Posts

The body of Jerome Ernest Wright’s girlfriend was inside the closet, found after her decomposing leg was seen sticking out of the door. Miami Herald Jerome Ernest Wright When police asked Jerome Ernest Wright about the dead body they had found in his home, he offered them a somewhat unusual defense. He claimed that there had been a misunderstanding and that the mutilated body they had found was actually a life-size blow-up doll, covered in human flesh....

As turmoil roiled in Los Angeles in April 1992, Korean store owners were abandoned by the LAPD and forced to fend for themselves. The results were disastrous. Getty ImagesWith no assistance from the LAPD, Korean American business owners, now called “roof Koreans,” and other residents of South Central were left to fend for themselves. In 1992, Americans watched South Central Los Angeles go up in flames on the news. Tensions inside the neighborhood — a mix of racial minority demographics long plagued by urban blight — reached a boiling point after multiple incidents of racial violence against Black residents....

Charlotte Bischoff van Heemskerck spent years looking for the painting because it held special significance for her, having once hung in her family’s dining room right behind her chair. Family of Mrs Charlotte Bischoff van HeemskerckCharlotte Bischoff van Heemskerck with the painting that the Nazis stole from her familiy. When Charlotte Bischoff van Heemskerck was a young girl in the Netherlands in the 1930s, her family had a painting by a Dutch master hanging on the wall of their family home....

After disarming an assassin, Oliver Sipple was hailed a hero. But the ensuing media storm outed him as gay and upended his entire life. One morning in September 1975, 33-year-old ex-Marine Oliver Sipple went for a walk around his San Francisco neighborhood. Within moments, he found himself saving the life of U.S. President Gerald Ford from a deranged female assassin. Sipple was hailed as a national hero for disarming the shooter, but his heroism was just as quickly overshadowed by scandal when a journalist reported on his homosexuality....

Susan Atkins fell in love with Charles Manson the minute she met him in San Francisco. She loved him so much, in fact, she obeyed his orders to kill. Susan Atkins is the one who killed Sharon Tate — at least that’s what she claimed in court. In a confession that shocked the world, she described the moment she killed the rising Hollywood starlet: Ralph Crane/Time Inc./Getty ImagesSusan Atkins leaving the Grand Jury room after testifying during Charles Manson’s trial in December 1969....

Whether it was archaeology, ancient monuments, or extinct animals, history news and discoveries ranked with the most fascinating stories of 2019. Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty ImagesIn 2019, the gilded coffin of King Tutankhamun was removed from his tomb for the first time in 3,300 years. It was in desperate need of restoration. The year 2019 has seen some of the most exciting historical discoveries in a long time, owing to recent technological advancements....

The ubiquitous summer drink may have its origins in the circus – which means a pretty nasty start. Lisa Fotios/Pexels Pink lemonade. Usually associated with hot summer days and cool sips in the shade, this rosy variety of the ever-popular drink has been quenching thirsts for over a century, though the tale of its invention is likely to leave a pretty sour taste in your mouth. While the exact origins of the recipe remain unclear, researchers have narrowed it down to two possible sources, both of which reach back to the days when traveling circuses could be found touring countrysides from coast to coast....

A key contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary was actually a murderer who was serving a life sentence at an insane asylum. OUP ArchiveDr. Murray and his Oxford University editorial team in 1915. With more than 600,000 entries and 2.4 million quotations in the contemporary version, a lot of backbreaking research went into the Oxford English Dictionary nearly 150 years ago. Amid all of the arguments and fights among dozens of editorial staff who compiled entries for this masterpiece at Oxford University, there is a murder connected to the OED’s creation....

From Oskar Schindler to Mahatma Gandhi, a look at the greatest humanitarians that have defined human history by standing up for change. The Greatest Humanitarians In History: Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman was an African-American who overcame slavery to save others from a similar fate. Born in 1822 in Maryland, Tubman was born into slavery and was frequently beaten by her master before escaping in 1849 to Philadelphia. However, she quickly returned to Maryland and other slave states to help others (including her family) escape through the Underground Railroad....

Roman dagger unearthed after 2,000 years, Egyptian mummies found with golden tongues, mass grave uncovered at ancient Peruvian site. 2,000-Year-Old Roman Dagger Uncovered By An Amateur Archaeologist In Switzerland Archaeological Service GraubündenThis ornate dagger, inlaid with silver and brass, is one of just four of its kind ever unearthed. In approximately 15 B.C., a great battle is believed to have taken place in Switzerland between the Roman forces of Emperor Augustus and an opposing confederation known as the Rhaetians....

Through a research expedition funded by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, the deep sea R/V Petrel vessel located the USS Hornet and captured priceless footage. Wikimedia CommonsThe USS Hornet leaving Hampton Roads in October 1941. The search for the wreckage of the USS Hornet, an American aircraft carrier used during the Tokyo air raid in World War II, has finally come to an end. After 76 years, explorers located the crumbling Navy ship’s remains 17,500 feet underwater in the South Pacific, Popular Mechanics reported....

Lavinia Fisher owned an inn outside of Charleston, South Carolina, where some say she murdered hundreds of travelers before her arrest and execution in 1820. In the early 1800s, Lavinia Fisher ran an inn just outside of Charleston, South Carolina. She would charm male guests who stopped for the night on their way to the port city, chat with them about their travels — then poison them with oleander tea. Or at least that’s how the story goes....

From bananas to coffee to chocolate, you’d never guess what some of your favorite foods look like while still plants. Banana Blossom The banana fruits that we eat grow on a stem above a large inflorescence (flower cluster), with the entire hanging stem capable of weighing more than 100 pounds. Pixabay Cashew Fruits Inside the green shell growing out of the yellow tree fruit pictured here are the edible seeds that we know as cashew nuts....

The Sea Peoples terrorized Egypt and the Mediterranean during the Bronze Age, but their identity and origins remain mysterious to this day. Wikimedia CommonsThe Sea Peoples shown being defeated at the hand of Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses III. More than 2,000 years before the Vikings first set sail from modern-day Scandinavia to plague the people of Europe, the great empires of the ancient world faced a terrifying seafaring enemy of their own — one that remains almost a complete mystery to this day....

Yukio Mishima was the most famous author in Japan before he descended into political extremism and attempted a failed coup that ended with him committing ritual suicide. JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty ImagesYukio Mishima, famed Japanese author, shortly before he committed ritual suicide after a failed coup attempt. When he awoke on the morning of Nov. 25, 1970, Yukio Mishima was the star of the Japanese literary world — considered by many a likely candidate for the Nobel Prize and an internationally renowned man of letters....

“This is a great discovery and its greatness lies in what it, and the artifacts, can tell us about the cultural landscape.” Augusto Salgado/Cascais City Hall/Handout via ReutersDivers at work during the discovery of the shipwreck on Sept. 24, 2018. While searching the sea floor off the coast of Portugal, archaeologists recently discovered a shipwreck believed to be a whopping 400 years old. According to Reuters, the researchers contend that the ship may have sunk while returning to Lisbon from India with spices and other items sometime between 1575 and 1625....

Two emus named Kevin and Carol were previously banned from the Yaraka Hotel for bad behavior. FacebookThe Yaraka Hotel was forced to create an “emu barrier” at the entrance to the pub in order to keep Kevin and Carol out. A few years back, Kevin and Carol of small-town Yaraka, Australia gained a reputation as local menaces — so much so, in fact, that they were banned from a neighborhood pub for bad behavior....

Carlos Hathcock had 93 confirmed kills of enemy personnel during the Vietnam War, but he estimated the actual number to be between 300 and 400. Snipers are controversial figures and the Vietnam War is a controversial war. This makes Carlos Hathcock, the most extraordinary sniper in the Vietnam War, a legendary figure in his own right. He is quoted as saying he liked the hunt, but not the killing. “A person would have to be crazy to enjoy killing another human being....

Thanks to a strong constitution and some liquid courage, Charles Joughin survived nearly three hours in the frigid North Atlantic. Wikimedia CommonsThe Titanic sinks in the background as people escape on lifeboats. Charles Joughin was arguably the last person aboard the Titanic when it sank into the frigid waters of the North Atlantic ocean on April 15, 1912. Yet somehow, the ship’s chief baker survived for hours in the subzero temperatures until he found a lifeboat....

On June 25, 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer led 210 men into an attack against 3,000 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors — and the Native Americans killed every last one of them. Charles Marion Russell/Library of CongressA 1903 lithograph depicting the Battle of Little Bighorn, the setting for Custer’s Last Stand. George Armstrong Custer lives on in American memory largely for one reason: his death. For generations, the account of Custer’s Last Stand has been legendary....