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Discover the nightmarish stories behind these eerie abandoned hospitals, from the West Virginia lobotomy lab to the radioactive clinic in Chernobyl. Before these institutions became the derelict ruins of ghost hunters’ dreams, they were the pinnacle of health in their era — or a torture chamber thinly disguised as a hospital. Indeed, many of these abandoned hospitals are a stark reminder of the terrors they once hosted. From the abandoned hospital in Pripyat, Ukraine that fell victim to the most catastrophic nuclear disaster of the 20th century to the Nazi hospital that tended to Hitler’s legions, the historical appeal of these derelict institutions is matched only by their fear factor....

Following a tumultuous presidential election cycle and standing at the very beginning of what to many appears to be an administration with the capacity (and potentially desire) to roll back many civil rights gains, it’s worth looking back to a period of time when Americans – particularly gay Americans – fought for those rights to begin with. The 1969 Stonewall Riots marked the tipping point in the gay rights movement, bringing increased visibility to the LGBT cause....

The world’s biggest peacekeeping organization caused an epidemic that’s killed 10,000 and still going strong — and they won’t own up to it. Are the victims finally about to get justice? ON AUGUST 22, BAN KI-MOON, the Secretary General of the United Nations, said that a “significant new set of UN actions” will be put into motion in response to the six-year cholera epidemic in Haiti. That epidemic has officially killed around 10,000 people, but most cases aren’t officially reported, and some estimate that the death toll could be as high as 30,000, with more than 2 million people infected in total....

If you were trying to kill a lot of people (or maybe sneakily kill just one person), you could go with the predictable choices: guns, tanks, poison, and swords. Or, you could get creative. For as long as nations have existed, it seems that governments have been working to figure out the craziest ways to end people’s lives. From cat robots to poisonous umbrellas, here are 21 of history’s most out-there weapons:...

The photo of “Napalm Girl’’ depicting nine-year-old Phan Thi Kim Phúc running from a South Vietnamese airstrike shocked the world in 1972. But there’s a lot more to her story. AP/Nick UtPhotographer Nick Ut’s original, uncropped version of “Napalm Girl” Phan Thi Kim Phúc with ARVN soldiers and several journalists. Among history’s most influential photographs is the haunting image of “Napalm Girl” Phan Thi Kim Phúc, a then-9-year-old caught in a moment of desperation during the Vietnam War in 1972....

At least 300 dogs have jumped off Overtoun Bridge in Dumbarton, Scotland. And locals believe paranormal activity is to blame. Wikimedia CommonsThe Overtoun Bridge. Hundreds of dogs have jumped off the bridge since the 1960s. Dog walkers, beware. Since the 1960s, the Overtoun Bridge in Dumbarton, Scotland has been a mysterious hotbed for what locals have called “doggy suicides.” According to The New York Times, local researchers estimate that at least 300 dogs have jumped off the bridge, while local tabloids report that the number is closer to 600....

The murder was exposed after the homicidal professor fell into a river while dumping the young woman’s severed arms. East2West News/APAnastasia Yeschenko (left) was murdered by her jealous lover, famed Napoleon historian Oleg Sokolov (right). In a grisly crime of passion, a prominent Russian professor known for his expertise on Napoleon Bonaparte murdered his student-turned-lover over the weekend. According to France24, 63-year-old historian Oleg Sokolov shot his girlfriend, 24-year-old Anastasia Yeshchenko, during a heated argument before he dismembered her body and tried to dump her limbs into the Moyka river in St....

Sid Vicious was the infamously troubled bassist for the Sex Pistols. But was he really a killer? Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: The Short, Tragic Romance Of Sid Vicious And Nancy Spungen Inside The Vicious Crimes Of Child Murderer Mary Bell Meet Bobby Beausoleil: The Haight-Ashbury Hippie Who Became A Manson Family Murderer 1 of 44Sid Vicious, bassist and vocalist with punk rock band the Sex Pistols, injects himself with heroin....

For 303 days in 1916, the French defended themselves against a fearsome German onslaught, but at the cost of 700,000 total casualties at the bloody Battle of Verdun. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 57 Haunting Photos From The Blood-Ridden Trenches Of The Somme 36 Photos Of The Battle Of Stalingrad, The Biggest Clash In The History Of War...

Officially named Advhena magnifica, or magnificent alien, this new glass sponge species found in the deep Pacific Ocean looks a lot like an alien from a Hollywood movie. NOAAThe glass sponge Advhena magnifica which means ‘magnificent alien,’ in its natural habitat in the Pacific. Miles into the depths of the Pacific Ocean, off the southwest coast of Hawaii, marine biologists encountered a being that looked as if it had come from space rather than the ocean floor....

From hot-air balloons on Jupiter to nightlife on a planet with no star, these images are truly out of this world. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 1 of 24This was the first poster designed for NASA’s “Visions of the Future” series, and the retro-futuristic inspiration was clear from the very beginning.NASA/JPL 2 of 24Some 40 light-years from Earth, a planet called TRAPPIST-1e offers heart-stopping views....

Time travel has long-been invoked in works of science fiction. But how close is it to becoming a reality? Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking recently revealed his latest project, the Breakthrough Starshot, in which a group of tiny spacecrafts using laser technology will be sent toward Alpha Centauri (the closest star system to ours) at a speed of 100 million miles per hour. Before Starshot, that trip would take around 20,000 years to complete, but Hawking claims that his revolutionarily fast vessels would be able to make the journey in just 20....

Tycho Brahe kept a drunken elk in his entourage, supposedly had an affair with the queen of Denmark, and totally changed our understanding of the universe itself. Wikimedia CommonsTycho Brahe dazzled Europe with his scientific acumen and has since fascinated historians thanks to his unusual private life. Some 400 years after his death, Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe remains relatively unknown to most people today. Nevertheless, his planetary observations and other celestial discoveries paved the way for future scientific breakthroughs that helped shape our very understanding of the world as we know it — and his private life was just as fascinating....

Though Manuela Escobar is mostly known for being the only daughter of the “King of Cocaine,” her life today is far different than her father’s ever was. Before Manuela Escobar could walk, she was taught to run. And as Pablo Escobar’s daughter, she certainly had a lot of running to do. While being the child of a notorious Colombian drug lord came with its perks — like getting all the presents you could possibly want for your birthday — this type of upbringing also came with several serious drawbacks....

Planning a nice night in? We’ve got you covered with twenty must-see interesting documentaries on Netflix streaming. It’s up to you to get the wine, though. It turns out that if you spend days on end watching documentaries for an article, you begin to believe the world is going to end. Now. Or next week at the latest. But seriously, here are twenty hand-picked documentaries you can–and should–stream on Netflix:...

These inspirational quotes for women, courtesy of everyone from Anne Frank to Beyoncé, reveal the true meaning of strength, equality, and courage. “I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse.”— Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursingWikimedia Commons “Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.”— Janis Joplin, American musicianWikimedia Commons “We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.”— Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist and Nobel laureateWikimedia Commons...

Known for his free-flowing designs based on nature, Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí redefined architecture in 19th-century Barcelona with masterpieces like the church of the Sagrada Familia and Casa Batlló. Renowned for his bizarre and eccentric marvels, Catalonian architect Antoni Gaudí redefined what it meant to be modern. His surrealist works were inspired by Victorian, neo-gothic, and even Oriental art forms, but it was his love of nature — its free-flowing lines and phantasmagoric structures — that defined his inimitable style....

Experts say that the 2,000-year-old artifact is the oldest datable runestone in the world and may provide researchers with valuable knowledge about the early days of runic writing. Alexis Pantos/Museum of Cultural History/University of OsloA piece of the runestone found in Tyrifjord, Norway. Runes, the characters that make up several early Germanic alphabets, were used in Northern Europe from the beginning of the Common Era until the adoption of the Latin alphabet at the end of the Viking Age....

After decades of speculation that the town’s first mayor had his heart removed and entombed within this monument, the people of Verviers were proven right. City of VerviersThe organ was preserved in a jar of alcohol, placed inside a zinc casket, and hidden beneath this hollowed-out stone. The small Belgian town of Verviers has a longstanding, if a bit macabre, urban legend. The story says that not only was the heart of Verviers’ first mayor Pierre David removed after he died — but it was hidden in a local fountain....

Forget buying a new bathing suit; each year, performers in Edinburgh, Scotland’s Beltane Fire Festival welcome summer with flames and nudity. Beltane, in case you weren’t up-to-date on your ancient Gaelic history, is a Pagan holiday celebrated on May 1, halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. The Beltane festival marks the beginning of summer, and celebrates the fertility of the coming year. It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals—along with Samhain (more commonly known as Halloween these days), Imbolc and Lughnasadh....