Posts

While removing discarded nets from the bottom of Germany’s Gelting Bay, divers discovered a rare encryption device that the Nazis relied on throughout World War II. Submaris/Florian HuberThe Nazi encryption machine as it was found at the bottom of Gelting Bay. What was supposed to be a routine dive on behalf of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) proved historic when the team stumbled upon a rare Nazi Enigma machine from World War II....

The Haymarket Riot started with a single stick of dynamite — and culminated in a wave of paranoia, police injustice, and activism that changed labor laws around the world. “No single event has influenced the history of labor in Illinois, the United States, and even the world, more than the Chicago Haymarket Affair,” according to historian William J. Adelman. It started with a stick of dynamite flying through the air during a rally in Chicago’s Haymarket Square on May 4, 1886....

King Ludwig II of Bavaria spent years dreaming up Germany’s Neuschwanstein Castle, the model Walt Disney would later use for “Sleeping Beauty.” Nestled deep in the Bavarian Alps atop a picturesque hill sits Germany’s Neuschwanstein Castle, its silhouette looking like something straight out of a fairy tale. Surrounded by cliffs, a moat, and a charming little town, the castle appears untouched by time. It stands as an everlasting testament to the fantastic imagination of King Ludwig II, who commissioned the building in 1868....

Jennifer Pan spent years forging report cards and college transcripts to please her strict parents, Huei Hann Pan and Bich Ha Pan. But when they found out, she and her boyfriend Daniel Wong decided to have them killed. York Regional PoliceJennifer Pan received two life sentences with no possibility of parole for 25 years. Jennifer Pan was a disciplined and resilient teenager. A straight-A student at Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School in Markham, Ontario, she was raised by Vietnamese refugees who ran a strict household....

On April 8, 1994, the discovery of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s death by shotgun inside his Seattle home rocked the world. This is the full story of his last days. “Now he’s gone and joined that stupid club,” said Kurt Cobain’s mother, Wendy O’Connor, on April 9, 1994. “I told him not to join that stupid club.” The day before, her son — the Nirvana frontman who had reached the heights of music stardom and become the voice of his generation — had killed himself inside his Seattle home....

The sinkhole in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region plunges more than 600 feet into the earth and may be home to a host of previously undiscovered creatures. Though the word “sinkhole” may conjure images of a menacing, seemingly endless pit, the sinkhole recently discovered by explorers in China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region seems to be a bastion of life. Some 630 feet deep, 1,004 feet long, and 492 feet wide, it contains “ancient trees” and “shade plants,” according to the Xinhua news agency....

After 23 years on the payroll of Christchurch, New Zealand, the city council has fired Ian Brackenbury Channell — ending the unprecedented reign of the world’s only state-appointed wizard. Martin Hunter/Getty ImagesIan Brackenbury Channell awaits the arrival of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge during their April 2014 visit to Christchurch, New Zealand. Since 1998, the city of Christchurch, New Zealand has employed Ian Brackenbury Channell as their official wizard....

As demand for big cats increases, animal sanctuaries are increasingly vulnerable to poachers. Emoya Big Cat SanctuaryJose, one of the rescue lions killed in last week’s poaching attack. Two male lions, José and Liso, were killed in South Africa last week — only one year after being freed from the circus. After their 2016 rescue, they and 31 other lions from circuses in Peru and Colombia were airlifted to the Emoya Big Cat Sanctuary in the biggest ever animal airlift of its kind....

During Reconstruction, African-Americans were able to engage in civic life in ways that they wouldn’t be able to again for another 100 years. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 27 Vietnam War Facts That Will Change How You View American History Inside ‘Soul Train’ And Its Stunning Impact On American Culture In 29 Images 29 Astounding Images Of American Presidents As Young Men...

Famously portrayed by Liam Neeson in a 1995 film, Rob Roy MacGregor was painted as a hero, but in reality, the 18th-century outlaw was a more complicated figure. The Victorian author Sir Walter Scott captivated his readers with tales of a debonair, gallant rogue by the name of Rob Roy — an outlaw likened by many to the famous Robin Hood, a man of the people who stole from the rich to give to the poor....

The mysterious murder of Rodney Marks has gone unsolved for over 17 years and the investigation is still ongoing. On May 11, 2000, Rodney Marks got sick. He was feverish, complaining of stomach pains and nausea, and had been back and forth to the doctor multiple times. Within 36 hours, he was dead. Had Marks been in his native Australia, he may have received medical attention that could have saved him....

In 1993, brother and sister Curtis and Shanna Culver killed 19-year-old Frank McAlister in Shasta County, California, with a friend in order to rob him of $4,500 so they could buy meth. Shasta County Sheriff’s OfficeCurtis Culver faces 35 years in state prison, while his sister Shanna faces 20. When Frank McAlister’s body was found 30 miles outside of Redding, California, in 1994, police were at a loss. The 19-year-old had just received a $4,500 insurance settlement and was stabbed to death for it....

Tarrare, an 18th-century French showman, could eat enough to feed 15 people and swallow cats whole — but his stomach was never satisfied. Wikimedia Commons“Der Völler” by Georg Emanuel Opitz. 1804. No images of Tarrare himself are known to exist. They found Tarrare in a gutter, shoveling fistfuls of garbage into his mouth. It was the 1790s and Tarrare — born circa 1772 and known only as “Tarrare” — was a soldier in the French Revolutionary Army who was infamous for his almost inhuman appetite....

While the Black Panthers called Fred Hampton’s death a murder and the evidence proved them right, Chicago police insisted he was killed after firing on them during a shootout. On December 4, 1969, a sudden crack of bullets shattered the early morning calm on Chicago’s West Side. The violent confrontation at 2337 W. Monroe St. would end in Black Panther Fred Hampton’s death — and prompt a battle between police and the Panthers over who was to blame....

Decades before the Holocaust, the German Empire committed the 20th century’s first genocide. Wikimedia CommonsHerero chained during the 1904 rebellion. Once upon a time, German soldiers and settlers poured into a foreign country and seized the land for themselves. To make sure they could hold on to it, they destroyed local institutions and used existing divisions among the people to prevent organized resistance. By force of arms, they transported ethnic Germans into the territory to extract resources and to rule over the land with a coarse and brutal efficiency....

The atomic arms race inspired some of the most dangerous weapons in history. It also inspired the crowning of a Miss Atomic Bomb. Casino showgirl Lee Merlin, Miss Atomic Bomb 1957. Image Source: Las Vegas Sun Today Las Vegas is known for showgirls and gambling, but during the 1950s, it was also known for atomic bomb explosions. A 680-square-mile atomic testing ground was established in 1950 by President Harry Truman just 45 miles from the center of Sin City....

The complex history of prostitution around the world reveals where and when prostitutes offered way more than sex. Perhaps the United States could learn a thing or two from these countries. Image Source: Queensland Art Gallery In the eyes of most, the modern sex worker is often reduced to being merely a victim of circumstance or a product of poor lifestyle choices. Yet these preconceived notions ignore the varied, complex history of prostitution around the world....

Tony Spilotro inspired Joe Pesci’s villain in the movie Casino, but the real man was far worse than the movie let on. Getty ImagesBy age 22, the unwieldy Tony Spilotro had been arrested at least 13 times. Among the many Mafia movies, one standout is Martin Scorsese’s Casino — and particularly for the violence. Robert De Niro stars as a Jewish gangster who runs Las Vegas casinos for the Chicago Outfit, with Joe Pesci playing Nicky Santoro, the barbaric mob enforcer who protects him....

“This small community is responsible for one of the biggest conservation achievements of 2020." Wikimedia CommonsThe British territory Tristan da Cunha as photographed from space. The small volcanic island of Tristan da Cunha is a British colony located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean between Brazil and South Africa. Known as the “most remote inhabited island on Earth,” the island territory has just become one of the largest marine protected areas (MPA) in the world....

Learn the ugly story behind this chilling, pre-World War II photograph of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. Image Source: TIME.com In September 1933, LIFE photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt traveled to Geneva, Switzerland to document a League of Nations conference, where Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels was present. There, Eisenstaedt–a German-born Jew–captured one of the most intimate, chilling portraits of any high-ranking Nazi. Eisenstaedt had already snapped a few “personable” shots before Goebbels learned he was Jewish....