For centuries, Europeans used human remains as medicine, from powdered mummies and skull tinctures to blood from executions. Welcome to the grisly history of corpse medicine.
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For centuries, Europeans used human remains as medicine, from powdered mummies and skull tinctures to blood from executions. Welcome to the grisly history of corpse medicine.
Edward Lansdale used folklore, fear, and covert psychological warfare during the Cold War. His vampire psyop raises unsettling questions about propaganda, morality, and war crimes.
The Constitution nearly collapsed before it was written. Explore the tense 1787 Constitutional Convention, Franklin’s prayer speech, and the compromise that saved America’s government.
Albert K. Bender founded one of the first UFO investigation groups, tried to contact aliens by telepathy, and helped launch the Men in Black legend.
Did Jenny, the Titanic cat, really predict disaster? Explore the strange legend of her kittens, Jim Mulholland, Violet Jessop, and the story behind the sinking.
Explore the strange, spectacular history of world’s fairs, from the Crystal Palace and Eiffel Tower to Ferris wheels, futuristic pavilions, inventions, oddities, and modern expos.
Before a filibuster meant endless Senate speeches, it meant private military adventurers invading foreign countries. William Walker made the old meaning infamous.
Amos Atkinson took hostages in a Melbourne restaurant and demanded Chopper Read’s release. Police ended the siege by calling his mother. Sherlock Holmes would have nodded.
Oregon banned slavery before statehood, but its early laws also tried to exclude Black people entirely. Explore the disturbing history of Oregon’s Black exclusion laws.
René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle found the Mississippi, claimed Louisiana for France, then missed the river completely and doomed his Texas colony.
Writer’s block may feel like laziness with better branding, but science says writing trouble can involve anxiety, perfectionism, brain function, aphasia, agraphia, dysgraphia, and hypergraphia.
Discover the astonishing life of Buster Keaton, the silent film genius who risked death for comedy, revolutionized filmmaking, survived Hollywood disaster, and became one of cinema’s greatest legends.
The USS O’Bannon allegedly attacked a Japanese submarine with potatoes during World War II. Here’s the real story behind one of the Navy’s strangest legends.
Explore the strange true history of professional farters, from Roland the Farter and medieval court entertainment to Le Pétomane, the Moulin Rouge, Japanese fart battles, and Mr. Methane.
Discover the truth behind Haiti’s zombie law. The strange truth involves poison, premature burial, Article 246, Vodou folklore, and Hollywood’s habit of making everything more dramatic.
