Absinth minded!

Towards the end of his life, Vincent van Gogh used a large amount of yellow in his paintings. A common misconception was that he was colour blind, but the truth is that he was born with epilepsy treated it with an herb called digitalis his entire life. His constant use of digitalis combined with his love of absinth saw him decline into madness, and eventually he perceived the world around him to be a collage of yellow hues and dots.

1. Adolf Who?
At the Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany 1939, Adolf Hitler promoted his Aryan race policy by stressing how inferior ethnic Africans were. He was therefore slightly annoyed when Jesse Owens, a black American athlete, won four gold medals. The Olympic committee insisted Hitler greet every medalist, but Hitler opted to greet none instead. But it wasn’t Hitler who offended Owens at all. On his return to the USA, Owens said, “Hitler didn't snub me—it was FDR (Franklin D Roosevelt) who snubbed me. The president didn't even send me a telegram!" Owens was never invited to the White House nor bestowed any honours. Only In...