Photos That Captured the Most Chilling Moments in History

August 14, 1936

The last-ever public execution in the United States took place on August 14, 1936, when Rainey Bethea was hanged in the town square in Owensboro, Kentucky. Bethea confessed to the rape and murder of a 70-year-old woman named LIschia Edwards. Mistakes in the hanging, as well as the surrounding media circus, led to the end of public executions in the U.S.

The More You Know

Cleopatra married both her brothers.
Tablecloths were actually large napkins. Guests used to wipe their hands and faces on them.
Henry VIII knighted all four of his “Grooms of Stool” — the people in charge of wiping his butt for him.
Between 1900 and 1920, tug of war was an Olympic event.

Post originally appeared on Upbeat News.