Posts

When a great famine struck Europe in 1314, mothers abandoned their children and in some cases, even ate them. Scholars believe that these tragedies gave birth to the story of Hansel and Gretel. The notorious tale of Hansel and Gretel has been translated into 160 languages since the Brothers Grimm first published the German lore in 1812. Dark as it is, the story features child abandonment, attempted cannibalism, enslavement, and murder....

Richard Wershe Jr., popularly known as “White Boy Rick,” was 14-years-old when the FBI enlisted him as an informant. Richard Wershe Jr. was arrested in his home in 1988 with 17 pounds of cocaine. He was 17-years-old. Reporters and the police broadcasted the teenager all over the news with headlines that called him the leader of a drug cartel. Wershe, the police claimed, was a dangerous cocaine godfather known to his underlings as “White Boy Rick....

For centuries, Vikings traveled from throughout Scandinavia to join the elite Varangian Guard that protected the Eastern Roman Emperor and the city of Constantinople. National Library of SpainA 12th-century illustration of the Varangian Guard defending Constantinople. Vikings are perhaps best known for plundering Western Europe and being the first Europeans to set foot in North America. But they also played a crucial role in the Byzantine Empire, where a select group of warriors called the Varangian Guard protected the emperor in Constantinople for hundreds of years....

140 tons of citrus are used to create floats and exhibits for the annual Lemon Festival. The theme of the 2006 Menton Lemon Festival was Carnivals of the World: India. Despite all the yellow citrus fruit’s uses—like helping detoxify your liver, lightening your hair and stimulating your metabolism—the French city of Menton has come up with the lemon’s best and perhaps most extravagant use ever. Say hello to the Fête du Citron, a unique lemon festival that brings more than 160,000 tourists to the southeastern France city every spring....

“Lunch Atop A Skyscraper” was taken as a publicity stunt to promote the construction of the new Rockefeller Center, but it quickly became a symbol of hope for a struggling nation. The iconic photograph, “Lunch Atop A Skyscraper,” has become synonymous with 1930s New York City. The photo features 11 construction workers casually having lunch while dangling 850 feet above the Big Apple, but few know the remarkable story behind the snapshot....

Source: Answers One hundred years ago, on June 4th, 1913, Emily Wilding Davison fatally threw herself in front of King George V’s horse at the Epsom Derby in England. She died four days later from severe injuries but was immortalized as an international martyr by her fellow Suffragettes. However, as we pass its centennial anniversary this year, it’s not just the movement we remember but also the way women championed their cause–and still do–through art....

How eL Seed, a celebrated French-Tunisian calligraffiti artist, is spreading peace and hope, one blank wall and one can of spray paint at a time. eL Seed’s calligraffiti adorns a building in Algiers, the capital and largest city of Algeria. Image Source: elseed-art.com Every day, the media parade negativity across our screens through stories of war, hardship, and murder. Modern artists’ attempts to tackle these issues are often overshadowed by the latest breaking news....

Before he wrote “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” Roald Dahl spent his 20s flying fighter jets and spying on the Roosevelts during World War II. Wikimedia CommonsHandsome and charming, Roald Dahl also had a dark side. Crash-landing in a North African desert ultimately led to James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Remarkably, Roald Dahl, the beloved author of these books and many more classic works of children’s literature, was once a World War II spy for Great Britain, seducing heiresses and socialites and palling around with the Roosevelts to inure the Americans to the Allied cause....

When Russian explorer Leonid Rogozov needed an appendectomy in the middle of Antarctica, he was the only doctor on site. So he did it himself. History DailyRussian doctor Leonid Rogozov performs surgery on his own appendix. History is filled with remarkable true survival stories — yet few can match that of Leonid Rogozov, the Russian doctor who performed surgery on himself to save his own life. How Things Went Wrong For Antarctic Explorer Leonid Rogozov It was 1961 and the Cold War was in full swing....

22-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres, the suspected killer of 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen, did not have legal authority to be in the U.S. Darwin Martinez Torres beat a Muslim teenager to death with a baseball bat on the side of a Virginia road on Sunday. The 22-year-old suspect was an undocumented immigrant, who entered the United States illegally — likely from El Salvador. Authorities are citing “road rage” as Torres’s likely motivation for killing 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen outside a mosque in Sterling, Virginia, at around 3:40 a....

Is the My Lai Massacre the greatest shame in the history of the U.S. military? Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: Why The Victims Of Agent Orange Are Still Suffering To This Day Haunting Photos Of The Brutal Nazi Massacre That Remains A Mystery To This Day The Horrific Story Of William Calley And The My Lai Massacre...

When researchers gave the octopuses a dose of MDMA similar to what a human would take, their personalities did a complete 180. Tom Kleindinst/Marine Biological LaboratoryA California two-spot octopus at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. Researchers gave the party drug MDMA, also known as ecstasy, to octopuses in the name of science – and got some startling results. In a study published in Current Biology, scientists revealed that when octopuses are given MDMA they react pretty much the same way humans would....

In a world where everything seems to have been done already, Jason Lewis has pulled off something entirely unique: circumnavigating the globe using only human power. No planes, motors or metal–just mental and physical endurance, along with the help of total strangers. Since his 13-year, 45,000-mile journey, Lewis has written a series of award-winning books documenting his travels, with the latest installment slated for release in May. Perhaps more importantly, though, he’s returned with a renewed perspective on the environment, humankind’s interaction with it and the importance of living within Earth’s biophysical limits....

For the last 300 years, locals and tourists alike have told chilling tales of the Dark Watchers, massive specters that can make a person disappear with just a glance. Wikimedia CommonsThe eerie phenomenon of the Dark Watchers could merely be caused by refracted light that is then amplified by fog or mist — or it could be something more sinister. The Santa Lucia Mountains are a marvel to behold. But as the mountains rise into the California skies with an endless ocean before them, shadowy figures sometimes materialize on the afternoon horizon above them: the Dark Watchers....

Whether you think they’re signs of global warming or that Mother Nature is just working out some particularly painful kinks, it’s impossible to deny that summer 2015 has seen an insane amount of extreme weather events. From the massive blob of warm water covering thousands of miles in the Pacific Ocean to brutal, scorching temperatures torching places like Pakistan and Iran to a rain-battered Gulf Coast, this summer’s extreme conditions have left no part of the world untouched....

Ancient curse tablet unearthed in Israel, history of the Bering Land Bridge rewritten, coin marking Julius Caesar’s assassination goes to auction. Archaeologists In Israel Just Deciphered A Biblical-Era Tablet Inscribed With A Dramatic Curse From God Michael C. Luddeni/Associates for Biblical ResearchIn a process that even the experts called “tedious,” it took thousands of tomographic scans to finally uncover the largely hidden text inscribed into this tiny piece of lead....

While the rest of the world was busy with COVID-19 shutdowns, thieves were plotting to steal artwork valued at $12 million. Wikimedia Commons/Getty ImagesThe three masterpieces stolen from Oxford are estimated to be worth about $12 million. A gang of art thieves apparently took advantage of the global panic that has ensued after the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, reportedly making away with paintings worth about $12 million. As Artnet News reports, three masterpiece paintings were stolen from the Christ Church Picture Gallery at the University of Oxford over the weekend....

These fearless combat engineers descended into the complex Viet Cong tunnels to gather info and disarm bombs — often at the cost of their own lives. Getty ImagesWith pistol ready, a G.I. shovels dirt into a tunnel entrance where Viet Cong were believed to be hiding. For a soldier during the Vietnam War, one of the most dangerous of obstacles was faced by a select few soldiers known as “tunnel rats....

Americans are often criticized for their relationship with food– we’re too fat; we eat too quickly; our food is greasy and unhealthy. For the most part, that may be true, but as much as we can learn from the eating habits of other countries, it’s also important not to take our food for granted. In a way, the school lunch provides us with a quick-and-dirty take on a given place’s culture, values and economic wellbeing....

The gold and amethyst ring likely belonged to someone of great wealth and may have been a family heirloom. Dafna Gazit / Israel Antiquities AuthorityThe ring could date to the 3rd century. Just a few weeks ago, archeologists in Israel began to explore the sweeping ruins of an ancient wine factory in Yavne. Now, near a warehouse once used to store empty jars, they’ve found a striking amethyst ring. Experts say that the jewel may have been used to ward off hangovers....