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With great tension between these two Catholic leaders, the true story behind The Two Popes certainly didn’t involve the pizza-eating, soccer-watching hangouts that the Netflix movie depicts. Maurix/Gamma-Rapho via Getty ImagesPope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI met three times before the former was declared the new head of the church. In February 2013, Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world when he resigned from the papacy — a first in nearly 600 years of modern church history....

As tensions between the U.S. and North Korea come to a head, discover how the Korean War’s atrocities have fueled the Hermit Kingdom’s anger. Keystone/Getty ImagesAn elderly woman and her grandchild wander among the debris of their wrecked home in the aftermath of an air raid by U.S. planes over Pyongyang. Circa 1950. When North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile on a path that took it over Japan on August 29, the world sat up and took notice....

From the animal activist who was eaten alive by a bear to the girl who was tortured by her own caregiver, these might be the worst deaths in history. Ideally, we all peacefully die in our sleep at an old age after living a long and fruitful life. The unfortunate reality is that this is often not the case, and most of us should count our blessings if it’s simply over with quickly....

From her battles with pirates to the ghosts that walk her deck, these are the most amazing USS Constitution facts. During the War of 1812, the United States’ small and relatively new navy was taking a major beating at the hands of the powerful British. The U.S. needed a victory, and the USS Constitution would help provide one. In August 1812, she met head on with Britain’s HMS Guerriere and astonished sailors on both sides with her resilience....

From World War I to World War II and beyond, this is what a kiss looks like when both people know it could be their last. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: Haunting Photos Taken Inside Mental Asylums Of Decades Past Tug Of War And Other Forgotten Olympic Events Of Decades Past 31 Appallingly Racist Ads Of Decades Past...

The discovery was kept a secret since July but experts have also found further artifacts in the same area. JÖNKÖPINGS LÄNS MUSEUMThe 1,500-year-old sword. An eight-year-old girl stumbled upon a 1,500-year-old sword while out swimming in Vidöstern lake near her family’s summer home. Swedish-American Saga Vanecek was “throwing sticks and stones” while out in the lake when she what she described as “some kind of stick.” “I picked it up and was going to drop it back in the water, but it had a handle, and I saw that it was a little bit pointy at the end and all rusty....

From the stone heads on Easter Island to the fate of the Ark of the Covenant, these ancient mysteries have baffled historians for years. Yves GELLIE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty ImagesA scene from the film Rapa-Nui, a reconstruction of the history of Easter Island. Each year, new scientific research and archaeological discoveries help us gain a deeper understanding of human history. Experts have discovered civilizations once lost, unheard-of religions, and strange creatures that once roamed the planet....

In the late 1630s, Anne Hutchinson made a name for herself in the Massachusetts Bay Colony as an outspoken religious reformer — and garnered the ire of male religious leaders. Bettmann/Getty ImagesA drawing of Anne Hutchinson, who was banished from Boston and considered “an instrument of Satan” because she was an outspoken woman. Puritans living in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th century claimed they had fled England because they valued religious freedom, but even for them, Anne Hutchinson was a step too precocious....

“Now the government is buying water back from Coca-Cola to bring here, which is where it came from in the first place.” Jess Davis/ABC RuralThe Tamborine Mountain State School has run out of water and is receiving supplies of bottled water from the government. Due to a long-running conflict between Australia’s rural communities and the big companies that have been ransacking their water supply, one school has now run out of water....

Forty-five of history’s funniest insults so witty and cutting that they’ve outlived the person who delivered them! Below is a gallery of responses, retorts, and comebacks that are so witty that they’ve outlived the person who delivered them – enjoy this collection of history’s best insults: Mark Twain: “The trouble ain’t there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain’t distributed right.” Mae West: “His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork....

Throughout the 19th century, minstrel shows were one of America’s favorite ways to kick back and have fun. People around the country would flock out to theaters in droves, ready to laugh at white men in blackface plucking at banjos, banging on tambourines, and pretending to be as dumb as bricks. Share Flipboard Email It was entertainment. It was, the people thought, simple fun. They just turned off their minds and laughed — either unaware of or unconcerned about the blackface’s insidious implications....

Thanks to ride-share apps and the advent of the self-driving car, car dealerships may soon be a thing of the past. It might be the end of the road for car dealerships in America. A new report from independent think-tank RethinkX claims that the increased use of electric cars and ride-sharing services will soon send glistening automobile-filled lots the way of CD players and the horse and buggy. And they do mean soon....

In an attempt to remind readers how language appears to those incapable of understanding it, Codex Seraphinianus has baffled critics for decades. Codex Seraphinianus is the fantastical brainchild of Luigi Serafini. An artist, architect, and designer, Serafini drew on his multidisciplinary background to craft an encyclopedia of a world of impossibilities. Published in 1981, Codex Seraphinianus wowed readers with its intricate illustrations and its original premise. The book first appears as completely nonsensical – an encyclopedia about an alien world complete with alien handwriting – but there is a method to the madness....

“DHead XLVI” was part of a 47-portrait series by Bowie and found at a thrift shop at the entrance to a landfill just outside Toronto. Flickr/stratopaulDavid Bowie died of cancer in 2016 at 69 years of age. David Bowie was an artist of astronomical talent. The singer modified his musical persona for decades, influencing both fashion and music itself in the process. Unaware he also painted, somebody donated a portrait of the late singer to a Canadian thrift store in 2018....

Starlings form flocks that twist through the sky and create beautiful patterns known as starling murmurations. A black shape shifts in the sky, fluidly retracting and expanding, catching the attention of people who pull off to the side of the road to watch. While you might be picturing a scene from The Conjuring, in reality this incredible occurrence is little more than a gathering of starlings. In fact, millions of starlings gather each year during fall and winter, forming thick flocks that twist through the sky and create beautiful patterns known as starling murmurations....

Art or abuse? Check out this French artist’s caddis fly craftsmanship and decide for yourself. Source: Greenwood Carving While collaborations between artists are commonplace, to think of an artist working alongside insects is truly bizarre…except if your name is Herbert Duprat. The French artist knew of caddis flies and their larvae from an early age, but it wasn’t until he was about twenty that he considered using them to create art....

The discovery redefines the city of Lucerne’s history and suggests that the area was settled 2,000 years earlier than previously assumed. Wikimedia CommonsLake Lucerne in Switzerland. For centuries, sprawling Lake Lucerne in Switzerland concealed a secret. Beneath a layer of mud and 13 feet of sparkling blue water, a sunken Bronze Age village lay quietly forgotten — until now. The village, discovered by underwater archeologists assisting with the installation of a pipeline, completely rewrites Lucerne’s history....

Before committing his historic murder, John Billington was punished for a number of other offenses in Plymouth and became a social outcast — but scholars now think there might be more to his story. In 1620, a ship carrying 102 people left England for the New World. It landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts in November, and its crew was fatally unprepared for what lay ahead. During the first winter, half of the Pilgrims perished....

The 25-year-old student left with a staffer’s cowboy hat and a picture of unknown value. New South Wales PolicePaul Kuhn, a 25-year-old German studying at a local university, spent 40 minutes in the closed museum. In the era of social distancing, spending a night at a museum to wander its halls in peace seems like a wonderful idea. Unfortunately, doing so while the museum is closed is considered a crime. It is unclear whether a 25-year-old man who recently broke into the Australian Museum in Sydney to take selfies in the dinosaur exhibit knew that....

Chinese researchers have recently uncovered the first ever dinosaur tail. According to a report published this past Thursday in the journal Current Biology, the tail sample includes bones, traces of blood and soft tissue as well as feathers, confirming theories based on previous fossil evidence that dinosaurs indeed had feathers. “It’s amazing to see all the details of a dinosaur tail – the bones, flesh, skin and feathers – and to imagine how this little fellow got his tail caught in the resin, and then presumably died because he could not wrestle free,” said Professor Mike Benton, from the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol, to The Independent....