Image via Randy Miramontez / Shutterstock.com Image via catwalker / Shutterstock.com Image via s_bukley / Shutterstock.com 731: In 1799, a young boy named Conrad Reed found a 17-pound “rock” while playing at a creek on his family farm in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. He and his family kept it as a doorstop for three years. His father, John Reed, impressed […]
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(Image credit: NASA/ESA) Image via Featureflash / Shutterstock.com 721: The “Hercules beetle” lives in the rainforests of Central and South America and is known for being able to lift more than 850 times its own weight, or about 8 kilograms (17.6 lbs). Pound for pound, this makes it one of the strongest animals on the planet. For reference, if a […]
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It wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration to say that the oldest district of Athens, Plaka, might be one of the most unique, beautiful and historic neighborhoods on earth. Also known as the “Neighborhood of the Gods,” Plaka lies right under the cradle of Western civilization, the Acropolis. Plaka is filled with many archaeological monuments and sites spanning millennia. It’s […]
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Image via: Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com 711: According to Mike Tyson, his ex-wife Robin Givens was sleeping with Brad Pitt when Tyson and she were still married. Tyson stated in an interview about the specific incident, “I was getting a divorce. I was going to my lawyer’s office to divorce her that day but I wanted to sneak in…This particular […]
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701) Love that “new car smell”? You may be smelling beaver butt secretions, which you’ve also probably at one point or another eaten. Secretions from beavers’ castor sacks located next to their anal glands have a musky/vanilla scent. This substance, called castoreum, is commonly used in various perfumes, in some cases used to create the “new car smell,” and used […]
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lev radin / Shutterstock.com Featureflash / Shutterstock.com Image via @SirPatStew 1. According to the Florentine Codex, among other sources, it is believed that the Ancient Aztecs were clean freaks, particularly compared to Europeans at the time. The Aztecs would bathe regularly (sometimes even twice per day, according to conquistador Andres de Tapia who claimed Montezuma did this), used deodorants, soap […]
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Despite the awesomeness that is the 300 film (and the sequel)- the epic battles, the amazing directing, the incredible cinematography by Zack Snyder, and all the impressive special effects- our mission in this site is very specific, and thus, this article focuses on the historical inaccuracies of this movie. Identifying some of these historical inaccuracies, starting from Sparta’s then-political system, […]
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Jon Le-Bon / Shutterstock.com Featureflash / Shutterstock.com carrie-nelson / Shutterstock.com meunierd / Shutterstock.com Text Version: Fact #681: There’s an urban legend that states that Coca-Cola was originally green in color. In fact, the original formula for Coca-Cola was also brown like it is today. The whole “Coca-Cola was green” myth started around the same time Coca-Cola was commonly sold in green […]
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Featureflash / Shutterstock.com Featureflash / Shutterstock.com Text Version: Fact #671: You should think twice before saying, “When Hell freezes over.” In fact, it freezes over quite frequent in the small village of Hell, Norway where sub-zero temperatures are not that uncommon in the winter. The name for the town derives from the Old Norse “hellir,” which meant “cliff cave” or […]
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Greece is one of the most historically rich nations, with a culture and civilization that exceeds five thousand years of continuous human activity, producing such notable historical influencers as Alexander the Great, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Homer; it’s no wonder that some other individuals well-known throughout Greece remain unknown to other nations. One such individual is Athanasios Diakos who is […]
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In ancient Greece, since laws were unwritten at first, the social pyramid’s elite of nobles and rich men interpreted and twisted the aforementioned laws for their own exclusive benefit. Of course, as usually happens in such cases, this elite claimed the laws were god-given, and subsequently, holy and to be blindly followed by all members of society… except themselves. At […]
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Indefinably fearless and nearly unstoppable—this doesn’t come close to adequately describing the boxing phenomenon Harry Greb. “The Pittsburgh Windmill” as he’s known among his most devout circle of fans, was born in June of 1894. Boxing historian Eric Jorgensen had this to say about Greb: Greb may have been the greatest fighter, pound-for-pound, who ever lived. Certainly, he was among […]
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Several artists have died on stage while conducting live performances; however, one case is highly unique and probably the most ironic at the same time. The incident involved actress Edith Webster. Webster was a relatively unknown actress who never managed to make a name for herself during her lifetime, but left her mark in history with her bizarre death. During […]
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When younger generations hear the word ‘dominoes,’ they usually associate it with the famous board game, while others–especially food lovers–might connect it with a delicious pizza. For those who are more politically aware, the word probably brings thoughts of the Cold War and the threat of the spread of communism. In addition, most economists today love to use the word […]
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If you’ve ever sat around thinking, “What if Superman was a communist?” (Who hasn’t, right?) Well, wonder no more. The answer was masterfully provided in Superman: Red Son written by famed comic book writer and member of the “Most Excellent Order of the British Empire”, Mark Millar. The specific comic book in question was a mini-series (3 issues) published by […]
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On May 8, 1828, the man who founded The International Committee of the Red Cross, Henry Dunant, was born. In 1922, almost a century after his birth, the eighth of May was declared a day dedicated to the International Red Cross, in this way honoring its founder. Dunant’s dream was to prevent and alleviate human suffering, without discrimination. Despite being […]
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Jay asks: When/How did the Cold War start and finish? The Cold War was the geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle between two world superpowers, the USA and the USSR, that started in 1947 at the end of the Second World War and lasted until the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 26, 1991. The Cold War was marked by continuous rivalry between […]
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For as far back as we are able to look into the prehistory of the human race, music has been a crucial part of the life of humans. Some scholars even speculate that human music may have come before language. From the beginning, people living in little groups sang and danced to self-made music. Drums and pipes were readily developed, […]
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