The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of at least 40,000 Americans. Among them, the sister of a 1918 Spanish flu victim — who died alone at an assisted living facility in Texas. Twitter/KXANSelma Esther Ryan wasn’t even born when her sister Esther died of the Spanish flu at age five. More than 40,000 people in the United States have died so far as a result of the coronavirus pandemic....
Viral media-loathing cynics have a tough pill to swallow: much to their chagrin, 2014’s Ice Bucket Challenge actually succeeded. Indeed, the ALS Association announced on Monday that the social media-oriented campaign — which encouraged millions to dump buckets of frigid water onto their heads to raise money and awareness for Lou Gehrig’s disease — raised enough money to make a major medical breakthrough. The campaign raised approximately $115 million in just two months, two-thirds of which went to research and development, the nonprofit wrote....
The infamous Pizza Connection trial eventually revealed how the Sicilian Mafia imported more than $1.6 billion worth of heroin into the U.S. throughout the early 1980s by using seemingly normal pizza parlors across the country as wholesale distributors. Bettmann/Getty ImagesAn undated photo of Gaetano Badalamenti, who ran a billion-dollar heroin smuggling empire that became known as the Pizza Connection. From 1979 to 1984, the Sicilian Mafia imported and distributed $1.65 billion worth of heroin across the Northeast and Midwestern states of America....
Meteor storm that once devastated Russia due back, Irish famine victims’ remains found, sole Frida Kahlo voice recording uncovered. Earth Is Approaching A Meteor Swarm Believed To Have Destroyed A Russian Forest 100 Years Ago Universal History Archive/Getty ImagesAn explosion believed to have been caused by a Taurid meteor shower burned 800 miles of trees in Russia over a century ago. In 1908 a cluster of meteors, known as the Taurid swarm, hurtling through outer space found their way to the Tunguska forest in Siberia....
Ted Bundy’s mom defended him to the bitter end, saying “You’ll always be my precious son.” On November 24, 1946, a young woman gave birth at the Elizabeth Lund Home For Unwed Mothers in Burlington, Vermont. Her name was Eleanor Louise Cowell, later Louise Bundy, and she was just 22 years old at the time that she became Ted Bundy’s mom. Cowell was urged to give the child up as the stigma surrounding a child born of wedlock extended not only to the unwed woman but to the woman’s family as well....
The Republican Party has been half of American politics for over 160 years now, and today’s incarnation scarcely resembles the Grand Old Party that started with an 1854 anti-slavery meeting in Wisconsin. The Republican Party started with a few meetings of Whigs, Abolitionists, and some disaffected Northern Democrats in the northern Midwest in 1854. They were mostly unhappy about the Whig Party’s failure to stop the spread of slavery into the Western territories and the perceived corruption of the Democratic Party....
Just reading about these famous spies and their tales of sex and secrecy will make your life seem more intriguing. Wikimedia CommonsMata Hari, exotic dancer and one of the world’s most famous spies, poses for the camera. These spies made a name for themselves at home and abroad for their compelling mixture of sex, scandal, and secret dealings. Here are ten of the most dubious, famous spies in history: Famous Spies: Mata Hari, German Spy The GuardianThough Mata Hari wasn’t afraid of showing skin, she was almost never photographed without a bra....
From candy canes to hand grenades, these hilariously weird and funny X-ray images prove that people will stick anything up any orifice. If you want to see images of the human body pushed to its breaking point and beyond, become a radiologist. After all, every harrowing ER trip involving bizarre objects that find their way into the body is documented in X-rays. And naturally, some of those images are pretty freaky....
These colorized versions of vintage black-and-white crime scene photos reveal a unique perspective on the murders, mobsters, and mayhem of decades past. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: Amazing Vintage Crime Scenes Of New York, Then And Now 33 Chilling Photos Of Vintage Crime Scenes At The Birth Of Forensic Photography 30 Great Depression Pictures Brought To Life In Stunning Color...
Archaeologists found exotic animal remains, seeds, and nuts in the Colosseum’s drainage system that give new insight into life in ancient Rome. Carl Simon/United Archives/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesRoman gladiator battles were bloody, but they evidently didn’t spoil the appetites of spectators. For the past year, archaeologists have been conducting a study of the drainage systems beneath the Colosseum in Rome — which has led to the discovery of bone fragments of bears, big cats, and even small dogs....
The scene of the San Bernardino police shoot out. On December 2nd, a team of assailants killed 14 people and injured 17 in the California town of San Bernardino — making this the worst mass shooting since Sandy Hook, and meaning that this year the United States has seen 355 mass shootings. Here’s everything we know about the mass shooting so far: Who was behind them: Police have identified two people, Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik, as armed suspects behind the shootings....
After being left virtually uninhabited, Great Blasket Island has now accepted more than 38,000 applications from around the world for the position of its next caretaker. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 1 of 24Occasional historic ruins of the evacuated residents dot the green hillsides of Great Blasket Island. advwench/Flickr 2 of 24The Blasket Islands are the westernmost point in Europe....
The 26-year-old Guatemalan risked hypothermia, hypoxia, being crushed by equipment, and falling to his death. onlyindade/InstagramThe 26-year-old was given water by tarmac workers before the authorities arrived. For the baggage handlers and tarmac crew of Miami International Airport, the morning of Nov. 27, 2021, seemed like any other. That all changed when American Airlines Flight 1182 landed and a 26-year-old man climbed out of its landing gear compartment — where he had survived a 2....
The marriage of billionaire J. Howard Marshall and stripper-turned-model Anna Nicole Smith shook up the media in 1994 — and eventually led to a Supreme Court case. TwitterJ. Howard Marshall and Anna Nicole Smith on their wedding day. On June 27, 1994, J. Howard Marshall married Anna Nicole Smith. The billionaire was 89; Smith, a former stripper, was 26. Their marriage raised eyebrows — and Marshall’s death just 14 months later threw Smith and Marshall’s family into a decades-long dispute about his fortune....
Source: Blogspot Kindled by his love of topography, Dutch artist Kees Veenenbos’ career started as hobby and eventually transformed into a grand portfolio of digital imagery. His Mars surface renderings are filled with such an amazing degree of realism that they have been used by NASA as a vital part of its exploration of the red planet. Veenenbos uses the rendering program Terragen to create the astonishing landscapes that have been featured in National Geographic as well as the highly acclaimed scientific series NOVA....
James Morison claimed that his vegetable pills could cure anything from smallpox to dysentery — and thousands of British people believed him. Wikimedia CommonsJames Morison in a publicity image for his fake medical college. In the 19th century, when medical knowledge was lacking among doctors and the undereducated public was easily deceived, scam artists and quack doctors reportedly outnumbered real ones by three to one. But one quack stood tall above the rest for the sheer brazenness of his scam: a British businessman named James Morison....
The witness whose testimony sealed Walter Forbes’ fate admitted to her lies in 2017, saying that two local men had threatened to harm her and her family if she didn’t identify Forbes as the arsonist. TwitterWalter Forbes is trying to hold no grudges — and move forward. Walter Forbes was a full-time student at Jackson Community College in Michigan in 1982. The following spring, he was a convicted murderer and arsonist who was sentenced to life in prison....
Nazi propaganda photos like these helped bring an entire nation under Hitler’s thumb in ways that are still relevant even today. Like this gallery?Share it: Share Flipboard Email And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts: 1 of 30Original caption: In his speech to the Reichstag on October 6th, the Fuhrer offered a hand of peace and outlined the new order in eastern Europe. “But I do not doubt for a second that Germany wins....
Pilar Abel has publicly insisted since 2015 that she is the artist’s daughter, saying: “The only thing I’m missing is a mustache.” Juan Medina/Reuters/Paul Almasy/Corbis/GettyPilar Abel (left) claimed both her mother and grandmother believed Dalí was her father. A five-year saga during which a psychic claimed to be the daughter of Salvador Dalí ended this week when a Madrid court ruled that not only were they not related, but also that the woman now has to pay for exhuming the artist’s body in the first place....
Marie Cruz, who renamed herself Sacheen Littlefeather, made history at the Academy Awards in 1973 with an impassioned speech that was met with boos, but many believe she fabricated her Native American heritage. Bettmann/Getty Images Sacheen Littlefeather declining Marlon Brando’s Oscar in 1973. One of the most shocking moments in Academy Awards history came in 1973, when Marlon Brando won Best Actor for his role in The Godfather. Then, it wasn’t Brando who mounted the stage, but a 26-year-old Native American activist named Sacheen Littlefeather....
