At the turn of the century, Etheldreda Laing used her seasoned artistic eye and emerging technology to create timeless scenes of innocence and grace. Janet Laing at around 16 years of age c. 1914. Source: Getty At the turn of the 20th century, photography was on the cusp of major transformation. The French Lumière brothers introduced the Autochrome process in 1907, and as the below images show, Etheldreda Laing was one of its early masters....
Colonia Dignidad operated for decades — and saw horrific acts of abuse transpire within it. Germany and Chile have set up a joint government commission to investigate the crimes committed in a Nazi cult in Chile, Reuters reports. The cult, called Colonia Dignidad, was established by Paul Schäfer, a Wehrmacht medic during World War Two who amassed a religious following while working as a YMCA youth counselor and Baptist preacher in post-war West Germany....
Frito Bandito was the animated mascot for Fritos Corn Chips from 1967 to 1971. It was the brainchild of Tex Avery, one of America’s most famous cartoonists responsible for the likes of Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and Speedy Gonzales. Frito Bandito As A Mexican Stereotype In animated form, Frito Bandito was voiced by Mel Blanc, the legendary voice actor who gave life to Bugs Bunny’s antics. But for about four years, Frito Bandito was also one of the most racist product mascots....
Charles Lindbergh was rather handsome. Strikingly tall, bedecked in classic leather pilot’s cap and goggles, “Lucky Lindy” could sit in the cockpit of the Spirit of St. Louis and look every bit the part of the romantic hero of aviation’s so-called golden age. Share Flipboard Email When The New York Times ran its front-page story on the completion of Lindbergh’s historic transatlantic flight on May 21, 1927, the newspaper described his landing with breathless grandiloquence:...
IBM technology helped the Nazis carry out the Holocaust. But to what extent can we blame the tech giant? William Philpott/Liaison via Getty ImagesA World War II-era IBM card sorting machine on display at the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. It’s a disgrace to history to ignore the power that technology has in facilitating acts of evil — and IBM’s work with the Nazis serves as a prime example of that facilitation....
In 1921, Mabel Walker Willebrandt became the highest-ranking woman in the U.S. federal government. Appointed as the assistant attorney general, she used her power to enforce Prohibition. Library of CongressMabel Walker Willebrandt sits at her desk. Date unknown. In the 1920s, Mabel Walker Willebrandt was one of the most powerful women in America. Although she came from humble origins, her position as assistant attorney general at the age of 32 and her fight to uphold Prohibition laws captured the attention of the nation....
Without Vincenzo Peruggia’s daring Mona Lisa theft operation in 1911, would the iconic painting even be well-known today? Wikimedia CommonsLeft: The Mona Lisa. Right: Vincenzo Peruggia, the man responsible for stealing it from the Louvre in 1911. The Mona Lisa just might be the most recognizable face on Earth. Featured in countless TV shows and movies, parodied in different forms across the globe, and written about in art books of every language, the Mona Lisa has a face that draws more than 7 million people to the Louvre in Paris each year....
The history behind one of the cruelest forms of capital punishment, immurement, from ancient times to some shockingly recent accounts. Wikimedia CommonsA depiction of the immurement of a nun, 1868. “I resumed the trowel, and finished without interruption the fifth, the sixth, and the seventh tier. The wall was now nearly upon a level with my breast. I again paused, and holding the flambeaux over the mason-work, threw a few feeble rays upon the figure within....
From her troubled childhood to her famous films to her mysterious death, discover some of the most fascinating facts about Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn Monroe is arguably one of the most recognizable Americans who ever lived. Almost everyone is familiar with her face, her silhouette, and, of course, the iconic photo of the star holding her white skirt over a New York City subway grate. But who was Marilyn Monroe? These 22 facts about Marilyn Monroe include some of the most fascinating details about the beloved movie star, from her most famous films to her three marriages to her tragic — and mysterious — death in 1962....
The outrage from the video prompted an investigation by Florida’s fish and wildlife commission, leading to the charges against the men. Earlier this year, a video surfaced of a struggling shark being towed behind a boat at high speeds. In the video, three men can be seen smiling and laughing as the shark bounces through the waves. According to CNN, those three men, recently identified as Michael Wenzel, Robert Lee Benac, and Spencer Heintz, are each being charged with two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty....
In 2017, two women snuck up on Kim Jong-nam at an airport in Kuala Lumpur and dosed him with VX nerve gas. Now, an inside source claims that his alleged role as a CIA informant might have had something to do with it. JoongAng Sunday/AFP/Getty ImagesKim Jong-nam, the eldest son of Kim Jong-il, was meant to succeed his father as North Korea’s leader but fell out of favor in the 2000s....
How a NASA-funded experiment led to a physically intimate relationship between researcher Margaret Howe Lovatt and a dolphin. When a young Carl Sagan visited St. Thomas’ Dolphin Point laboratory in 1964, he likely didn’t realize how controversial the setting would become. Sagan belonged to a secretive group called “The Order of the Dolphin” — which, despite its name, focused on searching for extraterrestrial intelligence. Also in the group was the eccentric neuroscientist Dr....
The bodies were found when a neighbor reported that she hadn’t seen any activity at the house for over a week. Ramsey County Sheriff’s OfficeRobert James Kuefler lived with the decomposing bodies of his mother and brother for almost a year. In September of 2016, authorities responded to a call from a White Bear Lake, Minnesota woman, who claimed that she hadn’t seen her neighbor in over a week. Police investigated the house in question and discovered the bodies of two people, a man and a woman, that had been decomposing in the home for almost a year....
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell will present a formal apology for the “longstanding wound” on April 12 to the Italian-American community. Pedro Szekely/FlickrThe French Quarters in New Orleans. The city of New Orleans announced that it will be giving an official apology to the 11 Italian-Americans who were wrongfully attacked by a public mob in 1891. The group of immigrants were beaten and lynched by residents after they had been acquitted for the murder of a local police chief....
Alan Berg made enemies with the Aryan Nation and the Christian Identity movement, who believed Jews descended from Satan. Denver Post/Getty ImagesAlan Berg. March 14, 1978. He had a biting sense of humor, an outspoken personality, and his voice reached more than a dozen states. Alan Berg, an attorney turned radio host, called himself the man you love to hate. If he didn’t hang up on callers, he would berate them on air....
Isolated from the outside world, Socotra has grown to be both the most strangely beautiful and the most unique place on planet Earth. Rod Waddington/FlickrDragon’s blood trees, found only on Socotra, SOME 150 MILES EAST OF THE HORN OF AFRICA and 250 miles south of the Arabian Peninsula lies the island of Socotra. Alone amid the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean, the Yemen-controlled island has remained remarkably isolated from the outside world for millennia....
Researchers believe that a focus on brewing, sharing, and hosting beer-centric festivities was integral to the ancient Wari culture’s social stability for 500 years. Wikimedia Commons“Chicha,” the preferred beverage of the ancient Wari culture, is still served today in Colombia. A new study in which researchers sought to observe how drinking helped to maintain political relations in ancient societies posits that the culture which eventually gave rise to the Incas was able to survive for 500 years because of a constant flow of beer between them and rival tribes....
Thought fairy tales were lame? Wait until you see Margarita Kareva’s photography. Everyone recognizes the classic beauty of Snow White, one of the most adored fairytale princesses of all time. Source: Facebook Russian photographer Margarita Kareva is both the subject and author of a fairy tale. Just three short years into her photography career and she has already carved out a niche – as well as an ever-expanding fan base – in the world of fantasy photography....
In the modern age, celebrities, politicians and teen bloggers alike fall victim to anon hate: threatening, demeaning and often times aggressive communications via Twitter, Facebook or Tumblr messages. Long before the immediate anonymity of the internet, however, sending someone something hateful without identifying yourself as the sender was virtually impossible. Who better to craft the ultimate hate mail campaigns of yesteryear than the most secretive group of people in the states, the FBI?...
The true story of the history of M&M’s sounds like something out of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Wikimedia CommonsM&M’s as they appear today “They melt in your mouth, not in your hand!” Anyone who considers themselves any kind of candy connoisseur has heard the phrase before, and most likely indulged in the candy it’s describing. Since being released to the masses in the 1940s, M&M’s have been a staple of the candy lovers diet....
