Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, was the uncle of both Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, the beheaded wives of King Henry VIII. He was eventually condemned himself, but a day before his execution, Henry VIII died. He remained imprisoned until Mary I took the throne, and she was sympathetic toward a loyal Roman Catholic vassal and spared him.

Cow tipping isn’t real because cows sleep lying down.

The phrase “Bob’s your uncle” is a British English idiom meaning “everything is all right,” “and there you have it,” or “that’s all there is to it.” The most widely accepted origin story involves British Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, also known as Lord Salisbury. In 1887, he appointed his nephew, Arthur Balfour, as Chief Secretary for Ireland. The appointment was seen as an act of nepotism, implying that Balfour got the position simply because “Bob’s your uncle.”

The Chicago Cubs gave Steve Bartman (who famously interfered with a foul ball by accident during a crucial championship game) a World Series ring when they won in 2016, as a gesture to bring closure to the incident.

In Spain, a unique New Year’s Eve tradition involves eating twelve grapes, one for each chime of the clock at midnight, believed to bring good luck for the coming year.

In the mid-20th century, some shoe stores in the United States used X-ray machines, known as fluoroscopes, to help customers assess shoe fit. These devices, also called X-ray shoe fitters or pedoscopes, allowed customers and salespeople to view the bones of the foot inside the shoe. While initially popular, concerns about radiation exposure(especially for children) eventually led to their discontinuation.

Marmaduke Stephenson, William Robinson, and Mary Dyer were three Quakers hanged for their faith by Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Ironically, their executions sparked the decline of Puritan theocracy and the rise of New England’s independence, as King Charles II passed his first major law curbing Puritan autonomy in response to this and other offenses.