If you think bucket-shaped castles are the height of sand art, think again – a fascinating look at the world of sand art! If you think that building a bucket-shaped sandcastle adorned with seashells is an artistic feat, you should take a look at the works of actual sand artists. Sand brushing, sculpting, painting and bottling all fall under the umbrella term of sand art – the practice of modeling sand into an artistic form....
From brawling over stolen corpses to rioting over a pile of exploding disco records, history’s weirdest riots prove that some people can always be relied upon to form an angry mob. A Vancouver Canucks fan takes part in a riot after the team’s 2011 Stanley Cup Championship loss. Photo by David Elop. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons Both mobs and mob mentality have been around for as long as “society” has existed....
Drawn on gazelle skin parchment, the Piri Reis Map is based on about 20 other maps, some of which were created by Christopher Columbus. Wikimedia CommonsJames Cook and Piri Reis. In 1773, explorer James Cook passed through the Antarctic circle for the first time. Cook and his crew discovered a land that had, until then, remained a mystery. While this expedition remains the official “first discovery” of the continent, a map was discovered in 1929 that suggests otherwise....
During World War Two, many women were entering the workforce for the first time, and would only be aided by a test that might help them gauge their professional preferences a bit better. Source: Cleveland History Regarded as somewhere between “a horoscope and a heart monitor” by one journalist, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is one of the most frequently taken personality tests in the world. Even though it has become somewhat laughable in recent years, 89 Fortune 100 companies use the test to gauge their employees’ strengths and weaknesses, which implies that it has managed to retain at least a shadow of its original purpose....
Due to his non-stop partying, James Buchanan was nearly expelled from Dickenson College. Twice. Wikimedia CommonsJames Buchanan Pennsylvanian James Buchanan was the 15th commander-in-chief and also the worst president in U.S. history. His pandering to Antebellum Southern politics, indifference to slavery, and incapacity to unify America on the brink of dissolving have been listed as major factors leading to the Civil War. In spite of (or perhaps, because of) his dubious politics and hopelessness to lead the country, he could certainly have thrown a party to remember....
According to local lore, the 17th-century Lady of Lawers was a Gaelic soothsayer who predicted the village’s demise, and her ghost still roams the ruined site. Goldcrest Land And Forestry GroupRuins of the Old Village of Lawers, Scotland. For £125,000, interested buyers can purchase the picturesque Old Village of Lawers along Loch Tay the Scottish Highlands. The village, mostly ruins, contains a private beach, grassy lands, and (allegedly) the ghost of a woman who claimed she could see the future....
An Indian biomedical engineer has invented the perfect birth control – but no U.S pharmaceutical company wants anything to do with it. One man has created a long-lasting, effective form of male birth control, and the U.S. pharmaceutical industry isn’t buying it. So now he’s taking that product to India. Indeed, 76-year-old biomedical engineer Sujoy Guha has invented a reversible, durable, and affordable male contraceptive called RISUG, and now — before a lack of economic incentive within U....
The Vinland Map, formerly dated to the 15th century, was believed to be the oldest European depiction of the Americas. Wikimedia CommonsThe Vinland Map was formerly thought to have been created in 1440 A.D. The Vinland Map has mesmerized historians for over half a century. It was thought to be one of the oldest maps of America and the first European depiction of Viking travels to the New World. It accurately depicted Greenland and was dated to 1440 A....
Since meeting Hannibal Lector, many have quietly asked themselves “What does human taste like?” According to several famous cannibals, it’s not that different from the meat you already eat. Wikimedia CommonsA staged photo depicting acts of cannibalism in Fiji. 1869. When The Silence of the Lambs was released in the early 1990s, it popularized the novel’s villainous Hannibal Lector, a man known for literally having friends for dinner. Since the film’s release, the taboo act of cannibalism has left many curious, with most even quietly asking themselves: “What does human taste like?...
The analysis of Marie Antoinette’s letters to a Swedish count revealed words like “beloved” and “tender friend,” suggesting their relationship was more than a close friendship. French National Museum of Natural HistoryThe swirly black ink atop the text in Marie Antoinette’s letters had made them impossible to read until now. For two centuries, a censor’s squiggly black ink made letters exchanged between French queen Marie Antoinette and the Swedish count Axel von Fersen impossible to read in full....
After vanquishing his rivals, crime boss Carlo Gambino took control of the Mafia’s Commission and made the Gambino family into the most powerful outfit in America. Wikimedia CommonsBorn in Palermo, Sicily in 1902, Carlo Gambino slowly fought his way to the pinnacle of the New York Mafia and ultimately became the city’s most powerful crime boss. Few works have influenced the way we think of the Mafia more than The Godfather....
The Collyer brothers holed up inside their house for more than a decade, amassing 120 tons of junk that ultimately killed them. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: “Dead Shot Mary” Shanley: The 1930s NYPD Officer With A Gun In Her Purse George And Willie Muse, The Black Brothers Who Were Kidnapped By The Circus And Billed As ‘Martians’...
David Wisnia and Helen Tichaur offered comfort and solace to one another amidst the horrors of Auschwitz but were forced apart by the nazis. It took 72 years, but the two lovers were finally reunited. 2 prisoners became lovers in Auschwitz. When they reunited 72 years later, he had one question to ask her. https://nyti.ms/352AnFh Posted by The New York Times on Sunday, December 8, 2019 In 1944, David Wisnia and Helen “Zippi” Spitzer were two Jewish prisoners and secret lovers who, against all odds, managed to survive the Auschwitz Nazi death camp....
This Mexican drug lord’s home proves that bad policy can score some of the world’s nastiest, most violent people a ton of money. In the 80s and early 90s, you could not talk about drugs without talking about Pablo Escobar. The Colombian drug lord’s near mythical status earned him the nickname “King of Cocaine” as well as a handful of movies about his life. By the time his “career” had ended in 1993—re: he was gunned down by Colombian National Police—Escobar had become the wealthiest criminal in history with a fortune of an estimated $30 billion....
These one-of-a-kind early 20th-century photos depict the Crow tribe as their way of life was on the verge of changing forever. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 41 Historic Photos Of The Inuit People Taken Before Canada Stamped Out Their Way Of Life Inside ‘Soul Train’ And Its Stunning Impact On American Culture In 29 Images...
Born in Plympton, Massachusetts in 1760, Deborah Sampson became a hero of the American Revolution after posing as a man to join the Continental Army. Library of CongressThough Deborah Sampson may not be as widely known as some of her male counterparts, she remains one of the unimpeachable heroes of the American Revolution. When we think of Revolutionary War heroes, most of us surely think of men. Tales of Paul Revere, George Washington, and the like dominate the history books while stories of lesser-known yet undoubtedly heroic women often go overlooked....
Known as “The Muswell Hill Murderer,” Scottish serial killer and necrophile Dennis Nilsen murdered more than a dozen victims while living in London starting in 1978. On February 8, 1983, a plumber named Michael Cattran was called to 23 Cranley Gardens, an apartment building in North London. Residents had been complaining of blocked drains for some time, and Cattran was there to fix the issue. He never expected to find human remains....
British soul singer Amy Winehouse was just 27 years old when she died of alcohol poisoning in her London home in 2011. Before the long downward spiral that ended with Amy Winehouse’s death, the British chanteuse channeled her love of soul and jazz into an eclectic form of pop that resonated with countless people. While the world adored songs like “Rehab,” that smash hit also hinted at her very real struggles with substance abuse....
After invading Manchuria in 1931, Japan turned much of northeast China into an opium plantation, then used the drug to subdue the population and used the profits to fund its military. Wikimedia CommonsThe Kwantung Army, the section of the Japanese military largely responsible for creating the country’s puppet state in the Manchuria region of northeast China, marches through Mongolia in 1939. From the late 1800s to the mid-1900s, Imperial Japan embarked on a decades-long quest to build an empire in the Pacific....
How John Colter ventured into the uncharted West with Lewis and Clark, explored Yellowstone before any non-Native, and survived being hunted for sport by Blackfeet warriors. Wikimedia CommonsIllustration of a 19th-century mountain man. Like any other legendary figure, John Colter’s story remains somewhat shrouded in mystery and uncertainty. But what we do know of this 19th-century mountain man’s story makes for a breathtaking tale of survival in the deep wilderness at the heart of the American West....
