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The COVID-19 lockdown has shuttered many restaurants which were an abundant food source for the rodents. Charlie Hamilton James/Nat Geo Image CollectionThe coronavirus lockdowns have cut off the primary source of food for urban rats. As public lockdowns are being enacted in major US cities, scientists warn of an impending war between starving rat populations that may take over the streets. According to NBC News, the country’s rat population suffers from the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak as food businesses like grocery stores and restaurants are shuttered to reduce the spread of the disease....

Discover the hidden history of Friedrich “Frederick” Trump who operated hotels and restaurants in the Pacific Northwest but remains best known as the grandfather of Donald Trump. Donald Trump is fond of complaining about “chain migration,” a term used by critics to describe the act of migrants helping their family members move to the United States. Yet Donald Trump himself would’ve never been born in America if it weren’t for this very practice....

During World War I, Russia constructed the Tsar Tank, a vehicle unlike anything the world had ever seen. But this tricycle-like behemoth had one little problem. Wikimedia CommonsThe Tsar Tank in field tests. Notice the soldiers standing on the carriage. From 1914 to 1918, the killing fields of Europe were a place of bloody stalemate. The Great War – World War I as we call it today – resulted in massive casualties on a frightening scale as belligerent empires became bogged down in trench warfare with tens of thousands of lives sacrificed for mere yards of territory....

Vito Genovese rose through the ranks of the New York mob during Prohibition and eventually killed his way to the top of the city’s most powerful crime family before a few crucial blunders took him down. Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives via Getty ImagesVito Genovese died of a heart attack in prison. For decades, Vito Genovese was practically synonymous with the American Mafia itself. Born in rural Italy at the tail-end of the 1800s, he immigrated to New York City as a teenager and shaped its criminal elements as a young man....

“He chose a spot where the water ran off easily, keeping it cool in the heat of the day, keeping it watered and making sure that squash beetles didn’t overtake it.” Christin Ownby/FacebookJustin Ownby used a seed from another record-breaking pumpkin that had also been grown in Tennessee. Dreams come in many forms. For Justin Ownby, his dream was to grow a giant pumpkin. Recently, his wildest dream finally came true....

Ever since tales of Tantric sex reached the West, many have attempted to understand Tantra — and have gotten it very wrong. I teach Ayurveda (Indian Holistic Medicine) at The Institute of Holistic Nutrition in Vancouver, something I first picked up while living as a Buddhist monk over a decade ago. Ayurveda is strongly influenced by Tantric spiritual traditions, and so I teach a very brief introduction to those traditions as part of my course....

The altar was found in the ancient Graeco-Roman city of Patara and is shedding invaluable light on the ancient Greek religious practices of its time. Mustafa Koçak/Antalya Bilim UniversityThe ancient city of Patara in Turkey is also known as “the cradle of civilizations.” Archaeologists in the ancient Greek city of Patara have uncovered a stunning 2,000-year-old altar engraved with a coiled, decorative snake relief. While serpents have proven a ubiquitous symbol across ancient civilizations, this is first discovery of its kind in Patara, which has an intriguing history of its own....

From Cabbage Patch kids that chomped on fingers to a working atomic energy lab, these outrageously dangerous toys put everything from radioactive uranium to bona fide weapons into the hands of children. Over the years, innumerable products have landed on store shelves and captured a level of “must-have” on countless Christmas lists. Unfortunately, these products aren’t always thoroughly tested on a mass scale, meaning that a well-intentioned present could end up being a terribly dangerous Christmas gift....

Even celebrities have an awkward phase — but they still managed to make it. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: Scotty Bowers: Pimp To Golden Age Hollywood’s Biggest Stars — Both Gay And Straight Lost Hollywood: Contact Sheets Reveal Candid Stars The Tragic True Stories Behind Some Of Hollywood’s Biggest Child Stars 1 of 42George Clooney in 1985....

Whether it’s serial killers, cannibals, or disturbing beasts, the only thing more chilling than these scary photos from decades past are the terrifying stories behind them. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 9/11 Pictures That Reveal The Tragedy Of America’s Darkest Day 55 Of History’s Creepiest Pictures — And Their Equally Disturbing Backstories From The ‘Real-Life Mowgli’ To The ‘Human Pet,’ Learn The Bizarre Stories Of 9 Feral Children From History...

Throughout the 1940s and ’50s, British hangman Albert Pierrepoint made a career out of killing everyone from infamous serial murderers to Nazi war criminals. Ian Tyas/Getty ImagesAlbert Pierrepoint On July 15, 1953, notorious British serial killer John Christie was about to be executed at London’s Pentonville Prison. Immediately before he was to be hanged, Christie, his hands tied behind his back, complained that his nose itched. The executioner then leaned in and told Christie, “It won’t bother you for long....

The archaeologists found arrows, hunting blinds, reindeer bones, and “scaring sticks” that were used to guide the animals to their doom. Espen Finstad/Secrets Of The IceA rare arrow discovered by glacial archaeologists on the Sandgrovskardet peak. As glaciers shrink in Norway, they’ve pulled back the curtain on humanity’s ancient past. Upon the mountainous peak of Sandgrovskardet, glacial archaeologists have found a number of reindeer hunting tools from 1,700 years ago that were once hidden by the ice....

Wild West outlaw Billy the Kid died in 1881 — or did he escape, vanish, and live on under the name Brushy Bill Roberts in Texas all the way until 1950? In the late 1800s, the American Wild West was home to outlaws and bandits, many fearsome enough to be known across several territories. And among the most widely-known of all those bandits was Billy the Kid. Billy the Kid (a nickname for a man born Henry McCarty and later known as William H....

According to the Bible, John the Baptist was executed during Herod Antipas’ birthday party at the behest of his future stepdaughter. Győző VörösA 19th-Century painting titled Herod’s Birthday Feast, during which, according to the Bible, John the Baptist was decapitated. Archaeologists believe they may have uncovered the fortress where John the Baptist was said to have been executed in exchange for a dance, according to the Bible. As Live Science reports, excavations of a courtyard discovered at Machaerus in Jordan is suspected to be the place where the infamous exchange took place....

“I really want to know what species exactly was eating my Twinkies.” Matt KassonEight years in Colin Purrington’s basement saw the Twinkies grow varying levels of fungus. The mystery fungus that mummified an old Twinkie has been the talk of Twitter, and it all started with a quarantine snack gone wrong. Hit with a sudden craving for sweets, Colin Purrington recalled an eight-year-old box of Twinkies he had stashed in his basement....

“All members of the animal kingdom including birds and aquatic life have similar rights as humans." AFP/Getty Images The high court in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand has ruled that all animals have the same “rights, duties and liabilities of a living person” in a landmark decision designed to protect and promote their welfare. According to The Times of India, the court’s July 4 decision stated that each animal has a “distinct persona” and that they are “legal entities” who can’t merely be treated as property....

Even after she was sentenced to a mental hospital, Jane Toppan continued to feel her murderous tendencies, routinely asking her caregivers to kill with her. YouTubePhotos of Jane Toppan. “Jolly” Jane Toppan was one of the most beloved nurses employed at Cambridge Hospital. She earned her nickname “Jolly Jane” from her pleasant and upbeat personality, and her friendliness toward her patients. By all counts, she was also one of the best nurses at the hospital as well....

She endured three husbands’ deaths, was betrayed by Elizabeth I, and ultimately suffered a gruesome execution. This is the tragic story of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. Mary, Queen of Scots, also known as Mary Stuart, was born into conflict. She assumed the throne as queen of Scotland when she was just six days old, upon the death of her father. From the beginning, her life was mired in struggle as she grappled with the demands of the Scottish throne and the deaths of several husbands....

Long pursuing a state of their own, Kurdish women are fighting back ISIS and gaining many fans in the West. Female Peshmergas on their base at the border between Syria and Iraq. These female fighters are motivated by the words of Abdullah Ocalan, head of the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK), who promotes Marxist thought and empowerment of women. Source: Newsha Tavakolian/TIME To an ISIS militant, one of the worst things that could transpire in combat is not just being killed, but being killed by a woman....

In prosperous post-World War II Britain, an aspirational generation of middle-class idealists arose who expressed their progressive ideas through stylish fashions. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: Aleister Crowley, The Occultist Who Horrified Early 1900s England Meet Babe Didrikson, The ‘Texas Tornado’ Who Took The Sports World By Storm Mods Vs. Rockers: When The Youth Of The ’60s Erupted Into Violence...