King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway was returning from an expedition in Wendland (modern-day Poland) when he sailed straight into one of the most famous traps in Viking history. The 25-year-old king had been busy converting Norway to Christianity and trying to unify the country under his rule, which had made him plenty of enemies. Svein Forkbeard of Denmark, Olaf Skötkonung of Sweden, and the Norwegian Jarl Eirik Hákonarson had been plotting against him, and they'd found the perfect opportunity to strike.

Olaf had been tricked by Jarl Sigvaldi, who was supposed to be an ally but was secretly working with the enemy coalition. Sigvaldi convinced Olaf that rumors of an ambush were false, so the Norwegian king sent most of his fleet home since his men were getting impatient. This left Olaf with just 11 warships when he encountered the enemy fleet of at least 70 ships waiting in the western Baltic Sea near a place called Svolder.

The battle was completely one-sided from the start. Olaf's ships were captured one by one as the overwhelming enemy force surrounded them. The king's famous flagship, the "Long Serpent," was the last to fall. According to the sagas, when defeat became inevitable, Olaf threw himself into the sea in full armor rather than be captured alive. Whether he drowned or somehow escaped became one of the great mysteries of the Viking Age.

After the Battle of Svolder, Norway was carved up among the victors. Sweden got several northern districts, Denmark regained control of the Viken region in the south, and Jarl Eirik ruled the rest as a Danish vassal. Olaf's attempts to Christianize Norway were largely undone as the new rulers allowed people to return to their pagan beliefs. The battle marked the end of Norway's brief independence and showed that even the most charismatic Viking king couldn't survive when all his neighbors decided to gang up on him.

Boston's police officers were fed up and ready to walk. They hadn't received a raise in decades while the cost of living had shot up 75% since 1913. These guys were working 72 to 98 hours per week, sleeping in filthy, overcrowded station houses that dated back to before the Civil War, and sharing four toilets and one bathtub among 135 men. When they tried to join the American Federation of Labor for support, Police Commissioner Edwin Upton Curtis refused and suspended 19 union organizers.

At 5:45 PM on September 9th, 1,117 out of 1,544 officers - about 72% of the force - simply walked off the job. The vote to strike had been overwhelming: 1,134 to 2 in favor. Boston basically had no police protection that night, and it didn't take long for things to go sideways. People immediately started looting stores, breaking windows, and causing mayhem in downtown Boston. By 8 PM, an estimated 10,000 people were crowding the streets in Scollay Square, taking advantage of the situation.

Governor Calvin Coolidge stepped in and called out the Massachusetts State Guard to restore order. When the guardsmen fired into crowds, killing several people, the violence began to die down. Harvard students and volunteers helped patrol the streets while the situation got under control. The newspapers had a field day, calling the strike "Bolshevistic" and claiming it was part of a communist plot to destroy American society.

Commissioner Curtis refused to rehire any of the striking officers and instead hired 1,574 replacement cops, mostly unemployed World War I veterans. Ironically, the new officers got exactly what the strikers had been asking for - higher pay, better working conditions, and more vacation time. Coolidge became a national hero for his tough stance, famously declaring "There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, anytime." This reputation would eventually help propel him to the presidency, while the failed strike set back police unionization efforts for decades.

Invention of Ice Cream🍦
Ancient Chinese invented ice cream around 200 BCE by mixing milk, rice, and snow. Chinese emperors enjoyed this early frozen treat during hot summers, and the recipe was so closely guarded that it took over 1,000 years for similar frozen desserts to appear in other cultures.

Roman Fire Brigade🔥
Romans invented the first fire brigade, established by Marcus Crassus who would buy burning buildings cheap, then put them out. This wealthy Roman would show up at fires, negotiate to buy the burning property at a fraction of its value, then order his private fire brigade to extinguish the flames - turning disaster into profit.

Idiotic Origins🏛️
The word "idiot" comes from the Greek "idiotes," meaning someone who didn't participate in public life. Ancient Greeks considered civic engagement so important that they created a specific insult for people who ignored their public duties and focused only on private matters.

Ancient Foot Binding🦶
Ancient Chinese foot binding began in the 10th century and wasn't completely banned until 1912. This practice involved breaking young girls' feet and binding them tightly to prevent growth, creating the tiny "lotus feet" that were considered beautiful but left women barely able to walk for over 900 years.

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