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Behind the teasing sexiness, pin-up girls tells the story of how war, markets, and sexuality shape society and norms. Source: Huffington Post By Art Frahm Sexy and sultry (yet typically leaving something to the imagination), pin-ups cause many of us to think of the time surrounding World War Two. But in reality, the pin-up even precedes World War One. And, bizarrely enough, it came about thanks to the bicycle. Women on bicycles meant more than just decreased travel time; it introduced an era in which women no longer required a man’s help to get from A to B....

Praljak was at The Hague along with five other former Bosnian Croat political and military leaders to appeal convictions of war crimes made against them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdQsDopZfS4 The atrocities that occurred in the Western Balkan region after the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the 1990s have haunted Europe to this day. Earlier today, while in court appealing his war crimes conviction at the a United Nations’ tribunal in The Hague, Bosnian Croat general Slobodan Praljak drank from a vial of poison, killing himself, reported The Guardian....

While Thomas Edison is credited with inventing the first practical incandescent bulb in 1879, the story of who invented the lightbulb is much more complicated. Of Thomas Edison’s 1,000 patents, the very first lightbulb is not one of them. Indeed, Edison’s patent for the lightbulb was referred to as “an improvement” on existing models. In order to create a more practical, efficient, and affordable model of electric lamps, records show that the engineer purchased patents from previous inventors....

Politics can be so discouraging that at times it actually seems more rational to vote an animal into office than an actual person. Politics can be so discouraging that at times it actually seems more rational to vote an animal into office than an actual person. Over the course of history, there actually have been animals that have “run” for various political offices (and sometimes even won). Here are ten of the most notable animal politicians of the bunch:...

When the going gets tough, there are these 40 Bruce Lee quotes to keep you going. A famed martial artist, action-film actor, and seemingly immortal cultural icon, Bruce Lee is remembered as much for his words of wisdom as he is for his lightning fast kicks. Today, we look at some of the most introspective and inspirational Bruce Lee quotes: Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them....

From prehistoric porn to ancient wine, discover some of the most fascinating ancient artifacts that you won’t see in history books. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: Researchers Uncover 1,000-Year-Old Mayan Artifacts 80 Feet Beneath Ancient Ruins 29 Ancient Maps That Show How Our Ancestors Saw The World Scientists Reveal What Our Denisovan Ancestors Looked Like 75,000 Years Ago...

From Hong Kong’s Cha-Cha champion to behind-the-scenes of “Enter The Dragon,” these Bruce Lee photos capture the making of a cultural icon. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 40 Bruce Lee Quotes That Will Change Your Life Meet Shannon Lee, The Martial-Artist-Turned Actress Keeping Bruce Lee’s Legacy Alive Life Under The Shah Of Iran Before 1979, In 47 Revealing Photos...

From ancient Greece to Britney Spears, this is story of how society came to value virginity – and how the myth hurts women. Wikimedia Commons Virginity holds a sacred place in many societies across time and place. But just how did humanity come to value virgins — and is this valuation even valuable anymore? If so, at what cost? Virginity in Ancient Greece and Rome Wikimedia CommonsDiana And Her Nymphs Departing For The Hunt by Peter Paul Rubens...

Akku Yadav raped almost 200 women from a slum town in India, but after a decade of abuse, they finally got their brutal revenge. Before August 13, 2004, Akku Yadav thought he was untouchable. A documented rapist and assaulter of young girls, he was known for bribing police officers to leave his crimes alone. Residents of New Delhi even said he got away with murdering at least three people. As untouchable as he felt he was, so too were his victims....

Ingesting just two to four berries from Atropa belladonna can kill a child. Ten to 20 berries can kill an adult. Meet Atropa belladonna, more popularly known as deadly nightshade. The plant looks harmless enough, as its leaves are green and it grows up to 4 feet high. The nightshade’s blackberries have a waxy sheen and those reddish-brown flowers have pretty bell shapes. Deadly nightshade belongs in the Garden of Eden on appearances alone....

Better known as devil’s breath, scopolamine more than lives up to its name. MOST DEVIL’S BREATH STORIES SOUND ABOUT THE SAME. Somebody has a friend or a cousin or a friend of a friend who was out one night when somebody slipped them something. They would wake up the next morning with their bank account drained, their belongings (or organs) gone, or much, much worse — and that’s it; that’s all they remember....

Insane footage from the Battle of Okinawa shows just how reckless and terrifying kamikaze pilots were. On October 25, 1944, the American soldiers stationed aboard naval ships in the Leyte Gulf saw something that no amount of training could have prepared them for. Before their eyes, over a thousand aircraft fell from the sky, crash-diving into American warships, the debris dotting the seas around them. The American’s fought back by engaging in airborne combat and had soldiers on the ground shooting at the planes heading straight for them....

The FBI most wanted list is almost as infamous as the people on it. Through the years, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s ‘Ten Most Wanted’ has been almost as infamous as the men on it. A committee made up of agents from all 56 field offices of the FBI create the list, after surveying the most dangerous crimes, and the period of time the criminal spent evading arrest. Surprisingly, there’s even a waiting list....

Union Army Major Henry Rathbone spent his life wracked with guilt after he wasn’t able to stop John Wilkes Booth, causing his mental health to eventually deteriorate so much that he murdered his wife in 1883. On April 14, 1865, Henry Rathbone, his fiancee Clara Harris, First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, and President Abraham Lincoln took a seat in the Presidential Box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. Near the end of the play they were watching, John Wilkes Booth quietly entered the box and fired a single shot, fatally injuring the president and sending the rest of the group into panic....

Larry Walters, a.k.a., “Lawnchair Larry,” once took a journey 16,000 feet into the air with nothing but a lawnchair and some weather balloons. Born in 1949 in Los Angeles, Calif., Larry Walters had originally wanted to be a pilot in the United States Air Force, but poor eyesight prevented him from reaching his goal. Instead, he became a truck driver and was living a quiet life in San Pedro when he saw his chance to achieve his dream of flying....

On June 27, 2000, Molly Bish’s mother dropped her off at work in Warren, Massachusetts — and never saw her alive again. More than 20 years later, police still have no idea who killed her. Boston Herald/Getty ImagesMolly Bish was just 16 when she disappeared from Warren, Massachusetts in 2000. The unsolved murder of a 16-year-old girl still haunts the town of Warren, Massachusetts. Molly Bish showed up for her shift as a lifeguard at Comins Pond on June 27, 2000, and vanished, seemingly into thin air....

Police had stopped the investigation of Nicole van den Hurk’s murder, so her stepbrother falsely confessed in order to get her body reexamined for DNA testing. Wikimedia CommonsPortrait of 15-year-old Nicole van den Hurk in 1995, the year she was murdered. After Nicole van den Hurk’s 1995 murder case went largely ignored for more than 20 years, stepbrother Andy van den Hurk did the only thing he could think of to get the police to reexamine the matter with a DNA test: He falsely confessed to her murder....

From the soldiers on the battlefields to the civilians caught in the crossfire, these are the most powerful photos of the Chinese Civil War. On April 12, 1927, the forces of General Chiang Kai-shek began a bloody purge in the city of Shanghai. More than 300 people were killed, and most, if not all of them, were Communists. Share Flipboard Email The next day, thousands of people, mostly workers and students, marched to the headquarters of the 26th Army to protest the killings....

Adorned with three luxurious pools and thousands of fancy fixtures, Andrey Melnichenko’s crazy expensive yacht is so opulent that it would make even Caligula blush. Like Madonna and Beyonce, the “A” yacht is so spectacular that it was given a one-word moniker. The beautiful boat—which some say looks more like a submarine than a luxury liner—set Russian billionaire Melnichenko back a staggering 300 million dollars. The result is a fully customized floating paradise, complete with bath knobs that cost a reported 40 thousand dollars—each....

Also known as the choke pear or mouth pear, the pear of anguish delivered unbelievable physical pain and sexual violation to its victims. Whether they like the macabre or enjoy the shiver they get when they see them, torture devices have always fascinated the public. Perhaps that’s why novels and movies are full of the most inventive torture methods that a writer can conjure up. But then again, so is history....