Rats can be a real nuisance. They get into our food, our trash, and even our homes. But when applied in the right (or rather, wrong) ways, they can turn into something far more sinister: a form of torture so cruel that the very mention of it can be enough to compel someone to spill …
Rat Torture: One Of History’s Most Barbaric Torture Methods? Read More »
50 years of conquest saw Mongol armies at the gates of Hungary, Persia, and along the Yangtze facing the last remaining Chinese resistance. The Mongols thought they were invincible and with good reason. A succession of aggressive leaders started with Genghis Khan in 1211. This extended to their last truly expansionist ruler, his grandson Kublai …
Cooperation vs. Chaos: The Mongolian Invasions of China and Japan Read More »
You may have read about Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional monstrous hound in the famous Sherlock Holmes story titled, “The Hound of the Baskervilles.” But in the 18th century, a real-life bloodthirsty beast terrorized Gévaudan, an ancient Southern French county that today lies in the Department of Lozère. Known as La Bête du Gévaudan or the …
The Beast of Gévaudan: Terror of the French Countryside Read More »
If you’ve ever seen the Batman movies, you’re probably familiar with the Joker’s leering, painted-on grin. It’s a bloody smile that stretches far beyond the corners of his mouth, making it evident that his cheeks have been sliced open from ear to ear. What you may not realize, is that this was an actual form …
The lost city of Atlantis: the ancient mythical civilization that sank beneath the waves and supposedly lies somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean waiting to be rediscovered. If you’re like 57% percent of Americans, you may believe that lost civilizations like Atlantis exist. And that’s perhaps what makes the story of Atlantis so fascinating. Appearing in two …
Born as a slave in the early 1800s, Henry “Box” Brown escaped from slavery and became a well-known abolitionist and stage performer. Today, he is an icon in African-American slaves’ fight for freedom. Let’s get to know this courageous and unforgettable character in history. Early Years Henry Brown might have been born in 1815 or …
Henry Box Brown: The slave who mailed himself to freedom Read More »
Also known as the Second Indochina War, the Vietnam War was a long and bloody conflict, spanning 20 years from 1955 to 1975. The war was primarily a clash of ideologies between the communist government of North Vietnam and the capitalist government of South Vietnam. Throughout the war and the events leading up to it, …
Inside the Third Reich’s concentration camps were scores of evil guards capable of committing horrible and sadistic acts. When the Allies tried the perpetrators of the Holocaust after the end of the war, the public was surprised by the beastly behavior of female guards like Irma Grese and Elisabeth Volkenrath, who often committed worse acts …
Jenny Barkmann: The “Beautiful Spectre” of Stutthof Read More »
According to Ancient Greek mythology, Hermes was known for his cunning and mischievous nature. On the day he was born, it was said that Hermes invented the lyre, stole 50 head of cattle from his brother Apollo, and then hid the cattle in a cave so well that even Apollo couldn’t find them. When Apollo …
In June 1995, the neighborhood of Golf Manor, Michigan, was suddenly confused as several men converged on a small house in Commerce Township. Three men wore ventilated moon suits and swarmed the house’s backyard. They then started breaking down the door of a shed with electric saws. The house belonged to Michael Polasek and Patty …
A Backyard Project That Went Radioactive: David Hahn’s Nuclear Reactor Read More »
