
Since it ended, there has been discussion about the reasons behind World War I, or the Great War. Officially, Germany bore a large portion of the blame for the war’s four years of unprecedented carnage. However, a number of intricate factors contributed to the war, including a brutal assassination that sparked the biggest conflict Europe had ever seen.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s murder infuriated Austria-Hungary.
In June 1914, Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie paid a state visit to Bosnia, which had been annexed by Austria-Hungary.
The couple visited Sarajevo’s capital on June 28 to look over the imperial forces stationed there. They narrowly escaped death when Serbian terrorists threw a bomb at their open-topped car as they were traveling to their destination.

Later that day, however, their luck ran out when their driver unintentionally drove them past Gavrilo Princip, a 19-year-old Serbian nationalist who fatally shot Franz Ferdinand and his wife at point-blank range. On July 28, Austria-Hungary, shocked, and Germany supported its declaration of war against Serbia.
Within a few days, Germany invaded France via Belgium after declaring war on Serbia’s ally, Russia. This prompted Britain to declare war on Germany.
Imperialist expansion was fueled by a lack of industrial resources.
The desire of a state to expand its empire was not new in European history, but by the early twentieth century, the Industrial Revolution was in full force.
The need to control new lands and their natural resources, including oil, rubber, coal, iron, and other raw materials, was sparked by new industrial and manufacturing technologies.
Germany desired a larger share of the continents due to the British Empire’s expansion to five continents and France’s control of many African colonies. Countries formed alliances to position themselves for European dominance as tensions increased as they competed for position.
As nationalism increased, diplomacy suffered
Europe experienced a rise in nationalism during the 19th century. As people’s pride in their nation and culture grew, so did their desire to be free of imperial rule. However, in some instances, nationalism was fueled by imperialism as some groups asserted their superiority over others.
For example, after Germany dominated France in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, France lost money and land to Germany, which then fueled French nationalism and a desire for vengeance. This widespread nationalism is thought to be a major contributing factor to World War I.
When Princip, a member of a Serbian nationalist terrorist organization fighting against Austria-rule Hungary’s over Bosnia, assassinated Archduke Ferdinand and his wife during World War I, nationalism played a particular role in the conflict.

Entangled alliances created two competing groups
Germany and Austria-Hungary formed an alliance against Russia in 1879. Italy joined their alliance (The Triple Alliance) in 1882, and in response, Russia allied with France in 1894.
The Triple Entente was established in 1907 by France, Russia, and Great Britain as a means of defense against the growing threat posed by Germany. The Central Powers, which included Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, and the Allies, which included Russia, France, and Britain, soon divided Europe into two groups.
Though not every alliance was set in stone—Italy later switched sides—as war was declared, the allied nations encouraged one another to fight and uphold their treaties. By the end of August 1914, the so-called “entangled alliances” had led to the spread of what should have been a localized conflict to all of Europe’s major powers.
Militarism sparked an arms race
Many European nations strengthened their militaries at the beginning of the 20th century and were prepared to use them. The majority of the European powers, who were engaged in an arms race and had military draft systems, were methodically building up their war chests and honing their defensive tactics.
France, Russia, Britain, and Germany all saw significant increases in their defense budgets between 1910 and 1914. But at the time, Germany was by far the militarist nation in Europe. It had massively increased its military spending by 79 percent by July 1914.
Additionally, Germany and Britain were engaged in a clandestine naval conflict. As soon as the British Royal Navy created the first Dreadnought battleship, which could outgun and outrun any other battleship in existence, they doubled their naval battle fleet. Not to be outdone, Germany built its own fleet of Dreadnoughts.
The European powers were not only ready for war when World War I broke out; some even looked forward to it as a way to advance their international standing.
Despite the fact that Austria-Hungary struck first after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, all the other European powers quickly lined up to defend their alliances, maintain or grow their empires, and show off their military strength and national pride.

Why the Brooklyn Bridge Was Once Crossed by 17 Camels and 21 Elephants
On May 30, 1883, a rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge was going to collapse caused a stampede, which killed at least at twleve people. To prove the bridge was safe, P.T. Barnum led a parade of 21 elephants over it.

Inside China’s Footbinding Tradition: The Painful Ritual of Lotus Shoes and Bound Feet
In China, Lotus shoes were used to bind women's feet to keep their feet small

Remembering the 1945 Empire State Building Disaster: When a Plane Met Skyscraper
An airplane crashed into the Empire State Building in 1945. Among other damage, plane parts severed the cables of an elevator and the woman inside fell over 70 stories. She lived and holds the world record for the longest survived elevator fall.

The touching story of David Vetter (bubble boy), the 'boy who lived in a bubble
David Vetter lived his whole 12 years in sterile “bubble”. He was “outside” for 20 second after being removed from his mother’s womb. He never touched any human.

The true story of Annie Oakley, legendary sharpshooter
Anne Oakley was such a good shooter that she could split a playing card help edge-on, hit dimes thrown into the air, shoot cigarette from her husband's lips, and pierce a playing card thrown into the air before it hit the ground.

Underground Railroad to Mexico freed thousands of slaves in 1829
Slavery was abolished in Mexico in 1829. Slaves were escaping to Mexico, and slaveholders in the US were aware of this. The US attempted to get Mexico to sign a fugitive slave treaty, which would have required Mexico to send back escaped slaves to the US. But, Mexico refused, arguing that slaves were free as soon as they set foot on Mexican soil.

Ancient Jericho: The First Walled City In History
The ancient city of Jericho is the world's oldest walled city, with evidence of stone fortifications dating back nearly 9000 years.

June and Jennifer Gibbons The silent twin who Only Spoke to Each Other
Identical twins June and Jennifer Gibbons were born on 11 April 1963 at a military hospital in Aden, Yemen where their father worked as part of the Royal Air Force.

Henry Ford, The man popularizing the concept of the weekend off
Henry Ford was the first Industrial Giant to give his employees both Saturday and Sunday off in the hope of encouraging more leisurely use of automobiles and thus popularizing the concept of the "weekend."

Medals of Friendship: The Enduring Olympic Story of 1936
At the 1936 Summer Olympics, two Japanese pole vaulters named Sueo Oe and Shuhei Nishida tied for second, but they declined to compete against each other. As a result, Nishida was awarded the silver medal and Oe won a bronze medal. Upon returning to Japan, the athletes had their medals cut in half and spliced together to create new "friendship medals," which were half silver and half bronze.

Keith Sapsford: The Story of 14-Year-Old Stowaway
The final image of 14-year-old Australian Keith Sapsford, who aspired to travel the world. In February 1970, he sneaked into the wheel-well of a plane flying from Sydney to Tokyo. It opened mid-air & fell out. When a photographer was testing a new lens, he captured this moment on film and was surprised when it developed.

Sylvan Goldman: The Visionary Who Revolutionized Shopping with the Cart
The inventor of shopping carts, Sylvan Goldman, had to hire several male and female models to push carts around in his store, demonstrate their utility, and explain their use to other customers, due to not catching on initially.

Mother who spent entire life savings for daughter’s cancer treatment won the lottery
A mother won $2 million from a $10 scratch-off lottery ticket after she spent all of her entire life savings to pay her daughter’s cancer treatment. She bought the winning ticket after her daughter’s last cancer treatment.

Graves holding hands over wall, A Catholic woman and her Protestant husband grave
A protestant man and a Catholic woman who weren't allowed from being buried together in a graveyard in 19th-century Holland turned their graves into a monument showing them holding hands across the wall separating them.

The mysterious secret of Dr James Barry
Before women were allowed to enroll in medical school, Margaret Ann Bulkley studied medicine and assumed the identity of Dr. James Barry for 56 years while dressing as a man. After 46 years of service as an army doctor officer, her secret was not made public until after her death in 1865.

How European Rabbits Took over Australia
In 1859, wealthy settler Thomas Austin released 13 wild rabbits on his Australian estate. By 1920, their population grew to 10 billion.

Top 10 most cruel medical procedures that are being used today
We are all aware that medicine has advanced dramatically over the last fifty years. There are several modern medical approaches available today, but this was not always the case. However, the past of medicine is a dark one. Medical leeches, lobotomy, vascular surgery, cranial stenosis, and even electroshock therapy are all options. These are only a couple of the cruel healing techniques that are still in use today.

Knockers-up: waking up the Industrial Britain's Workers in 1900-1941
Before alarm clocks were invented, there was a profession called a knocker-up, which involved going from client to client and tapping on their windows (or banging on their doors) with long sticks until they were awake. It lasted into the 1920s.

The Tragic Story Of Mary Ann Bevan, The ‘Ugliest Woman In The World’
After the death of her husband, Mary Ann Bevan had no income to support herself and her children. She then decided to enter a contest where she won the title of “ugliest woman” and was later hired by a circus. She endured this ridicule from the world to provide for her family.

Why This Belgian Bar Makes You Trade Your Shoe for a Beer
To prevent tourists from stealing their beer glasses, some bars in Belgium require people to hand over one of their shoes as a deposit which is then put in a basket and hung from the ceiling. These shoe baskets have also become an attraction.

How Dmitri Mendeleev Developed the periodic table of the elements
1850 Dmitri Mendeleev walked almost a thousand miles to Moscow so he could apply for the University of Moscow. Although he was not accepted, he walked to St. Petersburg where he was accepted, And with that education, he developed the the periodic table of the elements

The 1814 London beer flood
In 1814, there was a beer flood in London when a tank containing more than 300,000 gallons ruptured in which 8 people drowned.

Louis Le Prince Invented the motion picture camera, and then he mysteriously disappeared
Louis Le Prince, the inventor of motion pictures, vanished without a trace in 1890. Thomas Edison quickly claimed the title of "first and sole inventor of cinema," even taking Le Prince's son to court to dispute it. A few years later, the son also dies under mysterious circumstances.

The Amazing Truth About The German U-Boat That Was Sunk By A Toilet
During WWII, a German captain and an engineer flushed the submarine's high-tech toilet incorrectly, causing the vessel to rapidly fill with water. British planes patrolling the sea attacked them as the submarine was brought to the surface. While many members of the crew were killed in the attack, the captain escaped!

George Dantzig solved two famous “unsolved” problems in statistics mistakenly as assignment
In 1939, George Dantzig arrived late to his statistics class. On the board were two famous “unsolved” problems in statistics written as an example by his professor. Dantzig mistook the examples for homework assignments. He solved the “unsolved” problems and submitted the homework to his professor a few days later. His solutions earned him a doctorate.