Consider this:
- In 820 C.E., Emperor Hsien Tsung’s herbalist presented him with an anti-aging elixir—it killed him
- In 1849, Brooklyn inventor Walter Hunt invented and patented the safety pin and then sold all the rights to his invention for $400. By the time he died penniless, the United States was producing an estimated five billion safety pins annually
- In 1967, voters in the town of Picoaza, Ecuador, elected a brand of foot powder as their new mayor
It’s a wonder we’ve survived as long as we have.