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On August 20, 1994, Tyke the elephant tried to escape her abusive circus in Hawaii. But sadly, she only enjoyed a half-hour of freedom before she was shot dead. Wikimedia CommonsAfter she fled the circus arena, Tyke the elephant ran wild on the streets of Honolulu. Captured from Mozambique as a baby in 1973, Tyke the elephant was trained as a circus animal from an early age. Shipped to the United States, Tyke was quickly sold off to the Hawthorn Corporation — a company that supplied animals to circuses....

Natural phenomenon, alien-infused art or manmade hoaxing? No one can say but that doesn’t detract from crop circles amazing aesthetics. Source: Stonehenge Tours Crop circles have sparked curiosity for ages. The crop formations, usually created by bending the stalks of crops such as wheat, barley, rye or corn, appear overnight and can span hundreds of yards. Centuries ago, farmers believed that crop circles were caused by a “mowing devil” said to reside in the area....

A new study has found that tourists are trampling over native plants to have sex while littering the protected area with garbage — with rare lizards choking to death on used condoms. Federico/FlickrThe man-made “sex spots” yielded cigarette butts, condoms, toilet paper, and wipes. The Spanish island of Gran Canaria welcomes 14 million tourists per year. While most are satisfied to lay on its public beaches, others sneak off into the expansive sand dunes to have sex....

“In these days we are talking about flying cars, but these people have been using just a plain stick.” WeWALK / TwitterThe WeWALK smart cane uses Bluetooth technology, Google Maps, and can connect to any other application. Over 217 million people in the world are severely visually impaired or blind. This is also a world of continuous technologization, but it is somewhat surprising that high-tech assistance for the visually impaired took so long....

Harvey Marcelin, who spent decades in prison for murdering two women, is the prime suspect in the murder and dismemberment of 68-year-old Susan Leyden. NYPDHarvey Marcelin, 83, spent more than 50 years in prison for other murders. A week ago, a man walking home in Brooklyn, New York, noticed a garbage bag outside a pawn shop. He peeked inside — and found a woman’s torso. Now, police say that they’ve identified Harvey Marcelin, 83, as the prime suspect in this grisly murder....

Some are convinced the government uses Area 51 to dissect aliens and study flying saucers. In truth, the classified site has been used to build spy planes — and dump toxic waste. Creative CommonsThis warning sign bordering Area 51 states that “photography is prohibited” and that “use of deadly force is authorized.” Most mornings, between 3:30 and 4:00 a.m., a plane takes off from a private terminal at Las Vegas’s McCarran International Airport....

The bufo toad secretes a highly poisonous milky substance when handled or threatened, which can kill cats and dogs and burn people’s eyes. Wikimedia CommonsThe bufo toad, which secretes a toxic substance from the glands on its head. The Mirabella neighborhood in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida has been overrun by thousands of poisonous bufo toads. These encroaching amphibians have already clogged people’s pools, taken over their patios, and taken to the streets....

A human or animal suffering from a cutaneous horn could be what inspired legends of devils, unicorns, and other mythical horned creatures. YouTubeA cutaneous horn growing out of a forehead. Throughout history, mythology has been full of mysterious horned creatures like unicorns, devils, and jackalopes. Though these creatures don’t exist, there is some basis for the lore. A popular theory is that the myths of unicorns and other could be an entirely legitimate medical condition: a type of tumor known as a cutaneous horn....

This is what it looked like when American soldiers liberated Dachau concentration camp, freeing tens of thousands of prisoners in April 1945. Silent footage taken by the Allies of the liberation of Dachau concentration camp. On April 29, 1945, freedom finally came to tens of thousands of Holocaust victims who were trapped in southern Germany’s Dachau concentration camp. That day, U.S. troops marched in and liberated Dachau, what was the first and longest-running concentration camp of the Nazi regime....

Eleven months ago, Cameron Underwood was without most of his lower jaw, his nose, and all but one of this teeth. NYU LangoneCameron Underwood before and after his face transplant. Eleven months ago, Cameron Underwood was without most of his lower jaw, his nose, and all but one of this teeth. But now, Underwood has revealed his new face to the world — the one given to him by doctors....

What makes an area the perfect place to dispose of a body? Find out as we explore the most notorious killing fields in the United States. Image Source: Flickr What makes an area the perfect place to dispose of a body? According to law enforcement officials, the qualifications are simple: a mix of hot, humid climate and hungry wildlife to ensure the quick destruction of evidence, and a location remote enough to prevent unwitting visitors from stumbling across a body, but not impossible for the perpetrator to reach in the dead of night....

Lyle and Erik Menendez claimed their mother was a neglectful drunk — and so in August 1989, they got revenge on her and their father. When affluent Beverly Hills couple Jose and Kitty Menendez were found murdered in their home on Aug. 20, 1989, an entire nation waited for answers. Their deaths seemed to come at the hands of burglars, which left locals in mortal fear — until months later when authorities realized this hadn’t been a robbery gone wrong, at all....

For 15 years after the murders, Susan Edwards and her husband Christopher spun elaborate lies that her parents were still alive — all while draining their bank accounts. The modest semi-detached at 2 Blenheim Close in Mansfield, England, doesn’t look like much. But until 2013, its back garden held a sinister secret. There, Susan Edwards had buried her parents after shooting them dead with her husband, Christopher. For 15 years, Susan and Christopher had kept their secret....

Authorities sought to cart it away but it quickly proved too huge to move. DPA It’s perhaps the most reviled symbol in history and it covers more than 150 square feet, yet for decades, it was right under everyone’s feet and no one knew it was there. Last week, construction workers who were excavating in Hamburg, Germany happened upon an enormous concrete swastika as they were preparing to build new changing rooms at the Hein-Kling stadium, reported Bild....

These photographs provide a glimpse into life in Imperial Japan — a tour through the lives of the country’s poorest and most glamorous. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 31 Imperial Russia Photos That Reveal History In Stunning Color The Outrageous Story Of Imperial Japan’s Plot To Import Jewish Refugees Based On An Anti-Semitic Hoax...

Jamel Shabazz may have only been a 20-year-old when he started photographing New York City in the 1980s, but the Brooklyn-born artist captured the city in a way that nobody else seemed capable of. Share Flipboard Email His photographs now hang in the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the Whitney Museum, and the Smithsonian. And his new book, Jamel Shabazz: Sights in the City, New York Photographs, adds even more to his reputation....

If you’ve been to any sort of Australian sporting event, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen the boxing kangaroo. Whether pictured on a flag being waved in the crowd or sold as a plush toy in the gift shop, the image of the boxing kangaroo has become a national symbol. Share Flipboard Email This image has been around since the latter part of the 19th century and while it’s now a beloved symbol of Aussie pride, its origins aren’t exactly the sort of thing to boast about....

Maria Rasputin escaped death in Russia and went on to become a lion tamer and author — but was she really the Grigori Rasputin’s daughter? Her father was one of the most controversial figures in Russian history. As a little girl, she played with the Romanov daughters. And when imperial Russia fell, this girl — Maria Rasputin — fled the country and wound up in Los Angeles after a long career in lion taming and cabaret....

Suffering from a condition that caused his body to accumulate excessive amounts of fluid, Jon Brower Minnoch weighed up to 1,400 pounds and died at just 41 years old. Though most Guinness World Records get broken over time, there is one that has remained unbroken for the last 40 years. In March of 1978, Jon Brower Minnoch was awarded the world record for being the heaviest person in the world after weighing in at 1,400 pounds....

Leon the sled dog went missing in March after slipping out of a checkpoint, launching a months-long search. The Iditarod/FacebookLeon the sled dog with his owner, musher Sebastien Dos Santos Borges. During the famous Iditarod race in Alaska, a sled dog named Leon slipped out of a checkpoint and vanished, prompting a massive search to bring him home. Luckily, eagle-eyed locals of McGrath, Alaska, were able to reunite the 3-year-old husky with his owner, French musher Sébastien Dos Santos Borges....