Weird and wonderful history

A typewriter. (Photo by Dreamstime)

Q&A: Who invented the ‘QWERTY’ typewriter layout?

An illustration of the novel ‘The War of the Worlds’ by HG Wells, made by Henri Lanos, 1905. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

In thrall to the red planet: 5 facts about our view of Mars through history

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The weird and wonderful world of Victorian entertainment

Full-length portrait of (left) American showman Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810–91) and entertainer Commodore Nutt (1814–81), c1862. (Photo by HultonGetty/GettyImages)

Circus sensation: PT Barnum’s greatest wheezes

Charles Darwin sports his trademark bushy beard in 1877. (Photo by Corbis Historical/Getty Images)

From Charles Darwin’s beard to George Eliot’s right hand: 4 famous Victorian bodily quirks

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James Sadler: From pastry cook to first English aeronaut . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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6 strange newspaper stories that shocked Victorian Britain

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Festive QI facts: 8 things you (probably) didn’t know about the history of Christmas

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Corner shops and Russian ballet . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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First World War

What is the origin of the phrase ‘to blow smoke up someone’s arse’?

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Who was the first ever teenage heartthrob?

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Accidental explosions: gunpowder in Tudor and Stuart London

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Medieval Albigensians: Bath’s reincarnated heretics

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Holocaust landscapes

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What are the historical origins of darts?