The Great Fire of London (1666): Strange Facts Behind the Famous Disaster
The Great Fire of London wasn’t just a disaster—it was full of odd decisions and strange moments. Here are the quirkiest facts from 1666.
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Thomas Jefferson’s Nephews, a Grisly Murder, and the Earthquake That Wouldn’t Let Them Get Away With It
Read more: Thomas Jefferson’s Nephews, a Grisly Murder, and the Earthquake That Wouldn’t Let Them Get Away With ItUncover the chilling true story of Thomas Jefferson’s nephews, Lilburn and Isham Lewis, who murdered an enslaved boy during the catastrophic New Madrid earthquakes of 1811–1812. A haunting tale of crime, chaos, and historical fallout.
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The Day Calvin Coolidge Put a Stop to John Quincy Adams’ Shine
Read more: The Day Calvin Coolidge Put a Stop to John Quincy Adams’ ShineWhen Calvin Coolidge found himself blinded by John Quincy Adams’ shiny bald head — in a portrait — he took matters into his own (sooty) hands. Discover this delightfully petty moment in presidential history.
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The Crazy Origin of Murphy’s Law and the Identity of the Man Behind the Mayhem
Read more: The Crazy Origin of Murphy’s Law and the Identity of the Man Behind the MayhemDiscover the true story behind Murphy’s Law and the man who inspired it — Captain Edward A. Murphy Jr., whose frustrations in a rocket sled experiment gave us the world’s favorite law of failure.
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How Isaac Newton Brought Down 17th-Century London’s Master Counterfeiter
Read more: How Isaac Newton Brought Down 17th-Century London’s Master CounterfeiterDiscover the little-known true crime chapter of Isaac Newton’s life as Warden of the Royal Mint, where he hunted counterfeiters, outwitted conmen, and brought London’s most notorious forger, William Chaloner, to justice.
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A Dingo Took My Baby! The Lindy Chamberlain Trial
Read more: A Dingo Took My Baby! The Lindy Chamberlain TrialDiscover the true story behind the Lindy Chamberlain trial, where a mother’s cry—“A dingo took my baby!”—sparked one of Australia’s most infamous wrongful convictions, media frenzies, and ultimate exonerations.
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Optograms, Spirit Photos, and Fritz Angerstein, the Killer Who Couldn’t Escape a Snapshot
Read more: Optograms, Spirit Photos, and Fritz Angerstein, the Killer Who Couldn’t Escape a SnapshotDiscover the bizarre history of optograms and spirit photography, and how they collided in the shocking 1924 Fritz Angerstein murder case. Pseudoscience, ghosts, and forensic failure await.
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The Weird Foods of the World: You Ate What?
Read more: The Weird Foods of the World: You Ate What?Discover the world’s weird foods—from dancing squid to fermented shark and maggot-infested cheese. Explore bizarre global delicacies that are equal parts fascinating and stomach-churning.
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Harsh Headlines and Historical Hate: The Long History of Negative Presidential Media Coverage
Read more: Harsh Headlines and Historical Hate: The Long History of Negative Presidential Media CoverageDiscover how U.S. presidents from George Washington to Eisenhower faced brutal media criticism long before social media. Explore 200 years of negative presidential media coverage in this witty, historical deep dive.
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The Surprising Origin of Famous Brand Names (And Why We’re Glad They Didn’t Choose Worse Ones)
Read more: The Surprising Origin of Famous Brand Names (And Why We’re Glad They Didn’t Choose Worse Ones)Discover the surprising, quirky, and downright weird stories behind the famous brand names like Starbucks, LEGO, Pepsi, and more in this humorous and trivia-packed exploration of corporate naming blunders and brilliance.
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General George Patton and the Slaps Heard Around the World
Read more: General George Patton and the Slaps Heard Around the WorldDiscover the controversial story of General George Patton’s infamous WWII slapping incidents—how they nearly ended his career, sparked national outrage, and exposed the military’s misunderstanding of PTSD.
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Almost Famous: How Benjamin Wade Came Just 1 Vote from the Presidency and Still Got Ghosted by History
Read more: Almost Famous: How Benjamin Wade Came Just 1 Vote from the Presidency and Still Got Ghosted by HistoryDiscover the fascinating story of Benjamin Wade, the U.S. Senator who came one vote away from becoming President—and was promptly forgotten by history. A fiery Radical Republican, nearly a Commander-in-Chief, now a trivia question.
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The Graveyard of Abandoned Article Ideas
Read more: The Graveyard of Abandoned Article IdeasCelebrate 365 days of nonstop publishing with a humorous look at the blog ideas that didn’t make the cut. From debunked myths to half-baked concepts, explore the quirky graveyard of abandoned article ideas.
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The Wall Street Panic of 1907: How Two Men Nearly Crashed the U.S. Economy and One Guy Saved It
Read more: The Wall Street Panic of 1907: How Two Men Nearly Crashed the U.S. Economy and One Guy Saved ItLearn about the outrageous true story behind the Wall Street Panic of 1907—when a copper king and an ice baron nearly collapsed the U.S. economy with one disastrous scheme, forcing JP Morgan to step in and save the day.
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Dead Hand: The Real-Life Soviet Doomsday Machine Dr. Strangelove Warned Us About
Read more: Dead Hand: The Real-Life Soviet Doomsday Machine Dr. Strangelove Warned Us AboutRead about the chilling true story of Dead Hand, the Soviet Union’s real-life doomsday machine designed to launch nukes automatically—even after national annihilation. It wasn’t fiction then, and it’s not retired now.
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A Buttload is an Actual Unit of MeasurementFebruary 5, 2020
