People »
Mark Twain and His Hobby of Collecting Girls from 10-16 Years Old
Today I found out that Samuel Clemens (aka, Mark Twain) used to “collect” girls between the ages of 10-16 years old. On February 12, 1908, Clemens said, “I suppose we are all collectors… As
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Duncan Hines was a Real Person
Today I found out that Duncan Hines was a real person. The name “Duncan Hines” might not ring any bells for you until you walk down the dessert aisle in a supermarket. His name
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How the Newbery Award Got Its Name
Katie asks: Why is the Newbery Award called that? The Newbery Award is named after a man, John Newbery, who is considered more or less the “Father of Children’s Literature”. Newbery was born in
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The Man Who Ate an Airplane and Three Other People Who Eat Weird Things
John Cochran impressed Survivor fans this past season by winning a food challenge in which he had to eat beetle larvae, shipworms, a balut (duck/bird embryo complete with feathers and a beak), and finally
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Joseph Pujol, World Famous Farter
When asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up,” most children reply with the standard, “firefighter, police officer, teacher”. Some go less traditional with “circus performer, singer or professional athlete”. I
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The Forgotten Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, Norton I
Today I found out about the largely forgotten colorful benevolent dictator of the United States and protector of Mexico, Emperor Norton I. His Imperial Majesty Joshua Abraham Norton I was born between 1811 and
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The Bizarre Tale of Phineas Gage
What was supposed to be just another day on the job for 25-year-old Phineas Gage turned out to be anything but, with events transpiring to make him a legend – in neurology anyway. On that fateful
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Facts About the Great Genghis Khan
He died nearly 800 years ago, and yet we all still know his name. From 1190 to 1227, Genghis Khan ruled an empire that eventually stretched from Russia to China. He is responsible for
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The Man Who Survived Two Nuclear Bomb Attacks
Tsutomu Yamaguchi died from stomach cancer. The cancer part perhaps isn’t surprising given that Yamaguchi is currently the only person officially recognized by the Japanese government as having lived through the atomic bombings of
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10 Interesting Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Ben Franklin
Ben Franklin was a man of many and varied accomplishments- a Renaissance man in the grand tradition of Leonardo da Vinci. He was a writer, scientist, musician, inventor and innovator, despite only ever receiving
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Before He Was President, JFK Was a Bestselling Author and Won a Pulitzer Prize
Most remember John Fitzgerald Kennedy as our youthful and inspiring 35th President who, with his elegant wife, turned the White House into Camelot until his assassination in November 1963. But what few today recall
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The Siberian Family Who Didn’t See Another Human for Over 40 Years
To this day, the Siberian wilderness is still one of the most isolated places in the world. Known as the Siberian taiga (meaning “forest” in Russian), its harsh, cold climate greatly discourages human habitation.
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The Man Who Personally Executed Over 7000 People in 28 Days, One at a Time
Today I found out about Vasili Blokhin, the “Most Prolific Executioner” of all time, according to the Guinness World Records. Born to a Russian peasant family in 1895, as a young man he quickly
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The Guy Who Gave Hitler the Finger
Bob Young was born in Bakersfield, CA., on January 15, 1916. As a relay runner, he was to compete in the 1936 Olympics and would go on to win a silver medal. But despite
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The Man Who Survived Three Consecutive Hangings
Joseph Samuels (some sources list his surname as “Samuel”) was an English criminal, born in 1780. After being arrested for robbery at the age of 15, Samuels was eventually convicted and shipped to Australia
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The Tale of the Man Who Nearly Drowned While Falling from the Sky
The man was Lt. Col William Rankin. How did he almost drown in the sky? In 1959, while ejecting from his F-8 Crusader at 47,000 ft (14,325 meters) and at a speed of Mach
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20 Interesting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Facts
This is a guest post by List25.com. 1) His name was originally Michael, not Martin. His father was also Michael King, hence why Martin Luther King Jr. was originally named Michael King Jr. However,
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The Man Who was a Dwarf and Later a Giant
The man was Adam Rainer born in Graz, Austria sometime in 1899 (the exact date isn’t known). Rainer’s parents were neither tall nor short for the time, with his father measuring in at 5
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