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Over time, humankind has managed to make its illusions of grandeur actually seem real. These satellite images will fill you with a helpful dose of humility. Removing ourselves from our surroundings often brings us closer to them. Astronauts speak of the Overview Effect, passing over Earth and seeing it only as a fragile speck in a massive solar system. The desire to protect and preserve is felt, as national boundaries evaporate and a global interdependency is realized....

A team at St. Nicholas Church in Demre, Turkey has found an intriguing shrine beneath the floors, previously unseen due to the tiled floor’s intricate mosaic. Wikimedia CommonsThe historic St. Nicholas Church in Demre, Antalya, Turkey. New Christmas theory: Santa is a ghost. He must be because according to archaeologists in Turkey, they found his grave, buried beneath St. Nicholas Church in the town of Demre. For centuries, the location of the grave of St....

Dating back to ancient Greek writings, people have been avoiding the temple for fear of death. New York PostThe entrance to the portal to hell, in the ancient city of Hierapolis, in modern day Turkey. In southern Turkey, there lies an ancient temple, dubbed the “Portal to Hell.” For years, there have been a series of unexplained deaths near the temple, as any beast that’s come in contact with it has dropped dead under mysterious circumstances....

The Japanese-American internment camps serve as a stark reminder of what angry, frightened Americans are capable of. In 1941, more than 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry – two-thirds of whom were natural-born citizens of the United States – lived and worked in the West Coast states. In July of that year, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on the Empire of Japan aimed at breaking its war machine. It was strongly suspected that this would eventually trigger a war with Japan, so when, on September 24, a Japanese cable was intercepted that suggested a sneak attack was being planned, the Roosevelt Administration took it very seriously....

A four-year-old child was once mailed from her parents’ home to her grandparents’ house which was 73 miles away. On Jan. 1, 1913, the United States Postal Service made an addition to its list of mail services, by introducing Parcel Post. For the first time, Americans could now send packages and large parcels through the mail and have them delivered to friends and family across the country, just like letters....

Instagram artist Becca Saladin transforms famous names from the past into modern-day people — and the results are stunning. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 44 Colorized Portraits That Reveal Historical Figures As They Truly Were Where Are Their Kids? The Living Descendants Of Famous Historical Figures 21 Historical Figures You Didn’t Know Had Serious Mental Disorders...

When followers of philosopher John Duns Scotus became the laughingstock of Renaissance-era Europe for their outdated beliefs, their once-fashionable “Duns” caps turned into a symbol of stupidity. In today’s schools, unruly students are sent to detention. But for decades, when it came to punishment, the dunce cap was a staple in classrooms across the United States and Britain. The bane of class clowns and wandering minds alike, the conical hat served to humiliate disruptive children....

Take a peek inside Stanley Hotel, the haunted Colorado resort that inspired Stephen King’s The Shining — if you dare. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: The Creepiest Places on Earth Haunting Photos From 9 Of The World’s Creepiest Abandoned Hospitals 15 Photos Of Awe-Inspiring Fire Tornadoes That Show What An Angry Mother Nature Looks Like...

Hindu extremist Nathuram Godse, the man who killed Gandhi, remains a controversial figure in India to this day — here’s why. Mondadori Portfolio via Getty ImagesMug shot of Nathuram Godse, the man who killed Gandhi. May 12, 1948. By the late 1940s, Mahatma Gandhi was an icon both in his native India and across the globe for his activism in working toward freeing his country from British colonial rule. His nonviolent ideals and leadership of the Indian Independence movement had gained him hundreds of thousands of devoted followers....

Operation Anthropoid, a secret plan to kill Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, was the only successful assassination of a top Nazi officer during World War II. In 1941, Reinhard Heydrich was one of the most powerful and dangerous men in Nazi Germany. The Allies, the exiled Czech government, and much of Europe wanted him dead. Wikimedia CommonsLeft to right: Reinhard Heydrich, Jozef Gabčík, Jan Kubiš. But there was a reason his assassination, codenamed Operation Anthropoid, was the only attempt of its kind made during World War II....

“Fast and Furious” star Paul Walker was just 40 years old when he died in a car accident in Santa Clarita, California on November 30, 2013. On November 28, 2013, Paul Walker signed on to Twitter to wish his followers a happy Thanksgiving. The Fast & Furious actor had many reasons to be grateful that year. The sixth installment of his beloved movie franchise had broken box office records, and he was starting to produce films of his own....

Get ready for the mud-slinging: the 2016 presidential hopefuls have taken out their magnifying glass and tweezers, looking for any opportunity to pick away at their opponents’ policy mistakes and, arguably more important, character. There’s a euphemism for it: “opposition research”. Ted Cruz has already moved in on the attack against Secretary Clinton, starting a hashtag trend on Twitter called #StopHillary. It’s still early in the race, and we can be sure that Ms....

The long-raging storm is actually bigger than Earth. Humans have never gotten a closer look at Jupiter than we did on July 10. And that means the clearest shot yet of the gas planet’s famous beauty mark: the Great Red Spot. From a mere 5,600 miles away, the Juno probe snapped breath-taking photos of the 10,000-mile-wide storm — a swirling red cloud formation 1.3 times bigger than Earth. NASA researchers hope that the close-up’s will help them solve the mystery behind the spot, which has been twirling around on Jupiter for as many as 350 years....

The former Soviet capital is full of fascinating monuments to “different” political life. One is the Moscow metro, where commoners were king. Where else is the daily commute lit up by chandeliers? Be sure to check out the gallery at the end of this article for more gorgeous visions of the Moscow Metro. An average of 6.8 million riders get on the Moscow Metro every day. That is two million more daily riders than the ones crammed into the subway cars in New York City....

As a leader of a children’s club, Anatoly Slivko had access to an endless supply of victims to hang and satisfy his sexual urges. YouTubeAnatoly Slivko Like the BTK Killer and John Wayne Gacy, Anatoly Slivko seemed like a normal man. On the outside, the married father of two was a man devoted to his family. On the inside, something was eating away at his soul, morphing him into a living breathing monster....

From Chichen Itza to the Taj Mahal, the New Seven Wonders Of The World represent the magnificent man-made marvels of the modern era. In 2001, the Swiss-based New7Wonders Foundation conducted an international poll to update the seven Wonders of the Ancient World to the new seven Wonders of the World. After more than 100 million votes and international campaigns, the finalists were announced on July 7th, 2007. From Mexico to India, the new wonders of the world represent the magnificent man-made marvels of the modern day:...

Members of the Praetorian Guard were supposed to protect the Roman emperor — but they amassed so much power that they often assassinated emperors they didn’t like. Lawrence Alma-Tadema/Public DomainAfter executing Caligula, the Praetorian Guard declared Claudius the new emperor. In 193 C.E., the Praetorian Guard did not like the emperor they were sworn to protect. Emperor Pertinax tried to issue strict reforms aimed at restoring discipline in the Guard. But they were having none of it, so the elite bodyguards executed him....

Actress Clara Bow was hailed as Hollywood’s original “It Girl” and she made 57 films in just under a decade before vanishing the scene at just 28 — and dying in seclusion. Actress Clara Bow was the inimitable “It Girl” of the Roaring Twenties, the epitome of the flapper girl. Her gold-studded career spanned over 57 films and she managed to make the near-impossible shift from silent film to “talkies.”...

Air traffic controllers instructed 39-year-old Darren Harrison on how to fly and land the Cessna 208 plane at Palm Beach International Airport. Robert Morgan/Federal Aviation AdministrationRobert Morgan, left, and Darren Harrison, right, after Morgan helped Harrison land the plane. When the pilot of his plane suddenly slumped forward, Darren Harrison leaped into action. Reaching out to air traffic control, he explained that he had no idea how to fly or land the plane — and controllers on the ground were able to talk him through it safely....

Massive stone spheres from the pre-Columbian era unearthed in Costa Rica, mysteries of the Venus of Willendorf statue unlocked, burials uncovered in Siberia’s “Valley of the Kings.” Fabled Stone Spheres Of Pre-Columbian Legend Just Uncovered By Archaeologists In Costa Rica INAHCreated by hammering away at large boulders that were then polished with sand, these petrospheres are made from either limestone, sandstone, or a basalt-like substance called gabbro. Archaeologists in Costa Rica just unearthed six enormous stone spheres carved by the country’s pre-Columbian inhabitants more than five centuries ago — and the experts are absolutely baffled....