Situation puzzles inspired by real events

At the end of the XIX century one american enterpreneur invented a system to withstand competition. This system we all use nowadays.

One day Mark hid his watch. What for?

King George IV was born in 1763 and ruled England from 1820 to 1830 when he died. He wasn’t an outstanding ruler but is known as a footwear trendsetter. His shoes were fundamentally different from those worn by his contemporaries. Everyone liked this innovation so much that today it’s a common practice, which can’t be said about those times. What kind of innovation is it?

Two devices are commonly used by people. They are created for the same purpose. But one of them has lots of details and another does not has any. What are these things?

The man was walking along the rails and suddenly he saw a train coming towards him. Then he ran like hell to meet the approaching train.

Michael manages to get shot; in doing so he saves his own life.

Aborigines lived on an island in the middle of the ocean. However, they found a way to get rich. How did they do it?

Over 80 percent of Greenland is covered in ice. But why then it was called Greenland (a green land)?

A man is running, a crowd is running after him. The man is screaming to the crowd:"You will never see the gold!" and he starts shooting. People who observe all that are exulting.

An artist took an order to paint a portrait of a very ugly and arrogant woman. Everyone tried to dissuade him, claiming that she wouldn’t pay a penny, because the portrait would be bad. And so it happened. But two days later, the woman returned and begged the artist to sell her the portrait. Why?

Due to an oversight committed by Nils when doing his job, Martha, an upstairs neighbour, couldn’t wash the dishes. At the same time, Martha’s husband was glad, but Nils was still fired. Why?

A company produced knives for peeling potatoes. The manufacturers wanted to increase sales of their products and decided: if the knives disappear more often in homes, then housewives will buy new ones. How did they embody their idea?