#ThrowbackToday: The sinister tale of the Pied Piper is 737 years old! And this is how it goes...

A rat-infested Hamelin in Germany was distraught. Just then, very mysteriously, a messiah in “pied clothing” appeared and claimed that he can rid the city of those rats if paid handsomely, 1,000 guilders to be exact. While the Pied Piper played his pipe to lead away the rats to a water body, where they all drowned and held up his end of the bargain, the mayor refused to pay him.  

Infuriated, the Pied Piper left only to return on June 26, 1284 to play his magical pipe, lure away all 130 of the city's children to lead them into a water body, where they met the same fate as the rats. But another version actually states that he led them to a cave. The children left behind informed the adults about what happened and the adults managed to salvage the situation. This is the version of the so-called "fairytale" that appears in the Lüneburg manuscript suggesting that the tale might actually be rooted in grim reality.

READ ALSO: #ThrowbackToday: 19 creative artists, 10,000 technicians and the first international 'live'

Today, Hamelin, the same small town on the river Weser, actually offers a Piper's Tour and a whole lot of dishes and merchandise. Eerie!

Vroom, vroom
Closed public roads of Le Mans, France served as the race track for the 1906 French Grand Prix, or as the French called it 1906 Grand Prix de l'Automobile Club de France. This, ladies and gentleman, became the first French Grand Prix to ever be held. Held over two days, it lasted for 12 hours with Renault's Ferenc Szisz becoming the first person past the finish line. And in this way, France became the birthplace of what we know today as the modern-day Grand Prix (a term which translates to Grand Prize).