Top 10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Shakespeare

The Top Ten

1 He never spelled his name "William Shakespeare"

He rarely spelled his name the same way twice. He used about 80 different spellings - Willm Shaksp, Wm Shakspe, and similar.
Oddly, there are no records of him ever actually spelling his name "William Shakespeare", as we know him today.

That's pretty shocking

2 An authentic Shakespeare signature is currently worth up to $5 million

3 He indirectly caused a plane crash

In 1890 an enthusiast attempted to introduce to America all species of songbird mentioned in Shakespeare's plays.
Unfortunately, this killed 62 people in 1960 - a plane taking off from Boston Airport startled a flock of 10,000 starlings, which choked the engines and caused the plane to crash.

4 His cousin tried to kill Queen Elizabeth the first

5 His Globe theater also held bear-baiting shows

His plays shared the theater with dogs attacking captive bears for the delight of the audiences (usually about 120 dogs and 12 bears).

6 He invented swag

7 He may have had an illegitimate son (Sir William Davenant)

8 He took drugs

9 He may have been a fraud

There's no evidence to support or reject this theory but over 5,000 books discussed whether he was a fraud.

10 He was bisexual

Now, THAT is a surprise!

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