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Bayard Rustin was the mind behind the 1963 March on Washington and organized the first Freedom Rides, but his open homosexuality was fodder for critics of the civil rights movement. Bayard Rustin was a prominent African American civil rights activist. He was an exhaustive organizer and his Quaker-based pacifism galvanized the methods of other civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr. He was a central force behind the success of the 1963 March On Washington and he was a trusted advisor to MLK, but fellow activists began to distance themselves from the brilliant organizer when it seemed his sexual identity and controversial past threatened to hamper the reputation of the movement....

On January 30, 1972, British soldiers brutally killed 13 unarmed civilians who were participating in a civil rights march in the Northern Irish city of Derry. For 30 years between the late 1960s and 1998, Northern Ireland was rocked by The Troubles. Described by some as a “low-level war,” this conflict pitted Irish nationalists against both loyalists and the ruling British government in a battle for sovereignty over Northern Ireland. By the time the hostilities finally ceased, some 3,500 people had been killed in terrorist attacks, paramilitary assaults, and street fights, with more than half of the casualties civilians....

Although the country has long been isolated from the rest of the world, these fascinating photos provide a rare glimpse of daily life in North Korea. Isolated from much of the world for decades, North Korea has offered itself to the world as an object of intense criticism and ceaseless fascination. But for Jaka Parker, the alienated and practically impenetrable nation was simply home. Jaka Parker/InstagramJaka Parker From November 2012 to March 2016, Jaka Parker lived with his wife and children in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital....

Danny Casolaro was investigating a number of conspiracy theories involving everything from Ronald Reagan’s election to the Iran-Contra affair when he was found dead under strange circumstances on August 10, 1991. TwitterDanny Casolaro was investigating a shadowy conspiracy he referred to as the “Octopus” when he died by suicide in 1991. On Aug. 10, 1991, journalist Joseph “Danny” Casolaro was found dead in a bathtub at the Sheraton Hotel in Martinsburg, West Virginia....

“What is the evidence against the possibility of life on Mars? The astonishing fact is that there is none.” Wikimedia CommonsNASA’s Viking lander on Mars in 1976, the year Gilbert V. Levin says the agency discovered evidence of life on the red planet. NASA has launched countless missions to Mars, but why haven’t they found any extraterrestrial life yet? Well, according to one former NASA scientist, they actually did. In an op-ed published by Scientific American last week, Gilbert V....

After centuries of mystery, archaeologists have made startling new discoveries about how the pyramids were built at the Egyptian city of Giza. Sam Valadi/FlickrThe Giza Necropolis. Built 4,500 years ago during Egypt’s Old Kingdom, the pyramids of Giza are more than elaborate tombs — they’re also one of historians’ best sources of insight into how the ancient Egyptians lived, since their walls are covered with illustrations of agricultural practices, city life, and religious ceremonies....

In May 1845, the HMS Terror set off in search for the elusive Northwest Passage. It wasn’t seen again for 175 years. Wikimedia CommonsThe HMS Terror survived oceanic warfare before she met her end on Sir John Franklin’s doomed expedition. In 1845, seasoned naval commander Sir John Franklin set out to find the Northwest Passage aboard two ships, the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus. The Terror, in particular, was quite an impressive ship....

Riding a roller coaster will likely help you pass a small kidney stone, a groundbreaking new study reveals. It might just be the best doctor’s prescription ever: Ride a rollercoaster. Seems too good to be true. But one urologist in Michigan recently confirmed that a whirl on one of those head-whipping rides is sometimes all it takes to pass a painful kidney stone. David Wartinger, a urological surgeon, had heard stories from patients who went to Disney World and returned with fewer kidney stones....

New technology allows researchers to uncover missing American B-52 bombers off the coast of Papua New Guinea. More than 70 years after American pilots flew these planes in combat against the Japanese, a pair of lost World War II bombers have been found lying at the bottom of the Pacific. This week, Project Recover — a group dedicated to finding WWII aircraft and MIAs from World War II — announced that its researchers had found the remains of two B-52 bomber planes off the coast of Papua New Guinea....

The supposed medicinal benefits of these leeches make them a hot commodity, selling for $6 to $14 a piece. Environment and Climate Change CanadaThe leech smuggler was fined $15,000 for his crimes. In yet another bizarre case of botched animal smuggling, a man was caught by local authorities while attempting to transport 4,788 live leeches into Canada. The slimy creatures were kept in a reusable plastic bag inside the man’s luggage which contained 10 smaller, dampened cloth bags that were successfully sniffed out by border patrol canines....

Christian Palma Gutierrez aka “QBA” used sulfuric acid to dispose of the victims. Central European News / The SunChristian Omar Palma Gutierrez aka “QBA” On March 19, 2018, three film students went missing on the outskirts of Guadalajara while working on a film project for school. The location, a former hangout spot for members of the Nueva Plaza gang, was apparently being watched by members of the Jalisco New Generation cartel....

“People would make devotional offerings in the form of animals as mummies. This would have more potency as a blood sacrifice, compared to stone or wooden images.” Egyptian Ministry of AntiquitiesA large mummified cat, most likely a young lion. This was one of the many animals found at the Saqqara necropolis. Egyptian authorities have unveiled a trove of mummified animals and statues in remarkable condition. According to The Guardian, the discovery was made near the remains of a mummified adult lion that was found beneath the Saqqara necropolis in 2004....

The participants were able to complete a cooperative game of Tetris using only their thoughts as a means of communication. The three minds communicated through flashes of light. A team of scientists has figured out a way to connect the brains of three individuals and enable them to share their thoughts. The individuals successfully completed a game of Tetris this way by communicating “telepathically.” A joint team of scientists from the University of Washington and Carnegie Mellon University released a statement on the success of their study:...

The 1920 bombing of Wall Street killed a total of 38 people, making it the deadliest terrorist attack in 20th-century New York City. Wikimedia CommonsThe 1920 Wall Street bombing was the first major terrorist attack made in New York City. In September 1920, an abandoned horse-draw cart exploded in the middle of Wall Street, the bustling financial center of New York City. The explosion killed 30 people instantly and injured hundreds of others nearby....

A beautiful look at New York, the city that never sleeps – enjoy the twenty-five most incredible photographs of New York City. A beautiful look at the city that never sleeps through these twenty-five incredible photographs of New York City: The New York City Skyline At Night From New Jersey Source: Scott Hudson Times Square At Midnight On New Years Eve Source: Redditor skinnymatters A Perfectly Placed Cloud Over The New York City Skyline The New York City Skyline At Night With September 11th Memorial Lights Source: Boston....

In 2014, the United States was feeling a sense of renewed vigor from the Edward Snowden revelations. It had been a year since the first top–secret NSA documents were published, Snowden was being charged under the Espionage Act, the U.S. government was trying to extradite him from Russia and Wired had just put him on the cover of their magazine. But one revelation could have the biggest repercussions of the entire Snowden affair: “MonsterMind”, a Skynet-esque cyber warfare program straight out of Terminator Genisys (just released on Blu-ray and Digital HD)....

On August 10, 1862, Confederate troops slaughtered a group of German Texans who were attempting to join the Union Army. Wikimedia CommonsNews coverage in Harper’s Weekly detailing the 1866 funeral for the victims of the Nueces Massacre. A year after the United States erupted in Civil War, Texas Hill Country saw internal bloodshed of its own. The area was divided between German immigrants who opposed slavery and the Confederates who enforced it....

As a thick haze engulfs the Chinese capital, these pictures of the Beijing smog capture the ongoing disaster. While China’s 20-million and counting metropolis of Beijing is still in the midst of an economic and industrial boom, it’s certainly seen brighter days. This spring, a toxic cocktail consisting of car exhaust fumes, factory, and coal-heating smoke engulfed much of the city in a thick smog, causing many residents much grief in going about their daily affairs....

Over six million people make the trek to Munich, Germany for Oktoberfest each year, celebrating Bavarian culture with plenty of parades, pretzels and beer. It’s that time of year again. Along with changing leaves and the clean scent of new school notebooks, late September also welcomes the return of Oktoberfest, a 16-day festival that’s held each year in Munich, Bavaria i Germany. More than six million people trek to the city for Oktoberfest, celebrating Bavarian culture with tasty sausages and soft pretzels and a healthy dose of good German beer....

The Great War took a devastating toll on Europe. But such trauma also paved the way for these incredible World War One medical innovations. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, which tore through Europe from 1914 to 1918 and took millions of lives with it. Though most people who would remember the event are gone, the Great War still reverberates through our lives even today....