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Wikimedia Commons For about a century, the United States has been fighting a war on drugs that has all but consumed law enforcement. Today, federal and state governments annually spend approximately $51 billion on interdicting, tracking, seeking out, seizing, destroying, and prosecuting people for possession of drugs. For all that money and effort, however, the rates of most drugs’ use among Americans has remained generally high and stable for generations. Whatever harm illegal drugs do, it’s clear that the lion’s share of expense and destroyed lives is actually related to the millions of people getting locked up and/or killed over these controlled substances....

An African American entrepreneur, activist, and philanthropist, Madam C.J. Walker made a fortune in the early 20th century thanks to her hair care line for Black women. Madam C.J. Walker was one of the wealthiest women in America during the early 20th century — but she didn’t always have good fortune. In a true rags-to-riches story, Walker went from being a single mother who washed clothes to becoming a successful entrepreneur....

From sideshow performers to record-holders, Ronnie and Donnie Galyon have defied the odds to become the longest-living conjoined twins ever. Galyon family/MLiveRonnie and Donnie Galyon. Circa 1970s. From the moment that Ronnie and Donnie Galyon were born, the odds were stacked against them. On average, for every 200,000 births, there is one set of conjoined twins. And only five percent of these births end successfully with the twins delivered alive. What’s more, 70 percent of conjoined twins are female....

Green Beret Roy Benavidez earned the Medal of Honor when he ran into enemy fire armed with only a knife to save his fellow soldiers, sustaining such severe injuries that medics placed him into a body bag. When Roy Benavidez landed in Vietnam for his second tour of duty in 1968, he’d already proven his fortitude. Just three years earlier, Benavidez had stepped on a land mine during his first deployment in Vietnam, and doctors said he would never walk again....

Saudi Arabia has one of the highest death penalty rates in the world and still performs public crucifixions that entail stringing dead bodies up as a deterrent to others. TwitterCrucifixions in Saudi Arabia involve stringing up already executed prisoners up as a way to deter others from protesting against the kingdom. Saudi Arabia’s official news agency announced on Tuesday that the kingdom recently executed 37 men convicted of terror-related crimes. According to CNN, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) added that one of these supposed criminals was crucified....

From the Great Pyramid of Giza to the Lighthouse of Alexandria, take a breathtaking journey through the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was compiled by the Greek writer Antipater of Sidon in a poem in 140 BCE. He, along with Philo of Byzantium, Strabo, Herodotus, and Diodoros of Sicily, is responsible for providing the descriptions of these sites. Though only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World remains intact, these gardens, statues, and tombs were the crème de la crème of ancient times:...

During the Red Summer of 1919, white mobs — fueled by racial animosity, Communist paranoia, and yellow journalism — attacked Black communities across the United States with impunity. Getty ImagesChildren cheer outside an African-American residence that they set on fire during the Red Summer of 1919. Not long after World War I, a series of race riots instigated by white mobs erupted in some 25 cities in the U.S. Hundreds were killed and countless more were injured....

The trove of Titanic artifacts headed to auction all belonged to fifth officer Harold G. Lowe — who saved dozens of lives on that ice-cold night in the Atlantic. Henry Aldridge & SonIt’s unclear whether Lowe blew this exact whistle that night, though the fact that it belonged to a true hero is yielding interest enough. In April 1912, the RMS Titanic sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean — taking over 1,500 passengers with it....

Believe it or not, someone named a town “Zzyzx” in order to make money. The United States isn’t exactly known for originality when it comes to naming its cities and towns. Places like Versailles, Kentucky; Berlin, Connecticut; and Cairo, Georgia stand as proof of that. Keeping that in mind, Zzyzx Road — which stretches through the Mojave Desert — seems all the stranger. At the road’s end, you’ll find the remains of an abandoned complex....

From Greece to Bali, these breathtaking sites around the world have attracted spiritual seekers for centuries — and they’re still bringing in countless visitors today. Have you ever found yourself somewhere that evoked a feeling of transcendence? Maybe it sent shivers down your spine or quickly moved you to tears. Perhaps it even made you feel enlightened in some way. The following sites and holy places from around the world tend to draw out these feelings in visitors....

While authorities were still in the process of X-raying her belongings, she incriminated herself by muttering, “How much did they find in the shoes?” Australian Border ForceThe drugs are seen here stuffed into the heel of one of the shoes in Denise Woodrum’s luggage. A former nun from Missouri was arrested in Sydney, Australia for attempting to smuggle two pounds of cocaine that was strategically hidden in a pair of high-heeled shoes....

Here’s what famed animal experts have had to say about why shooting Harambe the gorilla was the Cincinnati Zoo’s only option. Since Harambe, a silverback gorilla living at the Cincinnati Zoo, was shot and killed after a boy went into his enclosure last weekend, the court of public opinion has declared the gorilla’s death an outrage. Animal experts, however, are largely telling a different story. Harambe spent ten tense minutes standing over the boy, even dragging him through the water surrounding his pen, before he was shot by zookeepers....

Beatlemania was a fan frenzy that followed the Beatles as they toured across the globe. Some believed it was a mental illness — and these photos make it easy to see why. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 33 Unbelievable Vintage Photos From The Heyday Of Alligator Farms The Reckless History Of U.S. Nuclear Testing, In 55 Unbelievable Photos...

A revolutionary hero of the 1960s, Bobby Seale cofounded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense and bravely stood with the Chicago 7 against the Vietnam War. During the 1960s, Bobby Seale was far from a passive idealist. The African American activist worked tirelessly to change the political landscape, from co-founding the Black Panther Party to protesting the Vietnam War at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. While under intense surveillance by the FBI’s infamous COINTELPRO program, Seale was arrested in the wake of the Chicago riots....

The five-year-old was taken from her sleeping mother and sister for a ritual murder. Sadly, it’s not uncommon. mediamaxnetwork.co.keDozens of albinos are attacked and killed every year for “ritual purposes.” A five-year-old albino girl in Mali who was abducted this month has been beheaded. Djeneba Diarra was sleeping in the courtyard of her home with her mother and sister when a group of armed men took her, reported Agence France-Presse. The kidnappers climbed a wall at around 2 a....

Australotitan cooperensis was “certainly the largest animal that’s ever walked the Outback.” Eromanga Natural History MuseumAn illustration of the 98-foot-long behemoth in its element. Sandy Mackenzie was only 14 years old when he stumbled upon the curious fossil. Right beneath his feet in the Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia was the bone of a dinosaur that roamed the Earth between 92 and 96 million years ago. Far more astounding than its age, however, was its colossal length of 98 feet....

According to the interviews with Secret Service agents and White House insiders, JFK’s women were often prostitutes supplied by organized crime figures. U.S. Embassy New Delhi/FlickrJohn F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy remains one of America’s most respected and admired presidents more than forty years after his assassination. But for all his charisma and ability to navigate through some of the worst crises in U.S. history, there are many rumors that suggest that JFK may have some dark secrets yet to be uncovered....

In 1962, Soviet Colonel Oleg Penkovsky defied his country to save the world from nuclear war — then paid for his heroism with his life. In October 1962, the U.S. and U.S.S.R. were on the brink of nuclear war after Soviet nuclear missiles were spotted in Cuba. While President Kennedy and Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Kruschev dared each other to launch nuclear weapons on TV, one largely-forgotten Soviet spy changed the course of history from the shadows....

When the “Hiroshima Maidens” disfigured by the atomic bombing thought their lives were over, Japan and the U.S. united to give them a second chance. AFP/AFP/Getty ImagesHiroshima lies in ruins soon after the atomic bombing. On Aug. 6, 1945, the U.S. military dropped history’s first deployed atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. As the crew of the plane that had just dropped the bomb watched this new weapon make most of a city and its inhabitants disappear, co-pilot Robert Lewis wrote the following words in his log: “My God, what have we done?...

Ibn Battuta traveled the territory of what is now 44 countries, married at least seven times, and wrote the most comprehensive account of 14th-century life around the globe to date. In 1325 when he was 21 years old, Ibn Battuta set out on a journey that should have taken just over a year. It ended up taking 29. On this journey, Battuta became a Middle-Eastern Marco Polo of sorts. He adventured across 75,000 miles of territory that now forms roughly 44 countries....