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A previous study claiming that socially isolated individuals are at higher risk for heart disease isn’t what it appeared to be. On March 26, 2018, the largest study of its kind was published online in the journal Heart by a group of public health researchers on the link between loneliness/social isolation and heart disease or stroke. However, the researchers also incorporated a number of other common risk factors associated with these health conditions that are typically ignored in these types of studies....

For centuries, Japanese samurai adhered to bushidō, a strict code of honor that emphasized loyalty and honor to country and family. And it still influences Japanese culture today. The word “bushidō” is one of the most evocative to make its way from Japan into the wider world. The mere mention of it calls to mind romantic images of dashing samurai acting according to a strict ethical code governing every aspect of their lives....

Dr. John Harvey Kellogg used a host of bizarre methods to prevent masturbation and cleanse his patients’ colons at the Battle Creek Sanitarium in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Getty ImagesAs a leading figure in the American hygiene movement, John Harvey Kellogg espoused a holistic approach to health and wellness, but he also believed genital mutilation was an appropriate anti-masturbation measure. For a simple American breakfast staple, “Kellogg’s Corn Flakes” has a surprisingly sordid past....

On December 23, 2020, CCTV footage captured the Russian dancer as she was shot by an unknown assailant outside her apartment building in Moscow. InstagramNatalia Pronina was a Russian dancer killed by a masked assassin. In December 2020, 30-year-old Russian dancer Natalia Pronina was executed by a masked assassin in front of her Moscow apartment. The murder was captured by surveillance cameras, and the footage was both disturbing and ambiguous, providing no clues as to the dancer’s demise....

“The demonic forces just attacked me,” Nikko Jenkins said. “I can’t sleep, 36 hours at a time. Until I did the first one.” Wikimedia Commons Nikko Jenkins’ mugshot following his arrest in 2013. Nikko Jenkins killed four people over the span of 10 days in Omaha, Nebraska in August 2013. He later said that he did it to please the ancient Egyptian serpent god Apophis, who had told him to kill....

It’s an ancient sport that remains popular to this day, yet few know much about this bizarre competition and even fewer actually go to see it. Share Flipboard Email However, back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, ostrich racing was extremely common in America, especially in Florida, where the curious sport is said to be one of the state’s oldest pastimes. Ostrich farms and racetracks first appeared in Florida in the late 1800s....

The reptile is a flapshell turtle, which is usually born with brown and green hues. TwitterThis albino golden flapshell certainly looks like it should be sitting between two slices of bread. The Indian Forest Service has just announced the discovery of a particularly strange kind of turtle — one that looks like a stack of molten American cheese. Typically, this species of golden flapshell turtle is dark green and brown. But according to ScienceAlert, a genetic anomaly has caused its jarring appearance....

The fossils were discovered in an area of Western Australia that is well known for its preservation of fossilized organisms. A new study, published by the University of Wisconsin-Madison in conjunction with UCLA, claims that researchers have found what appear to be the oldest fossils ever recovered. Researchers at the two universities have been studying a piece of rock found in Western Australia, and have confirmed that the fossils inside date back almost 3....

Beautiful, elegant, and kind, Grand Duchess Tatiana Romanov was born in one of the world’s most exquisite palaces and met her bloody end in the basement of a desolate house in Siberia. While she may not be remembered as widely as her younger sister, Anastasia, Tatiana Romanov was widely recognized in her day as the most regal of all the daughters of Russia’s Tsar Nicholas II. Wikimedia CommonsTatiana Romanov But despite her regal air, not to mention her legendary beauty, Tatiana Romanov’s short life came to a sad end alongside Anastasia and the rest of her doomed family....

A spatula can go there?! The weirdest x-rays are often the most gruesome ones. Squeamish friends, you’ve been warned. X-ray technology has without a doubt prolonged and saved countless human lives. But for those of us with a little more misanthropy coursing through our veins, x-rays also provide us with visions of painful human injuries, some of which are so off-the-wall crazy that they will leave you scratching your head and wondering just what kind of idiot would ever find herself in the position where a spatula would be lodged in her throat....

It’s as big as 14 elephants, two semi-trucks, or 10 T-rex. G. Lio/PAPatagotitan Mayorum Aureliano Hernandez — an Argentinian shepherd — saw a bone sticking out from under a rock in 2013. Paleontologists were contacted, but Hernandez passed away before they had a chance to make it out to the farm where he worked. Aureliano would never know, then, that his discovery was actually the thigh bone of the largest dinosaur ever uncovered....

The bizarre tale of one Inuit tribe’s mass disappearance. One bitter night in November 1930, an exhausted Canadian fur trapper named Joe Labelle sought refuge from the cold and inadvertently stumbled across one of history’s most remarkable mysteries. The once-industrious Inuit village on the shores of Lake Anjikuni that Labelle had seen throughout his travels had vanished without a trace. Source: About Facts Trudging through the fresh snow, Labelle cautiously approached the silent village in search of shelter....

The beads were displayed in Arundel Castle and believed to have been held by Mary, Queen of Scots, just before her execution in 1587. RDImages/Epics/Getty ImagesMary, Queen of Scots’ rosary beads and Bible as displayed in Arundel Castle — before the heist. Arundel Castle is nearly 1,000 years old and rightfully protected as a British historic site. On the outskirts of London, its curated grounds and the treasures displayed within are once again drawing crowds as lockdown restrictions are lifted....

Walruses are an incredibly rare sight in Ireland, considering most of them live thousands of miles away in the Arctic Circle. Alan HoulihanWalruses are very rarely seen in Ireland, leading one marine biologist to suspect that this one accidentally fell asleep on an ice floe and drifted there. Oversleeping can cause all sorts of problems. Just ask this walrus — who seems to have fallen asleep on an ice floe and drifted at least a thousand miles from the Arctic Circle to Ireland....

Secrets of Mesoamerican heart extraction unlocked, more than 1,000 Viking artifacts unearthed, Russian region claims to be spared from COVID-19 thanks to ancient mummy. Researchers Uncover Methods Of Heart Extraction In Ancient Mesoamerican Human Sacrifices Wikimedia CommonsRendering of human sacrifice and heart removal in ancient Aztec culture. Some experts estimate that the Aztecs sacrificed as many as 200,000 people every year, with many of them having their hearts removed. During the festival of Xiuhtecuhtli, for example, priests would march to the top of a volcano, sacrifice a man by removing his heart, and then light a ceremonial fire in his chest cavity....

Japanese castle from the 1500s unearthed, 2,000-year-old Roman roads revealed by sinkhole, ancient Egyptian funeral home discovered. 16th-Century Warlord’s Castle Unearthed In Japan Mainichi/Ai KawahiraWorkers excavate the stone wall of the Kyoto Shinjo castle. Few ever saw the Kyoto castle of Japanese warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi after it was completed in 1597. It was soon damaged in battle and covered over with new construction before fading into legend. But now, after 400 years, archaeologists have uncovered the remains of this historic site....

In a world where businesses seem to shell out less while asking for more, California’s Madonna Inn stands in stark defiance. In a world where businesses seem to be shelling out less and less while asking for more, the California-based Madonna Inn stands in stark defiance. What started in 1958 as a meager 12-room motel along California’s Central Coast has transformed into a 110-room beast of uniqueness that has inspired countless road trips....

Machu Picchu is one of the world’s most breathtaking sites. But it’s in danger of ruin, as a new airport would bring in loads more tourists. PixabayMachu Picchu was built in the 1400s for Incan emperor Pachacuti, historians believe. The Incan citadel of Machu Picchu in Peru is one of the world’s most stunning pieces of engineering, and a hypnotizing, historical remnant of a mystical past. Nestled in the Andes at around 8,000 feet, the government is now planning to boost the lucrative tourism it draws annually even more — by building a multibillion-dollar international airport nearby, which critics are adamant “would destroy it....

These “angels of death,” both evil doctors and evil nurses, took lives when they were supposed to be saving them. Thomas Cream Thomas Neill Cream was a Scottish-Canadian doctor known as the “Lambeth Poisoner.” In the 1890s, he poisoned and killed a number of his patients while working in Chicago. Despite being convicted of poisoning a woman and being given life in prison, he had his sentence commuted after his brother bribed the governor of Illinois....

From the loudest sound ever made to the World War II heroics of Bill Nye The Science Guy’s mom, these random historical facts reveal just how astounding the annals of humanity’s past really are. The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum – LondonNo list of fun history facts would be complete without Wojtek, the bear soldier enlisted by the Polish army during World War II. From the ancient Egyptians to the Enlightenment to the modern era, the annals of humanity’s past are absolutely filled with fun history facts that are as random as they are interesting....