Posts

“You’re not gonna die, I don’t know why you’re freaking out… I know the water level is high… but you freaking out is doing nothing but losing your oxygen level up in there, so calm down.” FacebookDebra Stevens (left) and Donna Reneau Among the last things that anyone wants to hear when they are about to drown is that they should just “calm down,” but sometimes that is exactly the guidance that 911 dispatchers must give when responding to frantic emergency calls....

On July 9, 1993, Toronto lawyer Garry Hoy was doing his favorite party trick: hurling himself at his office’s windows to show their strength. But this time, his stunt failed. Wikimedia CommonsThe Toronto-Dominion Centre, the former home of law firm Holden Day Wilson, and the place where Garry Hoy died. Garry Hoy was fascinated by the physical robustness of modern architecture. So much so, that he regularly performed a party trick in which he would throw his full bodyweight against the windows of his office building to prove just how strong they were....

After moving to New York in 1977, Gia Carangi became one of the most sought-after models in fashion and a fixture of Studio 54 — but her life quickly unraveled. On the surface, Gia Carangi seemed to have it all. In the late 70s and 80s, Carangi owned the spotlight and had droves of adoring fans. Harry King/WikipediaGia Carangi in a 1978 photoshoot by photographer Harry King. It’s said that she added the “super” in supermodel to describe how exponentially successful she had been in her career....

Baldwin IV had leprosy at a time when it was considered a death sentence as well as a ticket to social ostracism. Instead, he became the King of Jerusalem and a hero to his people. Wikimedia CommonsTwo medieval lepers being denied entry into a town. Medieval prince Baldwin IV knew his chances weren’t good when he was diagnosed with leprosy at the age of nine. Before the (relatively recent) discovery of the cure for leprosy, contracting the disease was as good as a death sentence....

The Mafia had operated with near-immunity until Joe Valachi spilled his guts to the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, the Justice Department, the FBI, and on a radio broadcast. One key principle governed the Mafia’s world of organized crime: the code of silence known as omertà. No one talked to external parties or authorities about the heinous crimes that its members committed. As a result, despite law enforcement’s best attempts to incriminate Mafia leaders, these “wise guys” literally got away with murder....

“The pain became increasingly unbearable, so that I couldn’t even walk or sit.” Muasya/Barcroft Image/Getty ImagesForence Owiti Opiyo. A Kenyan man who had his genitals swell up to 20 times their normal size finally got his life back after a successful surgery to reduce the swelling. Forence Owiti Opiyo, a 20-year-old man from the small village of Kibigori in western Kenya who suffered from scrotal elephantiasis, has had his genitals returned to their original size and plans to live a normal life following a successful surgery, reports The Sun....

Throughout industrial Britain and America, young women employed at matchmaking factories and working closely with toxic chemicals developed a brutal disease known as “phossy jaw" — which caused their jawbones to literally rot. Wikimedia CommonsA late 19th-century photograph of a matchstick girl suffering from phossy jaw. In 1855, a 16-year-old factory worker named Cornelia visited a doctor in New York with a toothache on the right side of her lower jaw....

This collection of the weirdest laws in the world will leave you questioning your government’s priorities. If you’ve ever thought about killing Bigfoot in Washington or wearing lacy underwear in Russia, think again. It is illegal to sell or give an intoxicated person alcohol in Alaska and it’s illegal to even allow an intoxicated person to enter a bar.Pxhere In France, it is illegal to drive around without your own breathalyzer, even if you are a tourist....

Imagine if suddenly the entire city of Atlanta were unable to vote in federal elections. That’s reality for five million people who live in US territories. Source: Vice Imagine you were born in the United States of America, of parents who were also native-born citizens of the United States. You work, pay taxes, serve on juries, and remember the six years you spent in the US Navy as a terrible mistake, but at least you stuck it out and earned an honorable discharge....

The twists and turns of the Cowboy Bob case fooled even the most experienced FBI agents. Texas MonthlySecurity footage showing Cowboy Bob heading out of one of his heists. The perfect crime (probably) doesn’t exist, but if it did, Cowboy Bob’s string of robberies would probably be it — a string of flawless crimes, a mysterious perpetrator, and a twist ending that shocked even the most experienced agents from the FBI....

Some West Africans’ DNA linked to unknown “ghost species” ancestor, evidence of medieval coffin birth uncovered, painting worth millions found after decades in a closet. Some West Africans Have DNA Not Linked To Any Known Human Ancestor Wikimedia CommonsYoruba men playing instruments. Way before homo sapiens were the only human species walking the earth, other protohuman species existed. While several studies have found the DNA of ancient populations in modern humans, primarily Neanderthals and Denisovans, we lack findings of DNA from African-dwelling ancient hominids in modern humans....

Though it was an innocuous-looking wooden frame, the torture rack might have been the medieval era’s most brutal device — and it was used well into the 17th century. Originally believed to have been used in antiquity, rack torture is most often associated with medieval times. At a time when executioners meted out creative — albeit cruel — forms of punishment, this particular device stood in a class all its own....

Horseshoe crab blood has helped humans fight disease since the 1970s, but if we keep over-harvesting it, there may be none of these crabs left to save us. Timothy Fadek/Corbis via Getty ImagesBlue horseshoe crab blood is harvested at the Charles River Laboratory. What’s blue, opaque, and extremely precious? It’s the blood of the horseshoe crab, a water arthropod found on the eastern shores of North America and Asia. Horseshoe crab blood is an essential element in testing the safety of new drugs and vaccines....

Born into slavery in 1854, Nat Love moved to Dodge City at age 15 and became known throughout the Old West as one of the most skilled and daring cowboys to ever live. Public DomainNat Love went from being enslaved to being a fearless cowboy. Near the end of his life, Nat Love marveled that he had lived to “tell the tale.” Indeed, his story reads like a Wild West paperback novel....

This was Brooklyn before it became a haven for luxury condos and artisanal pickle shops. During the forties and fifties, Brooklyn was home to manufacturing and industry that kept its economy thriving. But the boon of World War II was short-lived and soon after, companies left New York for cheaper cities while Brooklynites fled for safer neighborhoods and the city fell into an economic slump that would last for decades....

The Secret Service was established in 1865 as an agency dedicated to protecting the validity of the country’s currency against counterfeiters. But after President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901, the Secret Service assumed its current role of protecting the leaders commonly depicted on that currency. Share Flipboard Email That’s not to say that the president and other top leaders didn’t have a dedicated security force prior to 1901. In 1861, Allan Pinkerton’s Union Intelligence Service foiled an assassination plot while guarding Abraham Lincoln in Baltimore....

Sammy Woodhouse is just one of 700 victims denied compensation by CICA. An English woman who was sexually abused by the Rotherham gang was refused compensation by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) because they claim she consented to it. Sammy Woodhouse was only 14-years-old when she was abducted and sexually exploited by then-24-year-old Rotherham gang ringleader Arshid Hussain, whom she helped convict last year. Despite her role in Hussain’s conviction, her claim was denied....

A layer of crisp, powdery snow makes everything just a little more magical — especially when it’s in a desert. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 1 of 22@Filosofomorfo/Twitter 2 of 22@Cassyarch/Twitter 3 of 22@agouldphoto/Instagram 4 of 22@GCConservancy/Eric Grimm/Twitter 5 of 22@MohaveDesertLT/Twitter 6 of 22@JustSayinPage/Twitter 7 of 22@AlmaRosaAsesora/Twitter 8 of 22@ArizonaIllustrated/Twitter 9 of 22@dunnerightaz/Twitter 10 of 22@canyonguides/Twitter 11 of 22@MohaveDesertLT/Twitter 12 of 22@helicoptersean/Instagram 13 of 22@SirlinJohn/Twitter 14 of 22@_Millhorn/Twitter 15 of 22@Kevinrimcoski/Instagram 16 of 22@1NativeSoilNerd/Twitter 17 of 22@sarai_AZ/Twitter 18 of 22@aemerybrown/Twitter 19 of 22@dunnerightaz/Twitter 20 of 22@miller2275/Twitter 21 of 22@rodelmore/Twitter 22 of 22Like this gallery?...

Carl Andre’s work has been featured all over the world — but he’s remained controversial ever since his wife Ana Mendieta fell 34 stories to her death in 1985. Jeff Baynes/Chris Morphet/Getty ImagesArtist Carl Andre with his artwork “Equivalent VIII” at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. Andre would later be charged with the murder of his wife, but acquitted. On Sept. 8, 1985, a 911 call came in to New York City police....

New research upends the theory that hobbits were more closely related to non-human species. Katrina KennyRendering of Homo floresiensis. While J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit was most certainly a work of fiction, new research suggests that “hobbits” may have more in common with us humans than previously thought. Indeed, researchers at the Australian National University have concluded that the 3.7-foot-tall Homo floresiensis — the scientific name of the “hobbit” species — shares more features with Homo habilis, the most ancient human ancestor, than it does Homo erectus, an early hominid distinct from the human species....