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The unnamed patient emigrated from a rural area of Guatemala where he may have picked up a tapeworm 20 years ago. Wikimedia CommonsThough the tapeworm had died, its presence still inflicted damage. For 20 years, a man living in Boston had a ticking time bomb in his brain. But he didn’t know it until he started having seizures. Then, doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital realized that the 38-year-old’s head had long played host to a tapeworm....

The Doolittle Raid, with 16 planes targeting six different Japanese cities, allowed the United States to rebound after its devastating losses at Pearl Harbor. Wikimedia CommonsAircraft burning after the Japanese attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. On December 8, 1941, the American battle fleet at Pearl Harbor was a smoldering ruin. Four battleships were sunk, 188 aircraft destroyed, and 2,403 people were killed. Emerging from the shock of the attack, American morale was low....

The astounding tattoo art of Japan’s most feared gangs, Chinese monsters made of paper, family photos from the world’s wealthiest and most dangerous crime lord, Americans reveal why they own guns, and incredible panda facts and photos. Rarely Photos Of Pablo Escobar As A “Normal” Family Man When you’re nicknamed “The King of Cocaine,” most wouldn’t expect you to live a normal life. And it is well known that the infamous Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar did not lead a conventional life....

An amazing look at the photographs and events that have defined human history – five of history’s most iconic photographs. Iconic Photographs: Tiananmen Square ‘Tank Man’, 1989 Despite being an event that China would like the world to forget, this image of the anonymous ‘Tank Man’ who stood in front of advancing tanks the day after the Tiananmen Square Massacre spoke volumes around the world about the struggle for democracy in China....

From the man who memorized its first 70,000 digits to the insane true length of the number, these pi facts will make any math fan happy. Every March 14, we — well, at least the math geeks among us — celebrate Pi Day. The reason is simple: pi, the mathematical constant representing the ratio of any circle’s circumference to its diameter, is often written as 3.14, as is March 14. But the truth about pi — very likely the most important, and most mysterious, number on Earth — is a whole lot more complicated....

One of the minds behind the first electromechanical computer, Grace Hopper also pioneered a computer language that revolutionized the future of programming — which is still in use today. During her time in the United States Navy, Grace Hopper made an astounding number of technological contributions. Ironically, she only did so after being deemed unfit to serve due to her age and weight. Hopper resourcefully found a way to enlist, anyway, and worked to advance computers that changed history forever....

Hermann Göring was a flying ace, creator of the Gestapo, and one-time president of the Reichstag — he was also overweight and into drugs. Hermann Göring was the second-most powerful man in the Third Reich. As Adolf Hitler’s ruthless right-hand man, Göring was instrumental in the Führer’s rise to power. He helped Hitler to secure the Chancellorship of Germany in 1933 and he created the infamous Gestapo — the Nazi secret police that not only suppressed any opposition to Nazism in Germany but also facilitated the Holocaust by helping to round up Jewish people....

Discover how “Lobster Boy” Grady Stiles got his “claws” and how he eventually began using them to commit murder. For more than a century, a peculiar physical condition known as ectrodactyly has afflicted the Stiles family. The rare congenital deformity makes hands look like lobster claws as the middle fingers are either missing or seemingly fused to the thumb and pinky. While many may have viewed this condition as a handicap, for the Stiles family it spelled opportunity....

Built by the kings of the Pagan Empire, the existing temples of Bagan have outlasted pillaging armies and natural disasters. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 1 of 32Bagan is best seen from the air.Neville Wootton/Flickr 2 of 32A girl admires souvenirs in front of a temple in Bagan. Mladen Antonov/AFP via Getty Images 3 of 32Hot air balloons flying over the Thatbyinnyu Temple and the pagodas of Bagan, Myanmar....

A beloved figure of Ghanaian folklore, Anansi is a spider god and a charming trickster who triumphs over larger and more powerful adversaries by using his wits alone. The mythological figure Anansi may be unfamiliar to many Americans — but his DNA can be found virtually everywhere stories are told. From elementary school lessons to American pop culture, the Ghanaian spider god has made a centuries-long journey from West Africa that spans almost the entire globe....

Enos became the first animal to orbit Earth in an American vessel in 1961 and his trip paved the way for further space exploration. In the 1960s, space was the ultimate frontier. No quest was more honorable than exploring that vast expanse of stars, orbiting the planet or rocketing through the dangers of the unknown to plant a celebratory flag on Earth’s biggest satellite. But it was a chimp, not a human, who first braved a trip to space and back in an American vessel....

Henry Willson was an unscrupulous talent agent who molded gay stars into the “beefcake” ideal of 1950s Hollywood — while also preying on them. Hollywood in the 1940s was not a progressive place. As a premier talent agent who happened to be gay, Henry Willson understood that better than most. He also knew how to protect his closeted clients from the press by any means necessary — even involving the mob....

Known as the world’s happiest animal, the smiling quokka of Western Australia’s Rottnest Island is like an excitable kangaroo that’s the size of a cat. Even if the name doesn’t sound familiar, you’ve likely seen a quokka before. They’ve become famous across the internet for their fuzzy squirrel-like appearance, their photogenic smiles, and their friendly attitude. What’s more, quokkas have little fear of humans, which means getting them to appear alongside you in a cute selfie isn’t too hard....

Patricia Krenwinkel once thought she’d become a nun. Instead, she became a part of Charles Manson’s “family” and killed in his name. No one expected that Patricia Krenwinkel would become a murderer. In fact, no one expected much from her at all. Born into a broken home and hopelessly unsure of her body and character, Krenwinkel struggled to find a place in life. Unfortunately, she found it in Charles Manson — and sent the trajectory of her lackluster life into one of chaos and destruction....

Throughout each of his murders committed in his house in Kansas City, Missouri, Robert Berdella kept detailed notes and photos of his tortured and raped victims. A quiet spring night in Kansas City’s historic Hyde Park in 1988 was shattered when a man – wearing nothing but a dog collar around his neck – leaped from a second-story window of a Robert Berdella’s house where he was being held captive. He crashed to the ground and ran to a nearby meter maid, who called the police....

An inside look at the Seattle grunge music scene that gave the world Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, and Pearl Jam. In the mid-1980s, Seattle, Washington incubated a divergent rock scene unique to the area. Combining elements of punk and heavy metal with an introspective lyrical approach, the “Seattle sound” developed while the rest of America fawned over synthesizers and big hair. Later known as grunge, this budding scene sprouted bands like Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden, invigorating a nationwide love affair with alternative rock....

For Lee Israel, forgery started out as a way to help her sick cat, but it quickly snowballed into years of literary crimes. Andrew Henderson/The New York TimesLee Israel in 2008. The story of a down-on-her-luck author who turned to a life of crime to survive sounds like a plot fit only for the movies. And while it is the subject of an upcoming film, there is a real-life figure who inspired the story: author Lee Israel....

“Road to Atlantis” uncovered in the Pacific, ancient Egyptian ibis mummy found in a closet at Cornell, centuries-old fertility complex unearthed in Turkey. Scientists Just Discovered What Looks Like A Paved Pathway On The Floor Of The Pacific YouTubeWhat at first looks like a paved road is actually a unique formation of hyaloclastite, a volcanic rock forged during eruptions before settling on the seafloor. Northwest of Hawaii lies the Papahānaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a 582,578-square-mile protected area set aside for conservation efforts....

The strength of Tsar Bomba was bigger than Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined — and wasn’t even as strong as it could have been. Wikimedia CommonsA recreation of the Tsar Bomba. The idea was a simple one: create a nuclear bomb that could place the Soviet Union ahead of the United States in the nuclear arms race. The goal was to scare the rest of the world into submission, to make them fear the might of the Soviet Union....

Carl Wilhelm Scheele ranks as one of the greatest chemists of all time, but he paid a terrible price for this distinction. Born in 1742 in present-day Germany, Carl Wilhelm Scheele learned about chemicals and pharmaceuticals from his parents starting at a young age. When he was 14, he was sent away to Gothenburg to become the apprentice of a family friend who was a pharmacist there. There, he spent eight years studying chemistry and conducting experiments late into the night....