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Born Rodrigo Borgia, Pope Alexander VI did everything from selling church offices to hiring 50 prostitutes in one night to secure his place as history’s dirtiest pope. Wikimedia CommonsPope Alexander VI’s outrageous indiscretions during the Renaissance have made him a notorious figure in the church’s history to this day. The late 15th-century rule of Pope Alexander VI was rife with nepotism, bribery, and scandalous sex — a legacy that’s caused him to be called the most corrupt pope in the history of the Catholic Church....

Known as the “eighth wonder of the world,” the Amber Room at the Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg was looted by the Nazis and disappeared forever in 1943. Андрей Андреевич Зеест/Wikimedia Commons The Amber Room in 1917. This is the only known color picture of the original Amber Room. The fate of the Amber Room in Catherine Palace outside of St. Petersburg, Russia, is one of Europe’s most enduring mysteries....

Since 1930, visitors to the Oregon Vortex have been stunned by balls rolling uphill and other seemingly gravity-defying events — but is it all an illusion? James Wellington/FlickrThe Oregon Vortex has been welcoming curious visitors since 1930. When visiting the Pacific Northwest state of Oregon, there’s no shortage of things to see. While some destinations are known for their breathtaking beauty or must-try foods, others — like the Oregon Vortex — are better known for their oddities....

Despite his mythic handicap, Ivar the Boneless was the most fearsome Viking of his time and conquered England with his heathen army. Ivar the Boneless was one of the most feared Vikings in history — and he couldn’t even stand without somebody holding him up. In Viking tradition, someone like him would’ve been killed at birth, but Ivar was protected because he was the son of a powerful chief. His body was so frail that he had to be carried on a shield when he went into battle, but his mind was one of the sharpest around....

NatureScans revealed 26 unique sites, 11 of which were previously unknown. According to The Guardian, the ancient city network spans hundreds of square miles. Its discovery began more than a century ago when archaeologists noted curious mounds as part of the topography. Excavations since then confirmed the area was once inhabited by the Casarabe, but only modern technology could find out more. Archaeologist Heiko Prümers started mapping the region with lidar from a helicopter in 2019....

Brittany Norwood crushed her co-worker Jayna Murray’s skull and severed her spinal cord in a brutal 2011 attack now known as the “Lululemon murder.” Lululemon Athletica, the company that sells leggings and other athletic apparel that are now staples in many closets around the globe, was founded in Vancouver, Canada in 1998. By the early 2010s, the brand’s popularity was skyrocketing. But in March 2011, the company made headlines for a different reason — murder....

Mark Winger beat his wife Donnah to death with a hammer just after they’d adopted a baby girl, but it wasn’t until his mistress came forward three years later that police finally discovered the truth. ABC NewsMark and Donnah Winger seemed like a happy, loving couple until he murdered her in 1995. In June of 1995, it seemed like life couldn’t possibly get any better for Mark and Donnah Winger. The nuclear technician and his wife had been happily married for several years, and they had just adopted a newborn baby girl named Bailey....

After being rescued from a dogfighting ring in North Carolina, this seven-year-old dog is getting a second chance at life — and making beautiful pieces of art. Happily Furever After Rescue (left); Wikimedia Commons (right)Van Gogh the artistic dog and a self-portrait of Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh. Vincent Van Gogh was a legendary 19th-century artist who painted over 2,000 pieces and famously severed one of his ears in a bout of madness that he later could not recall....

Dorothy Gibson’s career as a silent film actress was in full swing when she survived the Titanic sinking in April 1912. Then, just a month later, she played herself in “Saved From The Titanic.” Randy Bryan Bigham Collection/Wikimedia CommonsDorothy Gibson in a 1911 promotional photograph, taken the year before the Titanic set sail. Dorothy Gibson was already famous when she boarded the Titanic in April 1912. A silent film star and a model for magazine covers, Gibson hoped to escape the spotlight on a European holiday....

Nikola Tesla’s fascination with the “magnificence” of the numbers 3, 6, and 9 continues to inspire those who believe the numbers will help them “manifest” their desires. Wikimedia Commons Nikola Tesla’s 3 6 9 theory is alleged to “hold the key to the universe.” When you’re a genius, you tend to notice things that others don’t. Nikola Tesla did. He envisioned the potential of electricity far before his contemporaries. So, is it possible that Nikola Tesla’s 3 6 9 theory of the universe holds water?...

During the 1721 smallpox outbreak in Boston, a slave named Onesimus taught his master an early version of inoculation — and saved hundreds of people. In the Bible, Onesimus was the name of a Byzantine man who went from being a slave to being a bishop. But in the 18th century, Onesimus was a slave who many consider the father of vaccines. His contribution to modern medicine cannot be overstated, and he helped eradicate one of the world’s deadliest diseases....

After Phineas P. Gage took an iron tamping rod through his skull in 1848, his personality changed drastically in a baffling case that helped give birth to modern neuroscience. Wikimedia Commons Phineas Gage after his accident. On September 13, 1848, Phineas Gage was working on the side of a railroad, outside Cavendish, Vermont. He was part of a crew blasting rock out of the way for new tracks to be laid down....

The poachers shot Vince the rhinoceros before removing his horn with a chainsaw. Thoiry ZooVince the rhinoceros. Poachers broke into a Paris-area zoo and shot a white rhinoceros three times in the head this past Monday night, before chopping off its main horn with a chainsaw. The zookeepers believe one or more poachers broke into the rhinoceros enclosure at Thoiry Zoo in the early morning, according to The Independent. They then targeted Vince, a four-year-old rhinoceros....

As we celebrate the supposed historical unity among Native American tribes and European settlers each Thanksgiving, we often forget that story’s dark side: exclusion, racism, even genocide. In Project 562 (named after the 562 federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States), photographer Matika Wilbur — a Native American herself — seeks to dispel the stereotypes surrounding European oppression of Native Americans and to reclaim Native American identity through portraiture....

A study analyzing fish-heavy fatty acids discovered in pottery shards has shed new light on our understanding of the southeastern European diet in the Neolithic Age. Libcom.Org/Out of The Woods Researchers at the University of Bristol have garnered new insight about the dietary habits of Neolithic people living near the Danube River in southeastern Europe 8,000 years ago. The study, published in the Proceedings Of The Royal Society B, analyzed more than 200 8,000-year-old pottery shards to reveal that what was once believed to be a primarily meat and dairy-based period actually included far higher fish consumption than previously thought....

The ripper crew murdered six women, was suspected of abducting more than 18, and the ringleader wasn’t even convicted of murder. Chicago Police DepartmentLeft to right, Andrew Kokoraleis, Robn Gecht, Thomas Kokoraleis, and Edward Spreitzer. On December 6, 1982, Beverly Washington was found near a railroad track outside of Chicago. Her body was beaten and bruised, her chest had multiple slash wounds across it, and her left breast had been amputated....

Animals have been known to exhibit strange behavior during total solar eclipses, but there is relatively little scientific documentation. The total solar eclipse on August 21 is quickly approaching. Maybe you’ve had it marked on your calendar for weeks. Maybe you’ve already staked out the perfect spot from which to witness it. Maybe you’ve planned to watch the truly “meta” moment in which Bonnie Tyler performs her hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart” during a real live total eclipse....

Researchers hope the experiment will provide invaluable data for submarine missions, mining expeditions, and long-term space travel — a potential reality in the 21st century. FacebookParticipants between the ages of 27 and 50 were all deemed physically and mentally fit before descending into the cave. The past year’s pandemic-related quarantines have taught billions of people around the world what varying stages of isolation feel like. However, none of that seems comparable to the so-called Deep Time experiment now underway in France....

It’s a persistent rumor, and one that has some basis in historical fact: was Abraham Lincoln gay? Abraham Lincoln was such a pivotal figure in American history that he’s inspired a field of scholarship devoted to him alone. Serious historians with advanced degrees have spent their whole professional lives poring over the most minute details of Lincoln’s life. Few of us would fare well under that level of scrutiny, and every few years a new theory arrives that supposedly explains this or that unresolved question about the man who was arguably America’s greatest president....

Marilyn Monroe prepares for a night out, alien landscapes here on Earth, enormous Chinese lantern sculptures, museums of death and destruction, and Native American portraits. Striking, Candid Photos Of Marilyn Monroe In New York In March 1955, a 28-year-old Marilyn Monroe agreed to have photographer Ed Feingersh follow her for a week as she gallivanted around New York City. Monroe had relocated to the city on the advice of her acting coach, Lee Strasberg, in an attempt to shed her “dumb blonde” persona, and was then living in a suite at the Ambassador Hotel....