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The 6 O’clock Swill, Australia/New Zealand During World War I, Australian and New Zealand bars started closing their doors at 6 PM to encourage men to spend time with their families. Naturally, the slang “6 o’clock swill” began to circulate as men would rush to get a drink after work before the bars closed. Needless to say, the closing time didn’t stick. The Most Fascinating Drinking Rituals: Snapsvisa, Sweden Snapsvisa is a traditional drinking song that precedes bouts of drinking the spirit “snaps....

In 1955, Ruth Ellis was hanged for shooting her lover. Her execution sparked a public conversation that would ultimately lead to the abolishment of the death penalty. On July 12, 1955, a notice posted on the gates of Holloway Prison in London read: That same night, around 500 people gathered outside before police reinforcements showed up to disperse them. Behind the gates and inside the prison was Ruth Ellis. Her parents had paid two visits to her the evening before....

Source: Oglethorpe University Tucked away in northwest Ethiopia, along a line roughly stretching from Lake Tana to the border of Eritrea, lies the land of Beta Israel. This ancient region was once home to over 150,000 observant Jews, though only around 4,000 remain in the area today, most residents having relocated to Israel in the 1980s and ’90s. That such a large Jewish community should exist in Ethiopia, of all places, took the outside world by surprise....

Every country involved in World War 2 was busy producing propaganda in order to increase support for its war efforts. And the Allies were especially keen on promoting their own virtues and igniting the public’s hatred towards the enemy Axis powers. Share Flipboard Email However, the American government did not particularly like the idea of World War 2 propaganda at first. Nonetheless — in response to pressure exerted by businesses, advertising companies, and the media — the government was soon compelled to increase propaganda production....

From Charles Lindbergh’s advances in cardiac medicine to Paul Newman’s celebrated work as a race car driver, these people made waves in ways you’d never imagine. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 1 of 16Paul Newman Though known as one of the most celebrated actors in Hollywood history, Paul Newman was, in certain circles, more famous for something else: race car driving....

Because the bridges are so effective, the United States and Canada have upped the construction of these crossings in the last 30 years. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Stretches 1,600 Miles And Won’t Be Safe For Humans For Another 20,000 Years India’s Living Root Bridges Could Be The Future of Green Design...

These tragic photos and stories capture the horrors of the Nanking Massacre — a.k.a. the Rape of Nanking — committed by Japanese soldiers against Chinese civilians in 1937 and 1938. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 33 Disturbing Photos Of The Second Sino-Japanese War That Reveal Why China Is World War II’s Forgotten Victim 25 Tragic Photos Of The Forgotten Genocide In Nazi-Occupied Poland...

From educators and artists to debutantes and philanthropists, these “Black Victorias” made a name for themselves in both England and the United States. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: Rarely Seen Photos Taken Just After History Was Made Rarely Seen Color Photos Of World War II That Truly Bring History To Life The Fall Of The Soviet Union, In 36 Rarely-Seen Photos...

For decades before and after Mary Shelly’s book, several prominent scientists were putting serious brainpower into real Frankenstein experiments by using the then-magical power of electricity. In 1818, a 20-year-old woman named Mary Shelley anonymously published her first novel. Titled Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, the book told the story of the proverbial mad scientist who reanimated a corpse and created a monster. Though Shelley very carefully omitted any exposition in her book of how, exactly, Dr....

From the proto-machine gun to the first robot, the inventions of Da Vinci changed the world. Leonardo Da Vinci may be the ultimate jack of all trades. Indeed, artist, inventor and scientist are just some of the titles that Da Vinci held during his 67-year long life. And while Da Vinci lived a handful of centuries before we were even thought of, it is many of his forward-thinking prototypes that have provided the foundation for the most innovative inventions in recent memory....

Authorities believe that the murder-suicide by Andrey Emelyannikov was part of the Blue Whale Challenge. DailyMailAndrey Emelyannikov A student in Moscow killed his teacher and then himself on Wednesday, as part of a suicide group challenge, authorities say. Eighteen-year-old Andrey Emelyannikov posted photos of the gruesome scene online, including selfies in which he is smiling standing over the body, and ones where he is holding the murder weapons. According to authorities, the assault happened during a break in classes at the Western Complex of Continuous Education, in Moscow....

The Roanoke colonists disappeared sometime in the late 16th century, leaving school children and archaeologists alike scrambling for explanations why. Source: History.com Technological advances both increase and decrease the number of the world’s apparent mysteries. In the case of the lost Roanoke colony, recent technological developments are helping researchers inch closer to a satisfying conclusion as to why the 16th century colony disappeared — and it all has to do with what researchers have found at a place called Site X....

According to centuries-old Filipino folklore, the aswang combines the most terrifying traits of vampires, were-beasts, and witches into a single monster that inspires unparalleled fear to this day. Wikimedia CommonsAn artist’s sketch of a “viscera sucker” aswang. Not knowing whether or not danger is lurking around the corner can debilitating, and the aswang combines the uncertainty of a shapeshifter with the worst traits of vampires and werewolves — making the monster the most feared in all Filipino folklore....

As an alarming number of gray whale corpses wash ashore in Washington State, the local government is asking landowners to donate their property as makeshift graveyards. Mario RiveraMario Rivera and wife Stefanie Worwag are the first to accept NOAA’s call for beachfront property owners to use their land to dispose the growing number of whale corpses. In more tragic news about the continuous destruction of our environment, about 30 gray whales have reportedly been found dead ashore the Washington state coast around Puget Sound this year, the highest number in a single year in the last two decades....

When the Bear River Massacre ended in Preston, Idaho on January 29, 1863, hundreds lay dead — hundreds who are largely forgotten today. Edmond J. Fitzgerald/Jimmy Emerson/United States Postal Service/Smithsonian National Postal MuseumA portrait of the Bear River Massacre. It’s likely the deadliest Native American massacre in U.S. history. By the time it was over, as many as 500 people lay dead. Yet few even know its name today. This is the story of the Bear River Massacre....

Braco doesn’t claim to have supernatural powers, but it’s heavily implied that if you pay eight dollars for him to stare at you, cosmically wonderful things might happen. Will they? Read on and decide for yourself. YouTubeMeet Braco, the man with a healing gaze. “They feel something through Braco’s gaze,” says the Slovenian Ria Kosak, a member of Braco’s PR team. “When he stands in front of groups of people, they feel a sense of hope....

Before Brutus’ name became synonymous with the betrayal of Julius Caesar, Roman republicans sang his praises as a hero of democracy. Wikimedia CommonsA bust that’s presumed to be of Marcus Junius Brutus, widely known as the man who helped kill Julius Caesar. Marcus Junius Brutus was a renowned Roman politician and a brilliant orator. Born into an illustrious family of politicians, Brutus held a series of government appointments throughout his career, and he even became one of the closest confidants of Gaius Julius Caesar....

Despite experiencing history’s longest case of hiccups which lasted from 1922 to 1990, Iowa farmer Charles Osborne managed to live a relatively normal life. Twitter/Seriously StrangeCharles Osborne had the hiccups from June 13, 1922 to June 5, 1990. Everyone has experienced hiccups at some point in their life. The involuntary diaphragm contractions can even start in the womb. But few have faced hiccups that lasted for days, months, or years. Charles Osborne, however, had the hiccups for decades....

For almost 20 years, David Knotek stood by as his sadistic wife Shelly Knotek abused their friends and family members — and he eventually assisted her with murder. Gregg Olsen/Thomas & Mercer PublishingDavid Knotek, a construction worker and Navy veteran, was described by his stepdaughter as “a very weak man” with “no backbone” who was routinely abused by his wife, Shelly Knotek. On August 8, 2003, Shelly Knotek and her husband David were arrested at their home in Raymond, Washington, for a series of brutal murders spanning nearly a decade — after their own daughters had turned them in....

Although executing someone by throwing them out a window may seem like a bizarre concept, it was once popular enough to acquire its own word: defenestration. When people use the word “defenestration” today, they usually mean it metaphorically, referring to removing someone from a position of power, especially public leaders. In 2017, for example, when The Atlantic published an article titled “The Strange, Slow-Motion Defenestration of Jeff Sessions” about the fall from grace of the then-U....