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While Stede Bonnet is featured in the comedy series “Our Flag Means Death,” the 18th-century Barbadian pirate lived a much wilder life than the show portrays. Charles Johnson/Wikimedia CommonsA depiction of Stede Bonnet made less than a decade after Bonnet’s death. The life of a gentleman was not always easy in the 18th century. Luxuries like a verdant plantation, voluminous libraries, and silk jackets lined with lace were not enough for Stede Bonnet....

Villa Epecuén was a thriving resort town in the 1970s, but after being flooded by saltwater, the city is now little more than concrete ruins. Source: The Atlantic As humans, we are mesmerized by ruins, inherently intrigued by the concrete skeletons of old buildings and towns that are now rendered useless and abandoned. In the case of Villa Epecuén—a thriving resort town has since been reduced to a salty puddle—these ruins offer us an understanding of how quickly a town’s landscape can transform and be reduced to nothing....

A fine example of arquitectura orgánica, the Nautilus House in Mexico City convenes nature with modern architecture in an aesthetically pleasing way. Looking more as though it belongs under the sea than it does in Mexico City stands an enigmatic residence that mirrors what we’ve come to call the “living fossil”. The Nautilus House was spawned from the mind of Arquitectura Orgánica architect Javier Senosiain. Senosiain has been working in organic architecture–the seamless blending of human habitation with the natural world–for some time, drawing much inspiration from the design work of Gaudí and Frank Lloyd Wright....

Francis Gurahoo felt it worth the risk to smuggle Guyanese Finches into New York City seeing as each can go for at least $3,000. U.S. Customs and Border ProtectionFrancis Gurahoo placed each bird into a plastic hair curler which was then sealed shut enough to allow the animal to breathe without escaping. Going through U.S. customs can be a thrilling experience when you’re transporting a few too many Christmas presents of Swiss chocolates back into the country....

“With oxygen it’s no big deal.” @EverestToday/TwitterKami Rita Sherpa said he hadn’t been aware that setting such records was even possible until recently. If he had been, he said, he would’ve completed far more ascents years ago. Scaling Mount Everest is an achievement of a lifetime for professional climbers desperate to challenge themselves. For one Nepalese Sherpa, however, this extraordinary feat can be managed multiple times per week. According to the BBC, Kami Rita Sherpa just set two new records by reaching the mountain’s summit for the 23rd time in mid-May, and then scaling it again the same week — a record on its own....

Since early July, at least 58 residents have been attacked by a group of violent macaques in the city of Yamaguchi. Now, authorities believe they have brought one of them to justice. Wikimedia CommonsJapanese macaques were once endangered throughout the country, but conservation efforts and the loss of the primates’ two natural predators are leading to an increase in their population. Civilians in the Japanese city of Yamaguchi have been arming themselves against a “gang” of violent primates — and one of the monkeys was just captured and executed....

Richard and Suzanne Gilson discovered $1,000 in cash buried in the yard — all dating back to 1934. Suzanne GilsonThe cash was found rolled into tight bundles about the size of a cigar. Homes built in the early-to-mid-1900s often belonged to a generation of people who said, “Don’t waste money calling a repairman, I’ll do it myself.” This, of course, means it’s not uncommon for couples to buy an old “fixer-upper” and find something strange in their home....

In the final weeks of the Vietnam War, Operation Babylift evacuated more than 3,300 South Vietnamese orphans and placed them with adoptive families in the U.S. — but the first flight ended in tragedy. Gerald R. Ford Presidential LibraryBabies in boxes, strapped in with seatbelts inside a plane during Operation Babylift. In 1975, the U.S. government faced a growing refugee crisis in Vietnam. Thousands of babies were orphaned during the Vietnam War....

In the 1980s, the volatile political landscape in the Horn of Africa — borne primarily by famine and civil war between the brutal Derg regime and the people of Ethiopia — brought about the deaths of hundreds of thousands. By 1990, over 1 million refugees from the Horn of Africa would flee the region, and one area that hosted several refugee camps for the displaced was Sudan. Photographer Frank Keillor visited some of the refugee camps in central and eastern Sudan during the mid-’80s in order to document living conditions there....

These stunning Spice Girls photos will take you back to a time when “girl power” ruled the world – all thanks to these five young women. Twenty years ago this month, the Spice Girls released their first single, “Wannabe,” and the world gobbled it up. The single, which sold over 7 million copies, smashed records and catapulted the group to global fame — and criticism. Indeed, some have said that by “reducing” the women’s movement to fashion and all-laughs friendship, the group “[wiped] out feminism for a decade....

It was supposed to be the West Coast version of Woodstock. Instead, it turned deadly as a total of four died, one of whom the Hells Angels stabbed to death during the middle of the Rolling Stones’ set. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 39 Vintage Hippie Photos That Capture Flower Power In Full Bloom...

From 1961 to 1971, the U.S. used the herbicide and defoliant Agent Orange in Vietnam, leaving behind millions of victims with deadly diseases and birth defects. For ten years in Vietnam, it rained a chemical mist. It was the height of the Vietnam War in the 1960s, and planes and helicopters flew above the country’s fields, spraying a toxic chemical called Agent Orange. A potent herbicide mixture deployed by the U....

Kept secret by the British Ministry of Defense for over three decades, the Calvine photo has now finally come to light — but the men who took the photo are still unidentified. Sheffield Hallam University/Craig LindsayThe “Calvine photo” was taken by two Scottish hikers and clearly shows a diamond-shaped flying object. On August 4, 1990 two hikers in Calvine, Scotland looked to the sky and saw a large, diamond-shaped flying object....

The future Queen Elizabeth was barely a teenager when World War II threatened her nation, but she was determined to do what she could for her country — and she soon became the first female member of the royal family to enlist in the British Army. Imperial War MuseumsSecond Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor stands in front of an ambulance in April 1945. When World War II broke out in 1939, Princess Elizabeth was just 13 years old....

There was a time when Stuart Sutcliffe — before he quit and tragically died in 1962 — made the Beatles an actual five-piece band. Amongst Beatle fandom, there’s a lot of talk about if there was ever a fifth Beatle, and if so who was it? Some say it was the group’s manager Brian Epstein or their producer George Martin, both of whom Paul McCartney has attributed the title to on separate occasions....

Hear from Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the survivor (“hibakusha”) who endured the Hiroshima blast only to flee home to Nagasaki, where he survived that bombing too. Wikimedia CommonsAn atomic cloud looms over Nagasaki just after the bombing. August 9, 1945. On August 6, 1945, 29-year-old Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on business for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Preparing to return home, he realized that he had left an important document back at the office....

Whether standing up for their rights or jumping off Niagara Falls in a barrel, these folk heroes lived their lives to the fullest. American Folk Heroes: Sam Patch Before Evel Knievel was a twinkle in his father’s eye, Sam Patch was thrilling audiences across America. As a child laborer in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Patch would entertain his friends by jumping off the mill dam. By 1827, now living in New Jersey, his increasingly higher jumps had started to attract large crowds....

“There was a lot of blood on his head and face. He looked like his mouth and teeth were broken.” On July 4, 91-year-old Rodolfo Rodriguez found himself in the hospital covered in blood and bruises. Rodriguez had traveled to Willowbrook, Calif. from Michoacan, Mexico to visit family who lived in the city in Los Angeles County. It’s a trip Rodriguez makes about twice a year and everyone in the neighborhood knows him, said Erik Mendoza, Rodriguez’s grandson....

In 2009, Alan Ralsky pleaded guilty to wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering. Youtube Alan Ralsky, “Godfather of Spam,” millionaire, and convict, his story is one of rags-to-riches. In the worst way possible. Alan Ralsky began his spamming career in 1996. After his licenses to sell insurance were revoked, he sold his car to purchase two computers and taught himself how to use them. Ralsky then began making money through pump and dump schemes....

The 2,000-year-old room likely housed a family of three whose daily responsibilities included tending to their master’s horses and ceremonial chariot, which were previously discovered nearby. Pompeii Archeological Park/Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and TourismThe room measures only 172 square feet and doubled as a storage room for fine wines and spices. In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted in Pompeii. Its fiery rage spared no one — neither rich nor poor....