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by Bill O'Neill (Author)
Did you know that in 1520, at the age of 29, the English king Henry VIII challenged his French counterpart, King Francis I of France, to a wrestling match?
Even more bizarrely, the entire affair took place at a lavish diplomatic conference in the middle of a field in Calais-with the English king eventually being outplayed and beaten by his French rival. (Happily, despite his notoriously fierce temper, Henry so admired King Francis that he took the defeat on the chin, and the pair steadfastly remained good friends!)
Speaking of bizarre royal tales, did you know that another French king was so convinced that his internal organs were made of glass that he would sit for hours at a time on his throne, refusing to move a single muscle? And did you know that more than 100 different men once came forward claiming to be the long-lost son of Marie Antoinette, and therefore a claimant of the throne of France?
And speaking of hoaxes and deceptions, have you heard the one about the architectural magazine that invented a town in Massachusetts just so it could use up all the unused photographs in its archive? Or how about the story of the two high-society women in Georgian London who so violently fell out with one another that they ended up dueling in their petticoats in the middle of Hyde Park more than 200 years ago?
All of these remarkable tales-and dozens more like them!-are included in this new and fascinating collection of INTERESTING STORIES.
● Features more than 60 extraordinary and unbelievable tales
● Topics covered include sport, history, movies, science, music, nature, and language
● Covers thousands of years of history
● Featuring stories from all around the world
● Bonus chapters include lists of mad monarchs, hit songs written in less than an hour, and even a list of unusual animals that seemingly came back from the dead!
As varied as all these stories and tales are-and as many subjects and places as this fascinating new book covers-they all have one thing in common. They're all definitely interesting!
