10 Illnesses That Changed History and Redirected the World
Discover 10 illnesses that changed history, altered dynasties, toppled plans, reshaped governments, and even redrew maps.
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Fellow Authors Are the Hardest to Please
Read more: Fellow Authors Are the Hardest to PleaseIt would be an understatement to say that Mark Twain was not a fan of Jane Austen. “She makes me detest all her people, without reserve. Is that her intention? It is not believable. Then is it her purpose to make the reader detest her people up to the middle of the book and like…
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No Points for the Bard from This Nobel Laureate
Read more: No Points for the Bard from This Nobel LaureateGeorge Bernard Shaw holds the distinction of being the only writer to receive both an Academy Award and the Nobel Prize for Literature. With credentials like this, one is obligated to at least consider his opinion of fellow authors: “With the single exception of Homer, there is no eminent writer, not even Sir Walter Scott,…
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Dance With the Dead
Read more: Dance With the DeadIn some parts of Madagascar, burying a loved one does not necessarily mean that’s the last you see of that person. The Malagasy tradition of Famadihana, known as the turning of the bones, calls for regular digging up of the dead in order to change their clothes, walk them around the village, and dance with…
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Put Down That Dynamite — This Squirrel is Protected
Read more: Put Down That Dynamite — This Squirrel is ProtectedNo matter how much those squirrels may be bothering you, you’re going to have to resort to means other than heavy explosives if you want to get rid of them. That’s the case, at least, if you live in Connecticut. Sec. 26-88 of the Connecticut Code states, “No person shall take or attempt to take…
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As Stubborn as a … Hinny?
Read more: As Stubborn as a … Hinny?When a female horse and male donkey mate, the offspring is called a mule, but when a male horse and female donkey mate, the offspring is called a hinny. source
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Can You Get Over the Hump and Drink Camel Milk?
Read more: Can You Get Over the Hump and Drink Camel Milk?If you have difficulty drinking all the milk in your refrigerator before it spoils, you might consider switching to camel milk. It has a feature you will appreciate: it does not curdle.
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Comedian-in-Chief
Read more: Comedian-in-ChiefNot a lot of people were laughing on September 22, 1862. The Civil War was about a year and a half old, and it was proving to be much more trying than either side had imagined. When President Abraham Lincoln called his War Cabinet into session that day, his advisors arrived in a grim and…
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Pepto Bismol — For More Than Just an Upset Tummy
Read more: Pepto Bismol — For More Than Just an Upset TummyExposing Pepto Bismol to high heat will reduce it to a chunk of metal known as a bismuth slag. See a video demonstration here.
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Hey, I May Be A Sleazy Drug Dealer, But At Least I Pay My Taxes!
Read more: Hey, I May Be A Sleazy Drug Dealer, But At Least I Pay My Taxes!In 2005 Tennessee began requiring drug dealers to anonymously pay taxes on any illegal substances they sold. Commonly known as “The Crack Tax,” it allowed the state to collect revenue from any drug dealer who was arrested without proof of having paid the tax. In 2009 the state’s supreme court found the law unconstitutional. source
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And You Think Paying Your Taxes Stinks?
Read more: And You Think Paying Your Taxes Stinks?Update: For a deeper dive into this topic, see Ancient Rome’s Urine Tax: Why Vespasian Taxed Pee and Said “Money Doesn’t Stink” During the 1st century AD, Roman emperor Vespasian (ruled 69-79) placed a tax on urine. The urine from public urinals was sold as an essential ingredient for several chemical processes, such as tanning…
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Toilets on the ISS: Clogging Up the Diplomatic Channels
Read more: Toilets on the ISS: Clogging Up the Diplomatic ChannelsHow do astronauts deal with clogged toilets on the ISS? Find out here!
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The Apollo 11 Contingency Speech: What Nixon Would Have Said If Astronauts Died on the Moon
Read more: The Apollo 11 Contingency Speech: What Nixon Would Have Said If Astronauts Died on the MoonBefore the rocket launched, Nixon prepared an Apollo 11 contingency speech in case the astronauts were stranded on the Moon. Read the chilling speech that was never used.
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Ministers Marry Lots of People… But Typically By Officiating, Not By Participating
Read more: Ministers Marry Lots of People… But Typically By Officiating, Not By ParticipatingRev. Glynn “Scotty” Wolfe (1908 – 1997) holds the Guinness World Record for the largest number of monogamous marriages. Between 1926 and his death in 1997, Wolfe was married twenty-nine times to 26 different women. The longest marriage lasted eleven years. The shortest was nineteen days. Four of the marriages ended with the death of…
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It’s Bad Enough Being the Middle Child; Imagine Being #35 Out of 69
Read more: It’s Bad Enough Being the Middle Child; Imagine Being #35 Out of 69The record for the most children born to one woman belongs to Valentina Vassilyeva of Shuya, Russia, who gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, seven sets of triplets, and four sets of quadruplets between 1725 and 1765. In 27 birthing events, she gave birth to 69 children, 67 of whom survived infancy.
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There Were So Many Bathers, Could They Find the River?
Read more: There Were So Many Bathers, Could They Find the River?The Kumbh Mela is a tradition within the Hindu faith where the faithful gather for ceremonial bathing in a sacred river. On February 10, 2013, over thirty million people participated at Allahabad, India, making it the largest peaceful gathering of people for one day’s event. source
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