

Things You Won’t Learn in School! A Roundup of Trivia and Fun Facts About History (11–20)

Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s beard was a fake.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a warlord active from the Sengoku period through the Azuchi–Momoyama period, is said to have worn a false beard to project authority, reportedly due to insecurity about his appearance.

He achieved the unification of Japan, carried out the Taikō land survey to measure territories, and laid the foundations of the bakuhan system.

Born the son of a peasant, he lived in poverty with low social status, but it is said that through effort, talent, and connections he served Oda Nobunaga and rose in rank.

However, under the fourth shogun, Tokugawa Ietsuna, the shogunate issued an edict prohibiting large beards, banning the wearing of long facial hair.

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Chaplin was kidnapped after his death.

The king of comedy, Charles Chaplin, died in 1977 at the age of 88, but about two months later an incident occurred in which his body was stolen from its grave and he was kidnapped posthumously.

The perpetrators demanded a ransom of 100 million yen but were arrested.

Known as a perfectionist, Chaplin would keep the camera rolling until he was satisfied; for City Lights, released in 1931, he is said to have reshot a roughly three-minute scene 342 times.

He was also famous for his pro-Japanese sentiments, having hired a Japanese secretary and even visited Japan.

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There were no toilets in the Palace of Versailles.

It is said that the Palace of Versailles had no toilets.

In the 17th century, due to poor water management and unsanitary conditions, the situation regarding toilets at Versailles was reportedly extremely bad.

Both nobles and commoners relieved themselves in chamber pots and threw the waste out of windows, so the gardens and corridors were covered with filth and the smell was apparently quite awful.

Even today, European cities often have few public restrooms, making them hard to find.

Many public toilets also charge a fee, and some lack toilet seats.

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The treadmill was originally a torture device.

Treadmills, which many people use at home or in gyms to help address lack of exercise, were originally instruments of punishment.

In Japan they’re called “room runners,” but overseas they were known as tread apparatuses: prisoners would turn treadwheels for six hours a day, which powered water pumping, grain grinding, and even windmill mechanisms.

At that time, they were used as devices of torture.

With the abolition of prison laws, these punitive devices disappeared, and two professors developed a medical treadmill that came to be used for diagnosing heart and lung conditions.

Later, an exercise physiologist named Kenneth Cooper noted that medical treadmills were also good for training, which led to the creation of home-use treadmills.

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Takeda Shingen really hated caterpillars.

Takeda Shingen, a warlord of the Sengoku period, is said to have commanded the Takeda army—considered the strongest at the time—and even made Oda Nobunaga wary.

Despite Shingen’s fierce image, there was one thing he wasn’t good with: caterpillars.

There’s an anecdote about his dislike of them.

One day, after Tokugawa Ieyasu mocked him for it, Shingen put on a brave face and grabbed a caterpillar with his bare hand.

But the moment he did, he reportedly turned pale.

How pitiful, isn’t it?

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