History Facts

The Roman Catholic Church used to hire castrati. These were young male vocalists who had been castrated before their puberty. This allowed them to sing soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto well into their 40s. The practice started in the mid-1500s, reached its height in 1730, and ended in 1903. The last castrati died in 1922.

In the late 1700s, a letter appeared in major London newspaper complaining that England was being forced to take deported Prussian prisoners. The British were furious and wanted it stopped. The Prussians became upset because the uproar implied that England was too good for Prussian prisoners. Both governments became involved, and they were on the brink of war before it all unraveled as a hoax. The original letter, it was learned years later, had been written by Benjamin Franklin, who was spending six months in England as an ambassador and was simply bored, just stirring up trouble and sitting back and watching.