From their seemingly unbelievable cheese consumption to their military dominance, these interesting France facts prove there's a lot you don't know about the most visited country on Earth. In France, you can legally marry a dead person, as long as the President and the Justice Minister approve. The law originated after a 1959 dam collapse killed more than 400 people, including the fiancee of one woman who convinced the government to let her go ahead with the marriage anyway.

Life for many African Americans changed very little during the Reconstruction era, despite the 13th Amendment. From "Black Codes" to sharecropping, the struggle for equality continued. Born into slavery, Robert Smalls was forced to serve in the Confederate Navy during the Civil War. He took command of a ship and delivered it to Union forces. He eventually became a pilot in the U.S. Navy and advanced to the rank of captain in 1863.

Ongoing archaeological excavations in Kalmar, Sweden have revealed a wealth of objects, including a stunning gold ring that was likely lost 500 years ago.Frida Albinsson/Arkeologerna/SHMThe 500-year-old gold ring engraved with the face of Jesus Christ. Swedish archaeologists recently uncovered an ancient treasure trove, including a gold ring that was lost more than 500 years ago. Archaeologists from Sweden’s National Historical Museums have been carrying out ongoing excavations in central Kalmar, unearthing the remains of hundreds of buildings, cellars, streets, latrines, and miscellaneous objects dating from 1250 to 1650.

Public toilets aren’t exactly known for their cleanliness. Here are some gross facts — and to keep you from having a panic attack upon the thought of entering one — some helpful information to put it all into perspective. Flushing the toilet before “going” can cut down on airborne bacteria. Wikimedia/Jarlhelm The standing water in a toilet is the perfect breeding ground for germs to multiply, which has led some to say that flushing prior to urinating will get rid of some of the bacteria in the bowl.

Source: Musée de la Resistance As World War II raged throughout Europe, the “City of Light” transformed into a city of darkness. While the Germans declined to physically destroy the city upon its 1940 occupation, their presence greatly tested the Parisian psyche. Over two million Parisians fled as the Germans arrived, but those who remained in the capital faced interrogations, curfews, rations, shortages and arrests. The German occupation of France (1940-1944) remains a humiliating time in the history of Paris and, more broadly, France.

Angela Hitler was the Führer's favorite sister who remained loyal to him even after he began a romantic relationship with Angela's daughter, Geli Raubal.Besides the woman with whom he would die, there was one other woman who would defend the Nazi dictator until the end of her life. They grew up together. She was his housekeeper — and she was the mother of his love interest. Meet Hitler’s half-sister, Angela Hitler.

Rarely-seen photos of African kingdoms taken just before and after European colonialists launched a wave of terror that would change the continent forever. A dignitary from the Ethiopian Empire, before it was overthrown by Italy in 1941. 1934.Wikimedia Commons Queen Ranavalona III, last ruler of the Merina Kingdom (present-day Madagascar), before it was overthrown by France in 1896. Circa 1890-1895.Wikimedia Commons A woman of the Ethiopian Empire. 1934.Wikimedia Commons King Otumfuo of the Ashanti Empire sits on his throne.

After more than 1,000 years of debate, researchers believe they've finally solved the mystery of the world's longest runestone inscription, a Viking slab that describes the real-life Ragnarok apocalypse in the form of cataclysmic climate change.Wikimedia CommonsThe Rok runestone’s inscriptions, which contain allusions to catastrophic climate change. The Rok (or Rök) stone, unearthed in the ninth century near Sweden’s Lake Vattern, holds the longest runic inscription in the world. The 700-plus runes (early Germanic symbols) covering all five of the stone’s sides were previously believed to have been dedicated to a fallen young man as well as a number of Viking battles, but researchers now believe the messages warned of dire climate change instead.

The Delaney sisters are craniopagus twins — a condition that occurs once every 2.5 million births. They've now been separated.Facebook At ten months old, sisters Abby and Erin Delaney had still never seen each other’s faces. The girls from North Carolina are craniopagus twins — meaning that they’re connected at the cranium. This is the least common type of conjoined twins, only occurring in about one in every 2.5 million births.

Luisa Cutting was on Xanax, Adderall, cocaine, alcohol, mushrooms, and marijuana when she butchered her best friend. Radford City Police DepartmentLuisa Cutting was sentenced to 20 years for her crime. Luisa Ines Cutting and Alexa Cannon weren’t just compatible college roommates. They were best friends living in an off-campus apartment together— until a January night of drugs and alcohol ended in “doing cocaine with the devil” and murder. Twenty-one-year-old Cutting, a Radford University student, pled guilty to second-degree murder on Monday and has since been sentenced to 20 years in prison.