In 1807 the Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, might be said to have reached the pinnacle of his power. He had just defeated the two great nations of Central Europe, Austria and Prussia. Then, with the Treaty of Tilsit with Tsarist Russia, France became the dominant power in Europe. The borders of the French Empire …
If a Native American from the interior region of North America, say from the Great Lakes, had traveled eastwards to what we now call New England in 1610, they would have traversed an area that was little different from how it had been 200 years earlier. The local Algonquian Indians dominated the region in their villages, …
In the spring of 1944, the Western Allies undertook one of the most crucial campaigns on the Southern Front of the Second World War in Europe. This was the Battle of Monte Cassino, in which the Allies sought to break through the German and Italian line in Central Italy and open a pathway to seizing …
Wojtek the Bear: A Surprising Hero of the Second World War Read More »
What would you do if you found out that your mother was lying to you your entire life? This is the question that Gypsy Rose Blanchard had to answer when she discovered that her mother, Dee Dee, had been telling people that Gypsy was terminally ill when she was healthy. The story of Dee Dee …
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In 1999, Hisashi Ouchi worked at the Japan Nuclear Fuel Conversion Company in Tokaimura, Japan. Due to an unfortunate accident, a chemical reaction caused an explosion that exposed him and two other technicians to massive does of radiation. He was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late. Despite the grim outlook of his …
Hisashi Ouchi: The Irradiated Man Kept Alive For 83 Days Read More »
Eben Byers was a wealthy American businessman who became famous in the early 1930s after ingesting large amounts of Radium or Radithor. What is Radium, and what does it do? It is a radioactive element discovered in 1898 by Marie Curie and her husband, Pierre. When ingested, it can cause severe health problems, including cancer. Eben …
The Strange Story of Eben Byers, Who Drank Radium Until His Jaw Fell Off Read More »
What was it like to travel on the Oregon trail? This is a question that many people have asked over the years. The Oregon Trail was an important route for many people in the 1800s. It allowed them to travel from Missouri to Oregon. This post will take a closer look at what life was …
In 1940 a new film was released by Walt Disney Productions, which sought to capitalize on the success of the studio’s first feature film a few years earlier, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The new film, called Pinocchio, was the tale of a wooden puppet called Pinocchio carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto. Pinocchio is soon …
On November 17, 1961, Michael Rockefeller disappeared in New Guinea. He was on an expedition to study the local tribes and their culture. The 23-year-old had been on a journey up the Aruwimi River when his canoe capsized. He was never seen again. There are many theories about what happened to Rockefeller, but the most …
Some medical cases are so strange that they almost seem to be from a science fiction novel. One such case is the story of Adam Rainer, the man who was born a dwarf and became a giant. It is a story that has fascinated doctors and scientists for years and remains somewhat of a mystery. …
The Strange Story of Adam Rainer: The Man Who Was Born a Dwarf And Became a Giant Read More »
