Posts

Skeletons uncovered in Russia prove that the plague believed to be responsible for medieval Europe’s Black Death is actually at least 3,800 years old. 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....

Before there were cameras, German biologist Ernst Haeckel’s vibrant scientific illustrations illuminated newly-discovered species — but his writings inspired the Nazis. Public DomainErnst Haeckel’s art became famous for his identification and detailed portrayals of scientific specimens. Ernst Haeckel was a German biologist, naturalist, and artist who pioneered the practice of using artistic illustrations to capture the likenesses of animals in the wild during the 19th century. Ernst Haeckel’s art became very popular as it paired colorful lithographs with information about these scientific marvels of nature....

The wildly popular period piece is on its way out. How much of history did it get right - and wrong? The cast of TV show Downton Abbey, which has just filmed its final season. Image Source: Vanity Fair Downton Abbey has come to an end. The sixth and final season of the wildly successful costume drama finished taping last week, and a major (and perhaps surprising) motivation behind the show’s unpopular end is history itself....

Roy DeMeo worked his way up the organized crime ladder, falling in with the Gambino family and initiating the most efficient method of murder, designed to make bodies disappear. Wikimedia CommonsRoy DeMeo’s mugshot taken in July 1981. Roy DeMeo was born in Brooklyn in 1942 into a family of working-class Italian immigrants. It didn’t take long for DeMeo to enter into a life of organized crime. He started out small and worked his way up, joining the Gambino family before forming his own crew and developing a signature method of execution....

The unexpected discovery of this extremely rare medieval text now has scholars salivating. Recently uncovered pages dating back to 1476 belonged to one of the first books ever printed in England, experts have confirmed. Written in bold, red, and black Latin, the text was — appropriately enough — discovered by a librarian at the University of Reading. Erika Delbeccque was sorting through a box of archives when she noticed the aged, double-sided paper....

The scientists used a new technology called a muon scan to locate the void. Scientists have discovered a hidden space in the Great Pyramid of Giza. The void sits above the pyramid’s Grand Gallery and is roughly 30 yards deep with a similar in shape to the gallery below it. The scientists do not yet know its purpose or whether or not there ever was one. Though the discovery is important, the really interesting part is the way that it was discovered....

These disturbing movie set disasters claimed the lives of stunt men and actors, proving that even this great American pastime is dangerous. Movies are America’s way to relax, to be entertained, to laugh, or even to have a good cry. Yet we too seldom think of the sets on which those movies are made as places where actors routinely put themselves in harm’s way. As these tragic movie set disasters prove, there’s no business as dangerous as show business:...

If nothing else, social media has taught us that at some point all of us start to sound like our moms and dads. The Bible might give the mouths of babes all the credit, but some pretty strange things can come out of adult lips as well: those confusing old idioms that sometimes have children and teens scratching their heads regarding their meaning. Here are some idioms that perhaps mama used to say, which might even date back to Shakespeare, but still get used today....

Convening the aesthetic wonder of art and the stupefying world of science, Fabian Oefner’s “Liquid Jewels” are truly a wealth in the contemporary art world. Everywhere we look, we’re surrounded by color. The sea is blue, the grass is green and as evidenced by Nicki Minaj, hair can be any shade from crimson to copper. Fabian Oefner, a Swiss photographer, artist and self-proclaimed investigator, likes to blur the lines between art and science using color....

Slenderman was a popular internet legend created in June 2009. But when two 12-year-olds tried stabbing their friend to death, this mythical creature took on a life of its own. At first, Slender Man was just an internet meme. But then, it became a frightening folktale whispered among American youths. And before long, the Slender Man legend inspired a few of these young people to kill. But how did a fictional character created on the internet cause so much violence?...

Karen Carpenter died on February 4, 1983, after steadily poisoning herself with ipecac syrup, which she was using to try to maintain her weight while struggling with an eating disorder. Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions and/or images of violent, disturbing, or otherwise potentially distressing events. Hulton Archive/Getty Images Karen Carpenter’s death at the age of 32 shocked her fans and loved ones. From the outside, Karen Carpenter looked like a rock star....

From dumping soot and flour onto a bride to avoiding the bathroom in the name of love, people have crafted some of the weirdest wedding traditions ever. Source: Flickr Weddings are meant to be one of the happiest days in the lives of two devoted partners, but there are a few wacky wedding customs from around the world that can throw a spanner in the works. From throwing soot over the bride to banging pots and pans on the couple’s wedding night, some traditions are just plain weird....

LSD-laced 1960s radio equipment found, ancient Japanese woman reconstructed, Roman town unearthed. San Francisco Sound Engineer Accidentally Dosed With LSD While Cleaning 1960s Radio Equipment KPIX5Eliot Curtis was merely trying to fix an old discarded synthesizer — when the drugs began to take hold. When the great wave of 1960s optimism finally broke and hippiedom gave way to Vietnam and Richard Nixon, the end of an era had never been clearer....

Before fashion photography’s heyday, major magazine publications like Vogue relied upon illustrations to promote sales and social norms. Source: Miss Moss High fashion of course existed before the camera, which means that illustrations graced the covers of Vogue magazine well before airbrushed models and celebrities did. While the 1894-founded magazine was one of fashion photography’s primary points of origin, in the days preceding the fashion photo, Vogue relied on expertly-crafted illustrations to promote Vogue founder Arthur Turnure’s goal: celebrating and encouraging the “ceremonial side of life” in a country that did not value class or ceremony as much as its Western European counterparts....

Simultaneously described as having a sweet aroma and smelling like raw sewage, durian is one of the world’s most divisive foods and has been nicknamed the “king of fruits.” Bored of the average banana or run-of-the-mill mango? There’s always the durian fruit – though be warned, the smell and taste of a durian have been known to divide people. Likened to the stench of onions, rotting meat, raw sewage, turpentine, and even dirty gym socks, the stench of durian is so potent that it’s been banned on Singapore’s mass transit system....

Peaches “April” Stergo, 36, is accused of stealing $2.8 million from an unidentified 87-year-old man in what prosecutors are calling a “romance scam.” U.S. Attorney’s Office The mugshot of Peaches “April” Stergo. He was an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor from New York looking for companionship. She was a 36-year-old woman from Florida looking for an easy target. It was a match made in hell for the older man, who lost his $2....

Be it bathing machines, the swimsuit police or the full-on dresses that Victorians wore to the beach, the history of women’s swimwear will blow your mind. As the summer heat hits full blast, people everywhere are flocking to the water. While the tendency to hit the waves when the going gets hot is not unique to a given time or people, what we wear (or don’t!) certainly is. From full-on dresses to itsy-bitsy bikinis–plus weird contraptions called bathing machines–you’ll love this history of women’s swimwear....

“I split the belly of the mother shark and found three pups in the stomach. Two were like the mother and this one looked like it had a human face.” TwitterThe strange-looking animal has drawn comparisons to the famous cartoon character “Baby Shark.” An Indonesian fisherman just pulled in a shocking haul — a baby shark with a “human face.” The fisherman, Abdullah Nuren, made the strange discovery near Rote Ndao in the East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia....

The failed rescue was “one of the saddest days I have lived in the ocean,” said the photographer who snapped a haunting photograph of the maimed whale. Francis Pérez/InstagramA baby pilot whale shrieks in pain after its tail was almost cut off completely by a boat propeller. There will be no end to the suffering of marine animals at the hands of humans until we are mobilized to enact real change....

Experience the awesome size of Martian volcano Olympus Mons, the tallest mountain in the solar system, three times the height of Everest. NASAOlympus Mons, the tallest mountain in the solar system, from above. It dwarfs Mount Everest, boasts a width about as large as the state of Arizona, and is the tallest mountain in the solar system. This is Olympus Mons, the most impressive peak known to exist. Olympus Mons Located in the Tharsis Montes region of Mars, near the equator in the planet’s western hemisphere, Olympus Mons (Latin for “Mount Olympus”) is a volcano that stretches 374 miles across and rises 16 miles high — about three times the height of Everest....