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Animals

Bottles of snake oil

Q&ADid salesmen really sell snake oil?

The ‘Surgeon’s Photo’, taken in 1934, which claimed to depict the Loch Ness Monster. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

5 facts about the Loch Ness Monster

Illustration by Glen McBeth.

Q&AWhen did the leopards on the royal arms of England become the lions depicted today?

'Peter Pan and Wendy' by James Matthew Barrie.

8 of the best dogs in history

Members of the Home Guard train racing pigeons as messengers in Blackburn, July 1940. Soon, carrier birds like this would be supplying vital intelligence on German arms factories and troop movements in occupied Europe. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The pigeons’ war on Hitler. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Sergeant Stubby, an American dog who served as the mascot of America's 102nd Infantry Regiment during the First World War. (Photo by Bettmann via Getty Images)

First World War

Sergeant Stubby of the First World War: the heroic story of America’s most decorated war dog

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. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

c1943: Soldiers enjoy a baseball match at Wembley Stadium in London between the United States Army and Canadian Forces. With them sits Bobby, the mascot of the Canadian Highland Scottish regiment. (Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Animals at war: 12 amazing pictures

The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Illustration by Kate Greenaway, 1888. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

In pictures: fairytales through history

Roman mosaic of a dog, bearing the legend 'Cave Canem' underneath, from Pompeii, from Naples National Museum's collection, 1st century. (Photo by CM Dixon/Print Collector/Getty Images)

6 things you (probably) didn’t know about animals in ancient Rome

10 famous people in history and their bizarre pets

Queen Victoria’s pets and animals. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

For 10th-century warriors, the appearance of wolves, ravens and eagles on the battlefield meant an unlucky few had been chosen to die. Eric Lacey digs into a grisly superstition. (Illustration by Ross Craig for BBC History Magazine)

The LibraryAnglo-Saxon beasts of death. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A view of a calander showing the date, Friday the 13th. (Photo by William C. Shrout/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

10 historical superstitions we carry on today. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portrait of black cat – unlucky for some? (Photo by Getty Images)

Q&AWhy are black cats unlucky?

A brief history of London tourism since 1800. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

c1930: a man wrestles his tamed bear. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images)

Bizarre England: 11 of the strangest attractions and traditions in history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Q&AWhy were cats so important in Ancient Egypt?

Animals that changed us. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A brief history of... the Derby

From dragons to unicorns: finding fantastic beasts in ancient history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The impact of war and a zoological institution. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Forgotten science: 7 of the strangest scientific theories in history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A history of red hair and amazing animals. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An attendant and his guard dog at the world's first pet cemetery, Paris,

A dog’s-eye view of Paris. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Winston Churchill with a bulldog mascot as he leaves the Wanstead Conservative Club in his Woodford, Essex constituency on general election day, 23 February 1950. (Photo by Central Press/Archive Photos/Getty Images)

Second World War

Q&AWhat is the significance of the British Bulldog?

'The Cricket on the Hearth' published in 1845 by Charles Dickens. (Image by Getty)

Cats in history: 3 curious tributes

5 historical space travel facts

7 weird and wonderful medieval facts. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.