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The life of the acclaimed Slaughterhouse-Five author was as rich as his fictional works. Kurt Vonnegut is widely known for his special brand of postmodernism, science fiction, and humor — particularly his irreverent, semi-autobiographical novel Slaughterhouse-Five, which earned him many accolades including a place in TIME magazine’s list of the 100 best English language novels written since 1923. While works like Slaughterhouse-Five have pushed Vonnegut’s work into the cultural lexicon, the general public knows comparatively less about his personal life....

“If Juan had been home that night, he might be on death row right now,” said Juan Catalan’s lawyer Todd Melnik. Fourteen years ago, Juan Catalan, now 39, was almost convicted of murder before unused footage from an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm proved that he had an ironclad alibi. Now he is the subject of a new Netflix original documentary called Long Shot, which features an interview with the show’s creator and star Larry David....

Lori Maddox was obsessed with sex, drugs, and rock and roll, and they were just as obsessed with her – despite the fact that she was just 14 years old. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesLori Maddox, far right, with Led Zeppelin, and fellow baby groupie Sable Starr, far left./span> In 1970s Los Angeles, you were hard-pressed to find someone who wasn’t either a groupie or someone who wanted to be. The lifestyle was one people fantasized about, leaving home, living on busses, following legendary rock stars from city to city and getting just the faintest glimpse into their lavish lifestyles....

On March 26, 1964, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. met on Capitol Hill and discussed working together in the future — but within a year, one of them was dead. Universal History Archive/Getty ImagesThough Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. were two of the most renowned Black leaders of the 1960s, they only met one time. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. are two of the most iconic figures of the 1960s American civil rights movement....

Police say that Emily Noble was brutally beaten and strangled to death, and that Matheau Moore staged her murder scene to make it look like she had died by suicide. City Government of Westerville/Westerville Police DepartmentEmily Noble (left) and Matheau Moore (right). On May 25, 2020, Matheau Moore reported his wife, Emily Noble, missing. But now, months after detailing that traumatizing incident on a podcast that showcases missing persons cases, he has been charged with her murder....

The whale skull was found packed in a 650-pound block of sediment that preserved the fossil like a “sarcophagus.” Calvert Marine MuseumCody Goddard discovered the whale skull, which is partially submerged in the water next to Goddard’s knee. As Cody Goddard walked along Matoaka Beach in the Chesapeake Bay, he hoped to find fossils, maybe some ancient shark teeth. Instead, the Pennsylvania man stumbled upon a 12-million-year-old whale skull. According to Chesapeake Bay Magazine, Goddard and his family were visiting Maryland in October 2022 when they decided to go beachcombing....

“In the Mesoamerican tradition obsidian has a divine origin, imbuing the material with supernatural power.” Takeshi Inomata/Journal of Field Archaeology Researchers digging up an ancient Mayan city recently discovered nine child sacrifices buried with black stones that the Mayans believed held supernatural powers. Writing in the Journal of Field Archaeology, archeologists investigating the ruins of an ancient city in Ceibal, Guatemala said they discovered the graves of nine children the Mayans ritually sacrificed to the gods....

Ona Judge escaped a life of slavery on George Washington’s plantation and stood her ground when he sent men to retrieve her. In 2017, the museum at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate began paying tribute to a runaway slave named Ona Judge, once owned by America’s first president. The exhibition “Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon” features Ona Judge and the tribulations that caused her to flee for her life in 1796 after toiling in slavery under Washington and his wife, Martha....

South African park rangers found but the skull and pants of the unfortunate poacher after his family contacted authorities on a tip from his accomplices. Mathias Appel/FlickrThe remains of a suspected rhino poacher were found on the grounds of South Africa’s Kruger National Park after being devoured by lions. In a sick twist of fate that is both tragic and karmic, a suspected rhino poacher was crushed to death by an elephant before he was devoured by a pride of hungry lions....

Sally Hemings bore President Thomas Jefferson six children, yet his legitimate descendants tried their best to discredit her story. Jose-Fuste RAGA/Gamma-Rapho via Getty ImagesMonticello, the Virginia home of Thomas Jefferson, founding father and slave owner. Little is known about the full story of Sally Hemings. Unfortunately, that is the case for the majority of slaves born in America. What we do know of Sally Hemings is preserved mostly in primary sources from Monticello — the plantation where she lived — and the memories recorded by her son Madison Hemings....

Russian serial killer Serhiy Tkach raped and murdered at least 37 women and girls in Ukraine from 1980 to 2005. And then one girl married him. Isaev Sergey/AFP/Getty ImagesSerhiy Tkach sits in a dock behind bars during his trial for 37 murders. Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. Dec. 23, 2008. In 2005, a funeral was underway in a small town in Ukraine. Inside the casket was the body of a nine-year-old girl. As the girl’s friends looked around at the faces of the visiting mourners, they saw something that must have made their blood run cold....

According to lore, Unsinkable Sam started his “career” aboard a Nazi battleship. But after that ship was torpedoed, he was rescued by the British and changed sides. Royal Museums GreenwichPastel drawing of a cat purported to be the legendary Unsinkable Sam. Unsinkable Sam was either incredibly lucky or an omen of death. For five years, the black and white cat escorted U.S. Navy men bound for combat in the Atlantic during World War II....

After Adolf Hitler’s suicide alongside his brand new bride, Eva Braun, everyone wrote her off as a “dumb blonde.” But experts now believe she was a mastermind behind Nazi propaganda. National ArchivesTwo photos of Eva Braun, likely at Berghof. In 1935, Eva Braun wrote in her diary, “The weather is gorgeous, and I, the mistress of Germany’s and the world’s greatest man, have to sit at home and look at it through the window....

Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis is an extremely rare disease with an extremely bizarre symptom: the development of bark-like growths from the hands and feet. Wikimedia Commons Epidermodysplasia verruciformis patient Abul Bajandar. Bangladesh, 2016 Epidermodysplasia verruciformis is a mouthful to say. But saying the name of this disease is much easier than having it. Epidermodysplasia verruciformis is a hereditary skin disorder. It’s extremely rare, but it’s associated with a high risk of skin cancer for those who do develop it....

The 100-million-year-old specimen was found inside an ancient female crustacean, meaning she was fertilized shortly before her demise. He Wang & Xiangdong ZhaoOstracods, one of which is pictured here, are ancient shrimp-like crustaceans. Some species still exist today. An international team of paleontologists has just discovered the oldest sperm in the world. The 100-million-year-old specimen belongs to a newly-discovered species of ancient crustacean that was found trapped in Myanmar amber. Remarkably, it’s been preserved since the mid-Cretaceous period, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth....

From domesticating viruses and drinking antimatter to fight cancer, these amazing medical advances will change how we treat diseases in the future. Source: The Amazing Medicine Scientific medicine is one of the nicest things about living in the future. No matter how much fun it is to imagine swinging from the rigging of a pirate ship, if you cut yourself shaving back then, there was a chance the cut would go septic and eat your face until you died....

Though Francis Fukuyama cheerily declared that the world had reached “the end of history” in 1992, he was at best half right. True, the Soviet Union and its ideological model had collapsed, and the Western model of liberal democracy had prevailed. However, even as ideas come and go, the structures in which we house them tend to take a bit longer to disappear. Such is the case with the monuments scattered across the former Soviet Union and former communist countries....

The Mellivora benfieldi was smaller in size but possessed many of the same traits as its modern relative. Alberto ValencianoPaleontologists found a trove of fossils belonging to M. benfieldi, a prehistoric relative of the modern honey badger. The modern honey badger has a fearsome reputation, partly thanks to a certain viral video. And thanks to their sharp claws, thick skin, and bad attitudes, this reputation does seem to be deserved. But have you ever wondered what these animals’ prehistoric cousins were like?...

Devastating photos of what is now the deadliest mass shooting in American history. On Sunday night, a gunman named Stephen Paddock opened fire on the crowd attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, killing more than 59 and leaving at least 527 injured. The event is now the deadliest mass shooting in American history. Share Flipboard Email Shortly after 10 p.m., Paddock began firing hundreds of bullets into the crowd from a 32nd-floor window at the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel, reports CNN....

Borrowing from European cinema and the Renaissance, Lasse Hoile’s work is truly in a league of its own. Danish-born visual artist Lasse Hoile may not be a household name, but he’s carved himself quite the niche in the progressive rock/metal scene as a virtual set and album designer. His ability to disturb, enlighten, and entertain us is an accomplishment that many in his line of work can only strive for....