Discover Democracy: Top 10 Entertaining and Intriguing Facts You Never Knew

1. Athenian Wheel of Fortune

Imagine Ancient Athens as a giant Wheel of Fortune game show, where Lady Luck decided whether you landed on "Vacation to Santorini" or "Political Power for a Day": The Athenian democracy actually used a machine called kleroterion, which randomly chose citizens to hold positions in the government, such as the boule, nomothetai, and court juries. Citizens popped their tokens into the kleroterion slots, and a delightful game of dice determined their fate, all as a means of ensuring unbiased representation in their city-state.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

2. Pitcairn Island's Inclusive Marriage Law

When you've got 99 problems but finding a spouse ain't one: Pitcairn Island, a tiny British territory with only 48 inhabitants, went ahead and legalized same-sex marriage despite having no known LGBTQ+ couples, highlighting their commitment to equality and inclusion.
Source => theguardian.com

Did you know that in Ancient Athens, citizens had the power to banish someone for 10 years through a practice called ostracism? Find out how this unique form of direct democracy was used for more than just petty disagreements.

=> Fun Facts about Direct-Democracy

3. Democracy's Flavorful Varieties

You've heard of Baskin-Robbins serving 31 flavors of ice cream, but have you met Democracy with its own flavorful variations to save the political palate from boredom? Feast your eyes on this scrumptious fact: There are different types of democracies, such as direct, representative, constitutional, and monitory democracies, which all showcase unique methods of exercising power and making governmental decisions within a democratic framework.
Source => moadoph.gov.au

4. Roman Republic's Lasting Legacy

Rome wasn't built in a day, but its democracy sure tried to stick around: The Roman Republic was an early adopter of representative democracy with the Senate at the helm and the Council of the Plebs giving power to the people, shaping political systems long after its collapse.
Source => nationalgeographic.org

5. Magical Iroquois Confederacy

Before Hogwarts was even a twinkle in J.K. Rowling's eye, North America had its own magical alliance brewing: The Iroquois Confederacy, founded in 1142, is the oldest living participatory democracy on earth, consisting of six nations that maintained individual leadership while making decisions together on common causes through peace and consensus in their Grand Council of Chiefs.
Source => pbs.org

6. Athenian Per Diem Gig Workers

In ancient Athens, the original per diem gig workers might have just found the best side hustle ever, swapping aggressive taxi driving and impossible-to-solve riddles for some quality time at the assembly and jury service: Believe it or not, citizens were paid to attend the assembly and volunteer for jury duty, but as assembly pay increased over time to fill the expanded meeting place and celebrate democracy, the jury pool demographics shifted, leading to self-reliant citizens with young adult children dominating the scene and volunteering more often. No Sphinx-evasion required!
Source => cambridge.org

7. Medieval Democracy Soirées

Not one to simply hibernate through the Middle Ages, democracy found itself mingling at medieval dinner parties and soirées: The first parliamentary assembly, the Alþingi in Iceland, dates back to the year 930 AD, closely followed by the Cortes of León in 1188, and sporadically attended by Europe's urban middle class representatives, keeping democracy engaged from 12th century Spain to 1805 in Patria del Friuli.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

8. Athenian Democracy's Sorting Hat

Move over, Harry Potter's Sorting Hat: Ancient Athenians had their own magical selection tool in the form of the kleroterion! This stone slab contraption picked out citizens at random for government duties, like the boule, nomothetai, and juries, by using colored dice and tokens in a series of reforms around 370 BCE - making Athenian democracy a true game of chance.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

9. Gossip Machine: The Printing Press

Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away—or, you know, Europe—the printing press quickly became the ultimate gossip machine, whispering sweet political nothings into voters' ears: The printing press revolutionized democracy by enabling widespread dissemination of ideas and opinions, allowing voters to be more informed about candidates and politics before making their decisions, and ultimately making the democratic process more inclusive and representative.
Source => brilliantio.com

10. Iroquois Influence on U.S. Founding Fathers

What do Iroquois tribes and the United States' founding fathers have in common? They're both pioneers of democracy, just like Bob Ross is a pioneer of happy accidents and happy trees: The Iroquois Confederacy, the world's oldest participatory democracy, had a constitution that featured groundbreaking ideas like a balance of power between central and tribal governments, impeachment of leaders, and a focus on consensus and peace over warfare. These ingenious notions influenced the U.S. founding fathers, though they didn't directly copy from the Iroquois to craft their famed checks and balances system.
Source => pbs.org