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The SeaPod, built by Panama-based technology company Ocean Builders, is meant to be a self-sustaining, eco-restorative home that floats above the waves. CheapPontoon/TwitterA still from a Twitter video of the SeaPod’s collapse. At its grand unveiling on September 22, a futuristic luxury model home meant to float on the water toppled over in front of an audience that included Panama’s president, Laurentino Cortizo. The SeaPod, developed by the ocean-innovation technology company Ocean Builders, was meant to be the first of many pieces of “revolutionary blue technology,” the company’s mission statement says, meant to make “the 72% of the world that is covered in water into an eco-sustainable paradise....

Spies in the Continental Army wrote of a highly capable operative known only as Agent 355, and though some historians doubt her existence, others think she may have changed the course of the Revolutionary War. In 1776, a plucky group of rebels in colonial America fought against the powerful empire of Great Britain to secure their independence in the Revolutionary War. And one way these revolutionaries did so was through a top-secret spy network....

Earlier studies suggest that the Phoenicians who lived thousands of years ago in the Mediterranean produced large batches of wine to drink and trade with other cultures. This massive winepress proves it. Tell el-Burak Archaeological ProjectArchaeologists in Lebanon unearthed a well-preserved wine ‘factory’ dating back to the 7th century B.C. If you love to drink wine, you have the ancient Phoenicians to thank for making fermented grape juice so popular....

Diamonds are perhaps the most sought-after stones on Earth. Yet we didn’t fully understand how they were even made — until now. PixabayScientists have discovered an unlikely element in the formation of natural diamonds: sediment from the seafloor. As precious and sought-after as diamonds are, we know relatively little about the complicated process that goes into creating these gems in nature. This is largely because they are usually pushed to the surface — where we can reach them — by volcanic eruptions after being formed deep underground....

Red wolves were officially declared extinct in the wild in 1980, and conservationists have been working for decades to bolster their numbers. U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceThe litter consisted of four females and two males. Before European settlers arrived in the United States, untold numbers of red wolves roamed the great American outdoors. While centuries of hunting and the expansion of cities drove them to the brink of extinction, a litter of red wolves was just born in the wild for the first time in four years — bringing new hope to the species....

In September 1978, 15-year-old Mary Vincent accepted a ride from a man named Lawrence Singleton — who then kidnapped, raped, and maimed her. Bettmann/Getty ImagesMary Vincent leaving the Los Angeles Press Club after a news conference where she warned other children her age not to hitchhike. Mary Vincent was a 15-year-old runaway heading to visit her grandfather in California when she accepted a ride from a man named Lawrence Singleton in September 1978 — and it changed her life forever....

While beautiful, the Portuguese man of war packs a powerful venom that could give you severe muscle pain, make you vomit, or even kill you. If you’re ever swimming at the beach and you feel an extremely sharp sting in your leg, take a look around in the water. If you see a swarm of small, translucent-blue blobs floating on the water, we’ve got bad news for you. You just met a Portuguese man of war, and the pain is about to get much worse....

What happens when glaciers and volcanoes convene? These stunning volcanic rivers. Source: Andre Ermolaev When it comes to size, Iceland is roughly the size of Ohio, but within that relatively humble space are hundreds of volcanoes; so many that in the last 500 years, Iceland alone has been responsible for 30 percent of the world’s lava flow. Pair this with glaciers that also populate the landscape, and you have the perfect storm of natural occurrences that make stunning aerial photographs like these possible....

For nearly a century, Dorothy Height fought tirelessly for the rights of Black Americans and women of all races — even though she rarely received credit. Before she became a historical icon, Dr. Dorothy Height faced discrimination, racism, and sexism in her journey to becoming an advocate for the health and wellness of Black women in America. Height served as the president of the National Council of Negro Women for more than 40 years and rubbed shoulders with the legendary pioneers of racial equality — but none, from Martin Luther King Jr....

The letter was found by a kayaker a few days after Tropical Storm Isaias swept through the southeastern coast of the U.S. Screengrab from WBOC-TVThe letter was written by Milton resident Cathi Riddle while she was out on the beach with family 35 years ago. After Tropical Storm Isaias swept through the southeastern coast of the United States, there were bound to be some unusual discoveries in its wake. One of them was a message in a bottle....

They orbit Earth at the same distance as our known Moon, they’re nine times wider than our planet, and we weren’t even sure they were there — until now. Gabor HorvathAn illustration (not to scale) showing the position of one of the Kordylewski clouds in relation to the Earth, Sun, and Moon. After more than 50 years of speculation, a group of astronomers has finally confirmed the existence of two other “moons” orbiting Earth....

His family was killed, he was taken as a slave, and he lived in the Bronx Zoo’s monkey house as a human exhibit. This is the story of Ota Benga. Ota Benga on display at the Bronx Zoo in 1906. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons On March 20, 1916, a 32-year-old African man named Ota Benga shot himself in the heart while being held against his will in the United States. Benga’s short, sad life was shaped by colonial avarice justified by the quack science of eugenics....

Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger overcame poverty, dyslexia, his diminutive stature, and three rejections from Notre Dame in order to finally become a legend among the Fighting Irish. Taro Yamasaki/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images Rudy Ruettiger in the empty stands at Notre Dame stadium in 1993 to promote the film based on his life. The crowd at Notre Dame went wild. On the field, a 5’6″ defensive end had just sacked the opposing quarterback — resulting in a thrilling victory for the Fighting Irish....

About 30 percent of people suffer from stress or fear-related disorders. These results could bring them great relief. Alamy Does facing your fears actually help you overcome them? It’s long been debated, but now scientists have hard neuroscientific evidence that the answer is a resounding yes. According to a study published in the journal Science on June 15, scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne have found that the very neurons associated with storing a fearful or traumatic memory are the ones that can help you (or for now at least, mice) overcome it....

A special salty mineral coating discovered on the Dead Sea’s Temple Scroll could be why the ancient manuscript has remained relatively well-preserved for 2,000 years. Roman Schuetz et al.A closer examination of the Dead Sea Temple Scroll reveals a unique salty coating on the ancient manuscript. In addition to their unprecedented historical importance, the Dead Sea Scrolls are archaeological marvels. First discovered in 1946 by a shepherd in the Qumran Caves of the Judaean desert, this mysterious collection of ancient manuscripts comprising biblical texts, calendars, and astrological charts has long excited scientists — and left them wondering how they survived so well for some 2,000 years....

Nkosentsha Njimbana, 58, died on November 4 after attempting to communicate with the bees outside his home in Tamara, near Qonce in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. Dinodia Photo/Getty ImagesIn some African cultures, it is believed that a person’s ancestors may visit them in the form of bees. Believing the swarm of bees outside his house were his reincarnated ancestors, a man in South Africa attempted to communicate with them last month — and the swarm tragically retaliated by stinging him to death....

Martin Luther King Jr. once called Chicago the most racist city in America. Here’s the long history that proves him right. Underwood & Underwood/Library of CongressThe Ku Klux Klan holds a meeting with nearly 30,000 members from the Chicagoland area. Circa 1920. In 1890, there were about 15,000 African Americans living in Chicago. By 1970, about 1 million Black people called the Windy City their home — making up nearly one-third of Chicago’s total population....

Researchers think the shark developed its rotating jaw to accommodate tooth regrowth. Christian Klug/UZHThe Ferromirum oukherbouchidates lived on Earth 370 million years ago. Scientists have uncovered the remains of a prehistoric shark that once lurked in the waters of what is now Morocco. A new study on the shark fossils suggests that it possessed the terrifying ability to rotate its jaw, where a hidden row of sharp teeth jutted outward when its mouth opened to feed....

True origins of bubonic plague revealed, claims of Stanford Prison Experiment fraud made public, WWII cash hoard uncovered. The Plague Has Been Tormenting Humanity For Way Longer Than We Thought V.V. Kondrashin & V.A. Tsybin/SpyrouThe recently uncovered remains of two plague victims in Mikhaylovka, Russia. It’s perhaps the most infamous deadly infection in human history, and it turns out that scientists had its origins all wrong. When the Black Death believed to be caused by bubonic plague hit Europe in the 1340s, it claimed an estimated 25 million lives, then as much as 60 percent of the continent’s total population....

Ueli Steck may have been Earth’s best mountaineer, but one tragically bold attempt on Mount Everest brought his impressive life to an end. Jonathan Griffith / Barcroft Med / Getty ImagesUeli Steck scales Grandes Jorasses in the French Alps in 2011. An incredibly strong climber who set both speed and endurance records that his peers had previously thought impossible, Ueli Steck of Switzerland was considered one of the greatest mountaineers of all time....