72 Surprising History Anecdotes That Will Change How You See the Past Forever

If you ask what the worst year in human history is, there are a number of possible answers. Some might respond that 2020 was the worst year in human history, a time when life came to a literal halt. Nearly 6.9 million people died due to COVID-19. And if you’re a bit familiar with history, your answer might be that the worst year was 1918, the year World War I ended, after claiming the lives of around 20 million people. In addition, the Spanish flu swept the globe, k*****g between 50 to 100 million people. But did you know that there’s something even worse? A year that is described as the worst in recorded history… The Mysterious Fog: In the year 536 AD, the year began with a mysterious thick fog that covered vast parts of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. It completely blocked out the sun. Procopius described the sun at that time: “It seemed as though the sun had lost its light, and it no longer shone with the brilliance of day, but rather as the moon, without rays or warmth, for more than a year.” The Roman statesman Cassiodorus also wrote: “The sunlight was weak, the sky appeared colorless, the cold pierced to the bone, and it was as if summer had been defeated by winter.” Catastrophic Climate Change: Temperatures dropped by 2 to 2.5 degrees Celsius in some regions, causing the worst cold spell the Northern Hemisphere had experienced in the past two thousand years. Widespread Famines: The climate shift led to the failure of harvests across Europe and Asia, resulting in massive famines, particularly in places like Ireland, Syria, and Byzantium. The Spread of Plagues: After this climate catastrophe and the ensuing famines, rats emerged from their hiding places in search of food, increasing their contact with humans. The fleas on these rats, which feed on blood, began infecting humans. Due to the general decline in public health and malnutrition, the world was struck by the Plague of Justinian, or the “Black Plague,” in the year 541 AD—just five years later. This pandemic k****d between 30 to 50 million people, nearly half of the population of the Byzantine Empire. The economy and military were weakened, trade came to a standstill, and this accelerated Europe’s descent into what became known as the Dark Ages. “The Triumph of Death is a painting by the Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder, created in 1562.”