The Story of Child Shooting Her Middle-Aged Husband in Tennessee, 1942
This post was originally published on this siteIn June 1942, 14-year-old child bride Mattie Pearl Manning (née Morgan) and her father, Frank Morgan, were both […]
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Grave Stones Surrounding the Hardy Tree in St. Pancras Old Church, London
This post was originally published on this siteThe Hardy Tree was a famous ash tree in the churchyard of St Pancras Old Church in London, […]
Australia’s Rabbit Disaster Started With Just 24 Animals
This post was originally published on this siteIn 1859, English settler Thomas Austin (a wealthy pastoralist) released about 24 European rabbits (a mix of wild […]
Did You Know That the Famous “Stone Bodies” of Pompeii Aren’t Actually Human Remains?
This post was originally published on this siteDid you know that the famous “bodies” of Pompeii aren’t actually human remains? Many people assume that the […]
Here’s the Story Behind the Infamous Final Scene From John Waters’ “Pink Flamingos” (1972)
This post was originally published on this siteIn the final scene of the 1972 cult classic Pink Flamingos, the drag queen Divine famously eats fresh […]
French Children Were Served Wine at School on Their Lunch Breaks, All the Way Up Until 1956
This post was originally published on this siteIn 1956, the French government officially banned the serving of wine, beer, and cider in school cafeterias to […]
In the 1930s, Robert E. Cornish Constructed a Bizarre Tilting Table to Reverse Death
This post was originally published on this siteBorn Robert Edwin Cornish on December 21, 1903, in California (often associated with San Francisco or Berkeley), Cornish […]
The Incredible Survival Story of Kazuko Higa, aka the “Queen of Anatahan”
This post was originally published on this siteThe story of Kazuko Higa, often sensationalized as the “Queen of Anatahan,” is one of the most bizarre […]
The Amazing Story of Outlaw John Shaw’s Last Drink in 1905
This post was originally published on this siteIn the early hours of April 8, 1905, two men, John Shaw and his partner William Evans (who […]
Lawnchair Larry’s Epic Balloon Flight in 1982
This post was originally published on this siteLarry Walters, nicknamed “Lawnchair Larry” or the “Lawn Chair Pilot,” was a 33-year-old truck driver from California who, […]
In 1949, the O’Hare Family From Liverpool Had 15 of Their 16 Children Between the Ages of 0 and 17
This post was originally published on this siteThe O’Hare family of Liverpool gained national attention in 1949–1950 as one of Britain’s largest families in the […]
The Heroes of Chernobyl, Who Saved Europe From Nuclear Fallout
This post was originally published on this siteTen days after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, officials discovered a new, potentially greater threat: a massive pool of […]
Supercars in the Office Taken by George Grippinos During the 1990s
This post was originally published on this siteGeorge Grippinos is a photographer renowned for documenting the extravagant, high-stakes culture of 1980s and 1990s Wall Street, […]
Vibration Therapy Treatment for Headaches, ca. 1895
This post was originally published on this siteHeadaches have troubled humans for millennia, long before modern medicine provided effective treatments. One of the strangest historical […]
Keith Richards Wearing a “Who the F*ck is Mick Jagger?” Tshirt During the Rolling Stones’ 1975 Tour of the Americas
This post was originally published on this siteIn 1975, Keith Richards famously wore the “Who the F*ck is Mick Jagger?” t-shirt as a tongue-in-cheek joke […]
Thomas Midgley Jr., the Most Harmful Inventor in History
This post was originally published on this siteThomas Midgley Jr., born in 1889 in Dayton, Ohio, was an inventive American chemical engineer whose work profoundly […]
Sharing a Cigarette During the Tour de France, ca. 1927
This post was originally published on this siteDuring the Tour de France in 1927, a captivating moment was captured as two cyclists shared a cigarette […]
In 1963, Heinz Meixner Orchestrated a Daring Escape From East Berlin to Smuggle His Fiancée and Her Mother
This post was originally published on this siteBerlin Wall was erected in 1961 to divide east and west Berlin and, more precisely, to prevent people […]
The “Death Diary” of Renowned Herpetologist Karl P. Schmidt in 1957
This post was originally published on this siteIn 1957, renowned herpetologist Karl P. Schmidt documented his own death in a meticulous scientific account that newspapers […]
The Incredible Story of 11-Year-Old Terry Jo Duperrault, the Sole Survivor of a Massacre at Sea in November 1961
This post was originally published on this siteIn November 1961, 11-year-old Terry Jo Duperrault became the sole survivor of a mass murder aboard the yacht […]
In 1955, Two Traders Cornered Nearly All Onion Supplies in Chicago and Pocketed Roughly $100 Million
This post was originally published on this siteIn 1955, two men, Vincent Kosuga (an onion farmer) and Sam Siegel (a businessman), executed a massive cornering […]
McArthur Wheeler, the Man Who Robbed a Bank Thinking Lemon Juice Made Him Invisible in 1995
This post was originally published on this siteIn 1995, 44-year-old McArthur Wheeler became the unintentional face of a major psychological breakthrough after attempting one of […]
Daguerreotype Portrait of “Mona Lisa of the Deep” Found in the Wreck of a Ship That Sank in 1857
This post was originally published on this siteIn 2014, an extraordinary discovery emerged from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean: a hauntingly well-preserved daguerreotype of […]
The Dangers of the Baby Feeding Bottles in the Victorian Era
This post was originally published on this sitePatented around 1879–1880, these glass or earthenware “banjo” shaped bottles allowed babies to self-feed. Many had sweet sounding […]
In the 1950s, Hospital Patients Can Buy Cigarettes Right From Their Beds
This post was originally published on this siteIn the 1950s, selling cigarettes in hospitals was a routine, accepted practice, with staff often wheeling carts directly […]