Dali with a lobster on his head: the loudest eccentricities of famous people

In India, an official drained an entire reservoir to retrieve a smartphone that had fallen into it. Food industry inspector Rajesh Vishwas rented a diesel pump and pumped out about two million liters of water. At a depth of three meters, he found his phone, but he could not turn it on. The act of the official outraged the public. In his defense, the Indian said that the reservoir had not been used for irrigation or drinking water delivery for a long time, that is, it was absolutely useless. But his phone allegedly contained confidential government data.

Well, there are many such examples in history. People often take advantage of their official position to satisfy their momentary whims. Why did Empress Elizaveta Petrovna make all her entourage shave their hair and put on black wigs? And why did the former military dictator of Myanmar, Than Shwe, move the capital of the state to the jungle? Talks about it program “Unknown History” with Boris Ryzhov on REN TV.

Emperor Caligula, his horse-senator and picnics in the trees

The program showed a statue of Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, better known as Caligula. The Emperor is seated on his beloved horse Incitata. According to the historian Suetonius, Caligula literally idolized this stallion. He settled Incitatus in a separate palace with servants, fed him oats mixed with gold, declared him the incarnation of all the gods, and finally appointed him a senator.

“Some ancient authors claimed that Caligula even planned to make Incitatus a consul. This is probably a historical anecdote. But such an idea is quite in the spirit of Caligula. He could play a trick on the aristocrats, telling them:” You are absolutely hopeless, even a horse will be a better consul than any of you” – said historian Mary Bird.

Caligula had a very specific sense of humor and liked to shock the audience. He danced in front of the senators in women’s outfits, had picnics in the trees, and once ordered the entire Roman fleet to be assembled in Baysky Bay and built a giant floating bridge from the ships.

“He covered it with earth and rode over it in a chariot. The length of the bridge is about three kilometers. One can only imagine, if this was really the case, how many ships,” – said culturologist Maria Vasilenok.

According to one version, Caligula decided to wipe the nose of the astrologer Tiberius. He imprudently declared that Gaius Julius would sooner cross the Baisky Bay on horseback than become emperor.

Elizaveta Petrovna, scratching heels and passion because of appearance

The Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna was also famous for her whims. For example, she liked to have her heels scratched before going to bed. According to contemporaries, court ladies competed for the right to be invited to the royal bedchamber. At the same time, the maids of honor often got it from the eccentric empress. Once she publicly whipped one of the socialites on the cheeks because she appeared at the ball in an Elizabethan outfit.

“And such a legend is known that after the next holiday her hair was all in powder, they could not comb it, they could not do anything with it. And they had to practically cut it bald and put on a black wig”, – shared culturologist Vasilenok.

And in order not to be so insulting, Elizabeth ordered all the ladies of state to cut their hair and put on wigs.

Pavel I and the castle in the color of the beloved’s gloves

The fleeting whim of this emperor partly determined the appearance of St. Petersburg. At the next ball, the favorite of Paul I, Anna Lopukhina, accidentally dropped her glove. His Majesty was nearby, picked up the glove and, returning it to his beloved, thought for a moment.

The next day, the sovereign called the architects of the Mikhailovsky Castle under construction and ordered them to paint its walls in yellow-orange tones.

“It is in this color, the color of the gloves. And even foreign ambassadors wrote in their memoirs that the Mikhailovsky Castle has the symbol of the archangel and the color of the gloves,” – said culturologist Vasilenok.

When the Mikhailovsky Castle was built, this color immediately became fashionable. As a result, many aristocrats of St. Petersburg repainted their houses to match the gloves of the imperial favorite.

Go Amin, his wild fantasies about the West and eating enemies

“His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al-Haji Doctor Idi Amin, Lord of all the animals on earth and fish in the sea” is only part of the title of the third President of Uganda, Idi Amin. Amin was perhaps the most eccentric and outrageous dictator in Africa. The world media simply adored Mr. Field Marshal for his crazy antics and bright informational occasions with which he regularly indulged the press.

For example, in 1975, Amin declared war on the United States, and the very next day he announced to reporters that Uganda had won this conflict.

“It is unlikely that the United States, the Pentagon knew that Uganda had declared war on the United States,” – said the expert Vasilenok.

In the same 75th year, a conference of the Organization of African Unity was held in Uganda. Idi Amin rode four British businessmen to one of the sessions. Mr. President for life called it “a demonstration of the white man’s burden.” Earlier, Amin offered Elizabeth II to appoint him head of the Commonwealth of Nations, which includes Britain and almost all of its former colonies. Having received a legitimate refusal, Amin added the titles of “conqueror of the British Empire” and “King of Scotland” to his title.

“I came here not only as the President of Uganda, but also as a great man, the conqueror of the British Empire,” Idi Amin said.

In addition, Idi Amin proposed moving the UN headquarters to Kampala, arguing that it is in the capital of Uganda that the geographical heart of the planet is located.

Another scandal erupted after Amin was about to erect a monument to his idol, Adolf Hitler, in Kampala. Only the protest of the USSR prevented the president from carrying out this crazy plan. The whole world laughed at Amin’s antics, but the citizens of Uganda were not at all fun. Mr. Field Marshal literally ate his enemies with food. Amin was a cannibal and occasionally snacked on fried opposition.

“About 500 thousand people became victims of Idi Amin’s repressions. His death squads enjoyed permissiveness. They could seize, torture and execute any citizen of the republic without trial,” – said human rights activist Eric Kashambuzi.

Than Shwe and the transfer of the capital “according to the tips of the stars”

The former ruler of Myanmar, Than Shwe, also knew how to shock his people. In 2005, unexpectedly for fellow citizens, he moved the capital of the republic from Yangon to the city of Naypyidaw. This metropolis was built in the central part of the country, on the site of a small village.

“This is a very strange place. It seems that we are in some kind of village, and not in the capital. There are very few cars, people too, the city seems to have died out. Meanwhile, Naypyidaw is larger in area than New York with all its suburbs “, – said the traveler Jenny.

According to one version, Than Shwe moved the capital after consulting astrologers. Otherwise, according to forecasts of astrologers, the ruler could be overthrown. Therefore, the government’s move to the new capital was strictly coordinated by the stars – it began in the morning, at exactly 6 hours 36 minutes. There is also a hypothesis that Naypyidaw was built for strategic reasons – the military authorities needed an impregnable citadel in case of foreign invasions or uprisings. This metropolis is invulnerable to attacks from the sea, in addition, it is easier to control all regions of Myanmar from the center of the country.

“Pay attention to how wide the roads are here. There is information that they were built in such a way that military aircraft could land on them in case of any threat,” – said the traveler Jenny.

The citizens of Myanmar reacted coolly to the idea of ​​their ruler. Naypyidaw was reluctant to move, with less than a million people living here. This is a very low density for such an area and for Myanmar as a whole, whose population is about 60 million. Many government officials are moving from Naypyidaw to the seaside towns, and their luxurious mansions are gradually swallowed up by the jungle.

Salvador Dali, damaging cars, catching flies and a lobster on his head

Absurd decisions and eccentric antics are known not only to politicians, but also to people of art. The real king of shocking was the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali.

“One of the cases – he asked the hotel staff to catch flies in the Tuileries garden, and moreover, he paid 5 francs for these flies. Now it is about 1 euro”, – said culturologist Vasilenok.

This picture, which was shown in the program, was taken in Paris, at a lecture on surrealism. Dali came to meet with fans in a diving suit. And almost choked when he tried to remove the jammed helmet. While in the French capital, Dali liked to stay at the Meris Hotel.

“The choice of this hotel and this particular room is due to the fact that I am becoming a monarchist. And the king and queen of Spain just stopped here,” – Dali explained.

The hotel staff literally moaned from the antics of a brilliant guest. Anything could be expected from Dali, no one could predict his eccentricities.

“Once he gathered journalists in his room. Then he went out onto the balcony, and, unexpectedly for everyone, he began to drop bags of paint on parked cars. After that, he made a statement to the press:” I announce an explosion of paint, ” – said the press secretary of the hotel Pauline Toman.

Dali decorated his sculptural compositions with hair cut from human corpses, sported a tuxedo, to which glasses of liquor and dead flies were hung. And once he appeared at a costume ball with a lobster on his head.

Different versions of historical events, amazing episodes of history, little-known facts and interesting theories – study all this and much more in the Unknown History program with Boris Ryzhov on REN TV.