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Scientists believe the oasis could be home to life forms previously unknown. When you think Antarctica, you don’t usually think “t-shirt weather,” yet that’s just what researchers have found in the middle of the tundra. Researchers have discovered a web of hidden ice caves beneath Ross Island’s Mount Erebus that play host to a hidden oasis, where the air temperature hovers around 77 degrees Fahrenheit. The volcano’s heat combined with the continent’s below freezing temperatures created the surprisingly pleasant conditions....

Aerial photography can make slums and ransacked rainforests seem beautiful. These images use Google Earth to capture a different picture. [/caption] Aerial photography has the ability to turn slums, ransacked rainforests, and even pit mines into something beautiful. From a distance, all we can see are geometric patterns or deep color contrasts between land and sea, and the simplicity in these images is breathtaking. We can’t help but find them fascinating and if you spend any significant amount of time on the internet, you’ve undoubtedly fallen under their spell....

Not long after competing at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Louis Zamperini fought for the U.S. military during World War II — and later survived two years in a Japanese POW camp. Bettmann/Getty ImagesLouis Zamperini in long-distance pose atop at B-18 bomber. When Louis Zamperini was 21 years old, he ran at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and broke records while Adolf Hitler watched. By 26 he was an Army Air Corps bombardier, and on May 27, 1943, he crashed into the Pacific Ocean, spending 47 days adrift at sea....

Unlike the French astrologer’s predictions, Jayabaya’s prophecies are still culturally and politically potent in modern-day Indonesia. Jayabaya was a Hindu king who ruled over the ancient kingdom of Kediri. He is credited for ushering the East Java kingdom into unprecedented prosperity, and mostly remembered for his famous prophecies. Among his predictions that came true was the arrival of Dutch invaders that colonized the Indonesian islands which took place more than 800 years after he was king....

Every year on the last Wednesday of August, La Tomatina festival takes over the town of Buñol in Valencia, Spain. Approximately 20,000 people gather to throw around 150 tons of smashed, squashed, and squished tomatoes – and the result pretty much looks like a horror movie. Making this massive mess in the streets of Spain has been a tradition since 1944 or 1945, but consensus on the festival’s inciting incident remain fuzzy....

Scientists hope the samples will reveal whether or not gravity affects the motility of sperm – ultimately deciding whether or not reproduction can occur in space. NASAThe Micro-11 sperm samples, being prepared for launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA is going back to basics with their newest space mission — back to basic health class that is. In their newest endeavor, known as Micro-11, NASA scientists are hoping to learn just what happens when reproduction is attempted in space....

In the late 1970s, serial killer Richard Chase murdered at least six people in Sacramento, California — and drank the blood of his victims. Public DomainThe mugshot of serial killer Richard Chase, known as the “Vampire of Sacramento” and the “Vampire Killer.” Even among other serial killers, Richard Chase, the “Vampire of Sacramento,” was profoundly disturbed. Even from a very young age, he lived his life under a series of powerful delusions that had fatal consequences....

Lieutenant Ronald Speirs earned a reputation for both bravery and brutality while fighting in Europe with the now-legendary Easy Company during World War II. U.S. ArmyRonald Speirs in Austria after the end of World War II. During one particularly intense World War II battle in Belgium, an American company found itself pinned behind German lines with no radio. Then, a lieutenant named Ronald Speirs took decisive action — and ran straight through the center of the German-occupied village....

When Col. Henry Ludington needed someone to rouse his militiamen before the British arrived, he called upon his 16-year-old daughter, Sybil Ludington. Wikimedia CommonsA statue of Sybil Ludington that commemorates her overnight ride in 1777. Sybil Ludington was the oldest of 12 children, born to Henry and Abigail Ludington in 1761. Her family had humble origins as farmers and gristmill owners in rural New York following Henry’s military career. Then in 1773, the family’s ideology changed....

The Champawat Tiger killed more than 400 people in a four year span until finally the British got serious about hunting it down. FlickrAlthough Bengal tigers like the Champawat Tiger are an endangered species, they used to kill thousands of people per year. Realistically, most people today have nothing to fear from tigers (although zookeepers are not as safe as may be assumed), but back in early 20th-century India, death by tiger was a terrifyingly real possibility....

Less than three months before Germany surrendered in World War II, the Allies’ four-day firebombing of Dresden leveled the city center and killed 25,000 people, mostly civilians. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: Inside Tirana, Albania’s Colorful Capital That Was Once A Communist Wasteland Inside The 1920 Wall Street Bombing, The First Major Terrorist Attack In New York City...

Though James Earl Ray was found guilty of murdering Martin Luther King Jr., not everyone believes that he was responsible — or that he worked alone. Bettmann/Getty ImagesJames Earl Ray in 1966, two years before the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, the United States erupted into chaos — and countless activists demanded to know who had killed the iconic civil rights leader....

Eliza Schuyler Hamilton was left in debt with seven children when her husband was suddenly killed. Nevertheless, she became a champion for child welfare. Eliza Hamilton had already been disgraced by her husband, founding father Alexander Hamilton, when he was killed in a duel against a bitter rival in 1804. After his fatal shooting, Alexander Hamilton’s wife found herself in tremendous debt with seven children to care for on her own....

When we closely examine history’s most impactful leaders, we often find common traits like boldness, eloquence, and creativity. But what about those characteristics that aren’t necessarily as celebrated? Indeed, a more detailed appraisal reveals a darker side to the pinnacle of leadership attained by so few. Let’s take a look at these unforgettable leaders who have not only gone to battle to create their idea of a perfect polity, but also went to battle with themselves, internally waging war with mental illness:...

From the prevalence of meth labs to the real size of Alaska, we look at fascinating maps that uncover the United States of America. Years ago, famed historian E.H. Carr made an apt point that one cannot separate the historian from history and that what we see in history books is not necessarily pure fact–it has been made and presented as such due to the judgments of a very fallible and selective person....

“They took it home and buried it. You have to remember that fossils weren’t really explained until Darwin came along.” Richard Austin/SWNSJulian Temperley spent more than $3,600 to restore and mount the Ichthyosaurus fossil. He plans on using it on his 20-year-old cider brandy labels. When a devout Christian family unearthed an enormous Ichthyosaurus fossil in Victorian England, they chose to rebury it to protect their religious beliefs. More than 150 years later, that same family has changed its mind, and decided to put the 90-million-year-old skeleton on display....

The bones were originally found in 1940, but scientists say a modern-day analysis of the bones revealed new information that links them to Earhart. Getty ImagesOne of the world’s most famous aviators, Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932. A scientist from the University of Tennessee’s Department of Anthropology claims that he may have found a clue to Amelia Earhart‘s mysterious disappearance....

The artist claims that the performance wasn’t even cannibalism, and instead was a metaphor for self-destructive consumerism. An artist in Latvia stirred up controversy with the release of his newest performance piece, called Eschatology, which featured two performers engaging in autocannibalism in front of a small audience and a live-streaming camera. The performance, which was performed at the Grata JJ cultural center in Latvia’s capital city Riga, begins with appropriately ominous music in the form of a low, ethereal chorus....

In 1993 at a Pizza Hut in Florida, seven teens plotted to kill Bobby Kent and never looked back. In 1993, seven teens from Broward County, Florida lured 20-year-old Bobby Kent into the Everglades and savagely killed him. What could be the reasoning behind such a brutal murder? It probably seemed like the simplest solution to a larger problem in the teens’ life. Bobby Kent was a bully. The culmination of events leading to this crime is somewhat dizzying....

Resisting pretension or self-awareness, Brandon Stanton’s “Humans of New York” series provides honest glimpses into the lives of New Yorkers. Cramming over 8.3 million people into its modest 468 square mile city limits, it’s easy for New York City residents and visitors alike to feel lost in the fold. One such case could have been Brandon Stanton, an amateur photographer who set off to the Big Apple in 2010 with little more than a suitcase and an idea....