Made famous as the openly gay drug lord depicted in “Narcos,” the real-life Hélmer “Pacho” Herrera took the Cali Cartel to unparalleled heights of power and wealth in the 1980s. With the death of Pablo Escobar in the second season of Netflix’s Narcos, the show had to look for a new set of characters to fill out the series. Luckily, the writers had a made-to-fit character in the flashy, brutal, and openly gay Pacho Herrera....
MMA fighter Kirill Tereshin thought injecting his upper body with petroleum jelly might give him an edge. Instead, it destroyed his muscle tissue and has caused serious health problems. ruki_bazuki_official/InstagramKirill Tereshin could face amputation or even death death if the hardened petroleum jelly he injected into his biceps isn’t removed. Petroleum jelly is typically found in products like Vaseline and helps to heal dry skin. However, bodybuilders like Kirill Tereshin have found alternate uses — like injecting it to cosmetically enlarge muscles....
The coconut octopus is known for displaying atypical behavior for sea creatures, including using shells as tools and walking ‘bipedal’ on the ocean floor. Bernard Dupont/FlickrPink coconut octopus in the waters of Makawide Island in Sulawesi, Indonesia. The designs of nature are endlessly fascinating, particularly among marine wildlife. But perhaps no sea creature is as seemingly crafty as the coconut octopus, a species of octopus that got its name from its peculiar habit of using coconuts or sea shells on the ocean floor to assist in its daily activities....
Image Source: Flickr It only takes one look at U.S. incarceration rates to see just how much irrational drug laws have harmed this nation. In fact, the prison population has reached its historical apex, almost entirely because offenders are facing obscene sentences based on draconian drug laws in which the punishment far outweighs the crime. Currently, according to the Drug Policy Alliance, the U.S. is spending a staggering $51 billion each year on the war on drugs....
Cyborgs are no longer confined to the pages of your favorite sci-fi novel. Real life cyborgs are here now. Source: Anne Ryan Once upon a time, Cyborgs only existed in the imaginaries created by our favorite science fiction writers and directors. That can no longer be said today. Indeed, sophisticated part-human, part-machine configurations are no longer confined to the page or film reel: they’re here now. While real-life “cyborgs” are admittedly rare, we can only anticipate that over time technological enhancements will become more commonplace....
In 1966, Bobby Seale and Huey Newton created the Black Panther Party, a revolutionary black socialist movement that would take America by storm. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: The Black Panther Party Around the World Inside The Little-Known History Of The White Panther Party The Infamous Story Of Frances Farmer, Hollywood’s Original Bad Girl...
After losing two of his sons, a son-in-law, a brother, and a nephew to the Mafia, Tommaso Buscetta became the first Sicilian mobster to break the Cosa Nostra’s deadly serious code of silence known as omertà. You may have never heard of Tommaso Buscetta, but nearly 400 members of the Mafia certainly wish they never had. He was the first Sicilian mobster to break omertà — the Mafia code of silence — and consequently aided in the convictions of hundreds of Mafiosi....
“Loving Vincent”: An Animated Film About The Life Of Vincent Van Gogh The lopped off ear. The starry, starry night. While Vincent Van Gogh is often revered as the founder of modern art, little beyond the superficial is known about the post-impressionist master. Like, for instance, that Van Gogh only picked up the paintbrush eight years before his death, following a series of failed professional endeavors that even included preaching. Desirous of sharing Van Gogh’s story to a world moved by his movement-defined paintings, Academy Award-winning production company BreakThru Films has sifted through 800 of Van Gogh’s own letters and paintings, and hired a team of 70 painters to create oil canvases to bring his story to life in a way he would have preferred....
Grimy vintage New York scenes, the world’s reaction to Trump’s win, Nat Geo’s most wild and beautiful locales, bizarre Russian psychotherapy, and rare historical photos. Vintage Photos Of New York City In The 1980s And 1990s Street photographer Richard Sandler regularly walked the streets of New York City from the 1970s to the early 2000s, capturing the many transformations the city experienced throughout those decades. Sandler’s new book, The Eyes of the City reveals many of his never-before-seen photographs documenting the city’s crime, drug use, tourism, and everyday life....
Installed at the top of Blarney Castle in County Cork, Ireland, the Blarney Stone can only be kissed while hanging upside down and suspended over thin air — yet countless people line up to do it each year. Flickr/Pat O’MalleyAbout 400,000 people kiss the Blarney Stone every year. The Blarney Stone would undoubtedly be just another rock were it not for its mysterious origins and legends surrounding it. Thousands of tourists annually flock to County Cork, Ireland, to kiss it....
As some of these stories point out, the threat of being buried alive is still a very terrifying and valid concern. Being buried alive ranks pretty high on the list of terrible ways to die, and it used to happen a lot more than it does now. In fact, in the earlier days of medicine it was much more difficult to determine if someone was actually dead – or just in a coma, emaciated, or paralyzed....
Depression in film is often glamorized to the point that we don’t treat the condition with the seriousness as we should. These films actually get it right. Clinical depression is a misunderstood affliction, and one whose understanding is seldom aided by popular media. This is unfortunate in its own right, but especially because major depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in America. The National Institute for Mental Health reported that16 million people over age 18 “had at least one major depressive episode in [2012]....
The friendship that blossomed between Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim scandalized the royal court, which tried to erase Karim from history once the Queen died. Historic England ArchiveAn 1893 portrait of Queen Victoria’s Munshi, Abdul Karim. Queen Victoria’s companion Abdul Karim had been forgotten for more than 100 years when Shrabani Basu, an English journalist who had heard of him only in passing for an unrelated book project, spotted his portrait....
After being shot down and surviving 18 days in the wilderness, Alexey Petrovich Maresyev miraculously returned to the skies to take on the Nazis — despite losing both of his legs. Wikimedia CommonsStamp depicting Soviet pilot Alexey Maresyev. Fighter pilot Alexey Maresyev is one of the historical figures not well known outside Russia. However, his remarkable story deserves to be. A skilled pilot, Maresyev was shot down during aerial combat on behalf of the Allies in 1942....
The ancient Roman battering rams held inscriptions from judges who signed off on their construction and held three enormous blades on each side to tear through enemy ships. RPM Nautical FoundationAn Ancient Roman battering ram used to end the First Punic War. The First Punic War, fought between Ancient Rome and Carthage for supremacy over the western Mediterranean, began in 264 B.C. It was the most prolonged naval conflict in antiquity....
It’s estimated that over 200 people have died on the mountain since the first recorded deaths in 1922. Bodies are now even being exposed at base camps, as the glaciers rapidly melt. Wikimedia CommonsMount Everest Scaling the highest mountain has always been a conquest human beings have eagerly endeavored. Mount Everest has served as the most notable of these peaks, with countless climbers successfully reaching the top since 1953 — and 200 known mountaineers dying in the process since 1922....
For centuries, the process of making hakarl has been the same, allowing for the preparation of the dish to become as much a part of history as the dish itself. A National Geographic video explores making Iceland’s national dish, Hakarl. The national dish of Iceland, Kæster Hákarl or hakarl for short, is one that is not for the faint of heart. Anthony Bourdain once described it as “the single worst, most disgusting and terrible tasting thing” that he had ever eaten, and Gordon Ramsay couldn’t even swallow it:...
Andreas Kay/FlickrBunny harvestman spider As if spiders and other arachnids aren’t already freaky enough, this strange eight-legged-critter featuring what looks like a bunny-shaped head will certainly make you wonder if it’s actually even real. The Bizarre Features Of The Bunny Harvestman Spider Looking at a still image of this arachnid is fascinating enough, but seeing it move is truly a sight to behold. The bunny harvestman spider sports eight long legs that sprawl out from a small circular body....
New York’s Stonewall riots of 1969 saw members of the LGBTQ community clash with police in what’s widely known as the catalyst for the modern gay rights movement. The Stonewall riots put gay rights on the map — but when the first shot glass was thrown, nobody involved knew they were going to alter the course of history. Welcome To The Stonewall Inn NY Daily News Archive via Getty ImagesCrowds clash with police just outside the Stonewall Inn at 53 Christopher Street during the Stonewall riots....
Hannah Potts claimed she wanted to feel abducted to gain inspiration for a manuscript after her fake kidnapping spurred an FBI investigation. Gibson County JailHannah Potts, Maria Hopper, and Joshua Thomas each face one count of false informing. When Hannah Potts published a Facebook live video claiming she had been kidnapped by a Black man in a maroon vehicle, her family went into a tailspin. After two harrowing days of uncertainty and the FBI joining her search, Potts was found in her friend’s basement — admitting she made it all up....
