Posts

Resting against the coast of Northern Ireland’s County Antrim is a grove of 40,000 stone pillars known as the Giant’s Causeway. What’s most remarkable about the feature is the regularity of the stone columns, which seem to have organized themselves into neat, hexagonal blocks that huddle together as if they were cells in a honeycomb. The columns are so regular that it was difficult for the area’s residents to imagine that the feature was anything but an artifact of some massive building project....

Joanna Palani has since penned a memoir detailing her time in Syria, Kurdistan, and Iraq where she was a trained sniper. Her return to Denmark, she said, was harder than war. TwitterJoanna Palani, armed and camouflaged in Syria. Danish female sniper Joanna Palani joined up with the Kurdish Women’s Protection Units in a bid to fight ISIS. Her actions has since resulted in nine months of jail time in Denmark — and according to reports, a $1 million bounty on her head....

Joe Rosenthal’s “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima” captured one of World War II’s most iconic moments, but the real story behind the photo would remain little-known for decades. Joe Rosenthal/National ArchivesOn Feb. 23, 1945, Marines raised the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima in an iconic moment captured by photographer Joe Rosenthal. When photographer Joe Rosenthal snapped a picture of U.S. Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima, he didn’t yet know that the photo would become one of the most iconic images in American history....

From the Civil War Draft Riots of 1863 to the Crown Heights Riots of 1991, these riots in New York left indelible marks on the city’s history. Library of Congress; Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images; John Roca/NY Daily News Archive via Getty ImagesScenes from some of the worst riots in New York City history, including (from left) the 1863 Draft Riots, the 1943 Harlem Riot, and the 1991 Crown Heights Riot. New York City has a long history of riots....

Despite contributing so much to the world, many female scientists have failed to receive the acclaim that should have been theirs. Here are just some of the most important. Today the world celebrates International Women’s Day — first observed by the United Nations in 1975 — which commemorates the achievements and contributions of women throughout history. As you will see, however, many of these achievements have been obscured, some due to men taking credit for them, others simply due to the fact that prevailing social attitudes didn’t deem women’s contributions as notable....

After the Exxon Valdez tanker crashed into a reef, 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled across 1,000 miles of Alaskan coastline. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 1 of 34One baby and five adult oil-soaked sea otters lie dead on Green Island.Chris Wilkins/AFP/Getty Images 2 of 34Katmai National Park Superintendent Ray Bane digs into a thick pool of oil on the park’s shoreline on the Alaska Peninsula....

Thomas Edison’s invention brought forth a new era for cities and humanity at large. But it also brought a negative externality that continues to plague Earth: light pollution. Source: Flickr Thomas Edison’s first light bulb illuminated New York City in 1879, and humanity rapidly connected the dots between towns and cities with streetlights, illuminated billboards, and economic growth. Lights paved the way for bigger business, more usable time and entertainment late into the night....

Bathsheba Sherman was a real woman who died in Rhode Island in 1885 — so how did she end up being depicted as the baby-killing witch featured in The Conjuring? Believe it or not, Bathsheba Sherman, the fearsome demon that terrorized the Perron family in The Conjuring, was not an entirely fictional creation. Some believed she was a witch who worshipped Satan and was related to Mary Eastey, a woman who was hanged in the Salem Witch Trials....

During the Tour de France, around 200 cyclists from 22 teams pedal through the French countryside in an attempt to win one of the world’s most difficult sporting competitions. Covering an impossible 2,087 miles that are broken down into 21 different stages, the Tour de France is a beast of a race, which is why it remains the pinnacle of a cyclist’s career. Of course, the race has changed drastically over the past century....

Flowing lava, spewing ash and transforming the landscape, volcanos are simultaneously terrifying and endlessly fascinating. On Earth, volcanoes are usually located in places where tectonic plates converge and diverge. More than 75% of the world’s volcanoes are considered active, meaning that they’ve erupted within the last 10,000 years. Read on to check out our compilation of the world’s coolest volcanic eruptions. The world’s most active volcanoes are located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a 25,000 mile, horseshoe-shaped area in the Pacific ocean....

Headless Roman skeletons found in England, 1980s serial killer identified in Oregon, ancient monument accidentally desecrated in Scotland. 2,000-Year-Old Roman Skeletons Unearthed In England — With Their Heads Cut Off And Put Between Their Legs HS2Some experts believe that the headless skeletons may have belonged to criminals or social outcasts, but the true reason for this macabre ritual ultimately remains mysterious. Approximately 2,000 years ago, the area around what’s now Aylesbury, England was a bustling Roman settlement....

Petition to drink Egyptian mummy juice started, giant 4,500-year-old henge uncovered, Amelia Earhart’s final days revealed. 28,000 Signed A Petition To Drink This ‘Mummy Juice’ — And Scientists Just Figured Out What It Is -/AFP/Getty Images On July 19, archaeologists finally looked inside the previously-unopened Ancient Egyptian sarcophagus that had been unearthed in Alexandria several weeks prior. And what they discovered was three skeletons floating around in a mysterious, 2,000-year-old red liquid, and soon the internet started buzzing about what this “mummy juice” might be....

Century-old message in a beer bottle discovered in Detroit, the earliest animal carvings ever found in Scotland, and Roman-era decapitations uncovered in England. Message In A Bottle From 1913 Discovered Inside The Walls Of A Detroit Train Station Daniel Mears/The Detroit NewsThough workers were tempted to remove the message from the bottle right away, they held back, fearing, “If we did anything to remove it, we would have destroyed it.”...

They searched for her, only to find her legs poking out of the caramel. In a horrifying incident, a Russian mother was boiled to death by molten caramel at the confectionary factory she worked at. The Sun reports that Natalia Nemets, 36, died earlier this week in a workplace accident wherein she was boiled alive in a vat of molten caramel. Nemets, a native of Stary Oskol in the Belgorod Oblast region of Russia, was working at Slavyanka confectionery factory when her colleagues noticed that she was not at her place in the factory....

These 20 serial killers let us know why they killed — but we’ll never know just how to unread what they said. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: The 33 Worst Serial Killers Ever To Stalk The Earth 21 Serial Killer Quotes That Will Chill You To The Bone 33 Famous Serial Killers Whose Crimes Shocked The World...

From his champion wrestling career to the eerie circumstances of his assassination, these facts about Abraham Lincoln may change the way you see the 16th president. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 33 Abraham Lincoln Quotes That Remain Relevant Now More Than Ever The Short And Tragic Life Of William Wallace Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s Favorite Son...

At the cost of more than 30 million lives, Hitler would finally be defeated — by the Soviets. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: How The Eastern Front Decided World War II Go Inside The Wolf’s Lair, Hitler’s Massive Command Center On The Eastern Front 43 Colorized Photos That Capture Victorian London As It Really Was...

Bad news, monotheists: you’re not even close to having a monopoly over the world’s narratives on purpose and morality. At present, it’s estimated that over 4,000 religions exist across the world, ranging from the well-established to the cult-like. Whatever your divine quest, it seems there’s a spiritual niche just for you. Here are six lesser known groups that have larger followings from around the world. Interesting Religions: Falun Gong Founded in China in 1992, Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline where followers try to obtain renewal and better health through meditation....

On the surface, drawing borders would seem to be just about the easiest part of running a country. After all, even a five-year-old can draw a straight(ish) line on a map, right? How hard could it be? Sure, there will inevitably be disputes over who owns what, and sometimes maps can be inaccurate and miss an island or two, but that can all be fixed with a couple of entry-level embassy staffers from the two countries getting together over lunch and signing a quitclaim deed or something....

The Victorian era is well-known for its prudishness, but this beach day invention is crazy. If 21st century society may be described as “overexposed,” it’s fair to qualify the 19th century as one of underexposure — and there’s perhaps no better example of that than the bathing machine. Bathing machines actually began appearing in the 1750s, but were borne out of more practical concerns: At that time, men and women generally bathed together, and naked....