Italy was a dictatorship until 1945, while having a royal dynasty until 1946. Following WWII, the country decided to become a republic, and King Umberto II governed briefly from May 9 to June 12, 1946. He spent the rest of his days in exile in Portugal. In Italy, he is regarded as "the May King," a reference to his exceptionally brief rule.

Ancient Egyptians regarded cats to be sacred creatures. Most households are said to have kept a cat as a pet because they felt it would bring them good luck!

Another fascinating Russian truth is that Russians learn not to grin as they get older. While many cultures consider smiling to be a sign of happiness and friendliness, Russians do not. Smiling, according to Russians, is a sign of weakness and not expressing one's actual sentiments. Russians grin when they see individuals they know and care about, but not when they see strangers, as many other cultures do. If you smile at a Russian on the street, don't expect them to reciprocate the favour; nevertheless, while driving around Russia, we noticed that many Russians smiled and waved back.

Ventriloquist dummies, like dolls, have become a staple of horror films. A ventriloquist's dummy named Slappy is one of R.L. Stine's most iconic antagonists. If they terrify you, avoid visiting the Ven Haven Museum near Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. Vintage ventriloquist dummies line the walls. This is undoubtedly your worst nightmare if you're afraid of dolls. How funny, these people should have destroyed them, but no, they thought why not show it to the world...

Stubbs, an orange cat, was named honorary mayor of the Alaskan town of Talkeetna in 1997. With a population of 772 in 2000, it would not have taken many votes to win the position (and the small town didn't have a real, human mayor anyway), but Stubbs proved adept at the role, gaining fans from all over the world and "serving" in the position for years, greeting tourists and becoming a beloved symbol of the town until his death in 2017.

Traditionally, Russia was Moldova's largest export market, consuming up to 90% of its wine. However, a diplomatic conflict in 2006 resulted in a Russian ban on Moldovan and Georgian products, which has proved disastrous to the economies of both countries. Nonetheless, it is the world's 20th largest wine-producing country (as of 2014).

Not everyone like frightening movies, but for those who do, there are a few hypotheses as to why, with the major one involving hormones. You receive all the adrenaline, endorphins, and dopamine from a fight-or-flight reaction when you watch a scary movie or go through a haunted house, but your brain knows that you're not truly in danger, so you get that natural high without the risk.

Walter Arnold of the English town of Paddock Wood, Kent, was the first person to be charged for speeding, according to Guinness World Records. On January 28, 1896, Arnold was caught driving four times the speed limit in his 19th-century Benz—but because the speed limit at the time was only two miles per hour, he wasn't travelling too fast by today's standards. The officer had to track him down on his bike, issuing a £4 7s penalty and earning Arnold the swift distinction.

Those enormous Stetsons you associate with cowboys like John Wayne, Billy the Kid, and Wyatt Earp? Yeah. Those were not worn by cowboys. In reality, the headgear of choice for nineteenth-century cowboys was a bowler hat.

Cheese rolling is one of the oddest sports that takes place every spring in Gloucestershire, in the west of England. An 8-pound round of Double Gloucester cheese is rolled from the top of Cooper Hill, and competitors pursue it down to the bottom. They are intended to catch the cheese, but it is nearly impossible, thus the first person to cross the finish line wins the cheese.

A translator rewrote the story in the 1600s. When the prince attempted to follow Cinderella, Aschenputtel (Cinderella) lost her left shoe at the stairwell.

In the good ol' USA, around 300 billion pizzas are sold each year. Not only that, but 93 percent of Americans have eaten pizza in the last month, according to a recent survey. Around the Super Bowl, there is a significant increase in pizza delivery sales. It doesn't get any more American than that! Unfortunately, there is no official statistics on how many of those pies were devoured as a result of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos' "Two Pizza Rule."

Why, even if you're not weary, do you yawn when someone else does? There are several hypotheses as to why yawning is contagious, but one of the most popular is that it demonstrates empathy. People who are less inclined to demonstrate empathy, such as toddlers who haven't yet learned it or young people with autism, are also less likely to yawn in response to someone else's.

Your brain is working on problem solving and learning skills while you sleep. If you're learning a new skill or studying new information, getting enough sleep and having dreams can help you learn faster.

The United States government physically poisoned booze during Prohibition. When individuals continued to drink alcohol despite its prohibition, law enforcement authorities were dissatisfied and decided to try a different form of deterrent—death. They directed the poisoning of industrial alcohols made in the United States, which were frequently stolen by bootleggers. The federal poisoning operation is estimated to have killed at least 10,000 individuals by the end of Prohibition in 1933.

There is a spa in Japan where you can bathe in coffee, as well as wine, tea, and other beverages! Bathing in coffee is said to have recharging, relaxing, and skin beautifying properties.

If you're familiar with Spider-Man, you'll know that one of his most potent talents is his renowned Spider Sense. This heightened sense had alerted him of impending threats and had saved his life several times. His spidey sense was always on and practically hard to avoid. It was unaffected by darkness or blindness. That alone makes it incredible, but it is far more potent than you may expect. It alerted him of existential hazards to his well-being in addition to acute bodily concerns. It would even warn him to any possible witnesses when he changed his outfit, for example.

You may or may not be aware that love can result in strong infatuation. The same serotonin levels reported in persons with obsessive-compulsive disorder, an anxiety disorder, are found in those with infatuation. This is most likely why you can't seem to think of anyone else while you're in love.

According to recent study from the University of Bristol, just 0.006 percent of the Korean population carries the ABCC11 gene. This gene is responsible for armpit odour. In fact, the study discovered that most East Asians lack this gene, with Koreans having the lowest amounts. While this may come as a surprise to Americans, it isn't a significant deal in Korea because deodorant isn't widely available!

Dresses were worn by men from many cultures around the world. The Scottish kilt, for example, and the toga worn by the ancient Greeks were all examples of menswear. Dresses were only later appropriated by women, and men stopped wearing them.

Unfortunately, Apple has officially announced that they will not share the iPhone sales figure anymore back on November 1, 2018. So, we actually don’t the current sales figures of the iPhone. However, we can tell you the number from 2007 to 2018, though. Reports say that Apple has sold over 2.3 billion units of iPhone in this period. And, they sold about 220 million iPhones in 2018 alone.

If you're using romantic whispers to impress a potential partner, make sure to speak into his or her left ear. An MITCogNet study discovered that when emotion stimuli were delivered to the left ear, recall accuracy was more than 6% higher than when the same stimuli were delivered to the right ear.

You might have already noticed that every picture of iPhones on any advertisement has the time set at 9:41. But why is that? There is a cool story behind this. When Steve Jobs announced the first iPhone, the local time was 9:42 at that time in San Francisco, California. They knew that they will unveil the iPhone at 9:42 and set the time to 9:42 in the slideshow as well.

However, when the iPad was released, they announced it at 9:41. Since then, this is still in effect as of yet. So, whenever you see an iPhone in any advertisement, you will see the time is set at 9:41. And, it is not a coincidence at all. Now you know the story behind this as well.

Now, before you start freaking out, please hear us out! Sedentism is encouraged in today's environment. After all, we sit during our commutes, to eat, to watch TV, to work, to socialise with our friends, and so on. It turns out that even if you exercise regularly, it won't keep you safe from the risks of the "office lifestyle."