Weird and Wonderful History Week

Kennel Special

The surprising history of Victorian dog shows

An early Christian standing stone situated in an open field at Gelligaer Common near Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. (Getty Images)

Where history happened: the villages that disappeared

Winston Churchill on roller skates

Second World War

How the roller skating craze caught Churchill

A medieval king dining

Pig-chickens, beavers’ tails and turtle soup: 8 fascinating foods through history

The arrival of Sir Walter Raleigh in Virginia

What happened to the lost colony of Roanoke Island?

The reconcilliation between Thomas Becket and Henry II. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

From the handshake to the high-five: a brief history of gestures

German women carrying children believed to be part of the Lebensborn programme

Second World War

The woman who gave birth for Hitler

c1916: British soldiers sitting around a lamp in their trench. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

First World War

10 First World War slang words we still use today

King Ludwig II of Bavaria. (Photo by Roger Viollet/Getty Images)

9 eccentric monarchs through history

Peasants in the Middle Ages at a cattle market. Cows appear to have been difficult to manage in the medieval period, and caused several deaths. (Photo by INTERFOTO /Alamy)

5 strange causes of death in the medieval period

Carter-mummyjpg-2-43d7c6b

Tutankhamun: who’s afraid of the pharaoh’s curse?

Musician and dancing fool in Paris, 14th century. (Christophel Fine Art/UIG via Getty Images)

What was life like for a court jester?

Heck cows, the result of Nazi breeding experiments. Seven Heck cows had to be put down in January 2015 after they tried, on multiple occasions, to attack Devon farmer Derek Gow. (Photo by Jim Wileman/Alamy Stock Photo)

Nazi super-cows and defamed Gods: 7 strange and forgotten moments in history

People gather around the Mona Lisa painting on January 4, 1914 in Paris France, after it was stolen from the ouvre by Vincenzo Peruggia in 1911. (Photo by Roger-Viollet/Getty Images)

6 weird things that have happened in August through history

Coca cola bottles from the 1990s

From Velcro to Viagra: 10 products that were invented by accident