Twenty-seven-year-old Angus Barbieri was a big man with a big appetite. At 456 pounds, he was also classified as “grossly obese.” Unhappy with his weight, he decided to take matters into his own hands. In 1965, the six-foot man visited a hospital in Dundee looking to lose a … [Read more...]
Private Wojtek is hailed as a war hero in Poland, but the renowned soldier was neither Polish nor human. Wojtek was a brown bear who was dealt a poor hand as a cub. After hunters killed his mother, Wojtek wandered the world alone until he was found and adopted by a young … [Read more...]
In 1606, the bubonic plague returned to London. Two years earlier, it had killed 30,000 of its inhabitants. The plague hit like a hammer that winter. This time the city took no chances. It shut down on a massive scale. All the theaters closed. This was a bitter blow for … [Read more...]
Aristotle once questioned what separates humans from animals. He decided it’s not language or reason. It’s laughter. Aristotle wrote that the moment when a baby first laughs is when the child becomes fully human. According to historian Barry Sanders, Aristotle believed that … [Read more...]
Planet Earth is not in great shape. Our oceans are swamped with plastic. Our rivers run with poison. The air is polluted, and our forests fall to the woodcutter’s ax. The climate is in crisis. The world burns. Big problems call for big solutions. We need trailblazers who think … [Read more...]
While all phobias are irrational fears, some are stranger than fiction. Most of us are afraid of dying, but people with Apeirophobia are cut from a different cloth. They are afraid of living forever. When Bobby Azarian was four years old, his grandfather died from cancer. … [Read more...]
After 13 years of playing hard to get, two giant pandas in Hong Kong’s Ocean Park Zoo have finally mated. Zookeepers were over the moon. Pandas have a mating season of just 24 to 72 hours per year. Normally the zoo is flooded with throngs of daily visitors. But since the zoo has … [Read more...]
As of early April 2020, over one-third of the world is facing some type of lockdown because of Coronavirus. People in different countries are facing various levels of quarantine and social restriction. But what we are all experiencing is a steady stream of bad news. We are … [Read more...]
The first reported case of the Coronavirus in the US was on Jan 19th, 2020. For months, Americans had denied how serious the situation was. Many said that it was no different than a common cold or flu. They thought all the warnings and hype were overblown. Some even said it was a … [Read more...]
Cecilia Giménez was a devout churchgoer in the town of Borja. The 81-year-old Spaniard was also an art lover. After seeing that the 120-year-old painting on a local church’s wall was in poor shape, she picked up a brush and got to work. She began trying to restore the painting of … [Read more...]
One evening, Linda Munkley’s dog, Bea, jumped on the sofa and began sniffing her chest. At first, Linda wasn’t bothered by her dog’s strange behavior, but she wouldn’t leave her alone. Linda began checking her chest, but she found nothing out of the ordinary. Bea continued … [Read more...]
The man who would later become the President of the United States of America signed his letter Rebecca. It was a letter to the editor criticizing James Shields, State Auditor of Illinois. When Shields opened up the newspaper and read the criticism, he was angry. He stormed into … [Read more...]
Sodeto in Spain is considered the luckiest village in the world. In 2011, nearly all of its 240 residents became millionaires overnight. All except one. His name is Costis Mitsotakis. In the thick of Europe’s economic crisis, Sodeto was suffering. Many villagers were battling … [Read more...]
Hyowon is not your run of the mill funeral company. In addition to traditional ceremonies, they also offer mass funerals for the living. Participants in the living funeral service wear traditional burial clothes. First, they take funeral photos. Next, they are led up a dark … [Read more...]
In 1982, two elderly musicians would each suffer a stroke and become disabled on one side of their body. Without the use of both hands, the two women suddenly found themselves unable to make music. That is, until the day they finally met each other. Margaret Patrick was a … [Read more...]
Professional skeptic, James Randi, has made it his life’s mission to expose phony psychics everywhere. As a young man, Randi made a name for himself as a magician called The Amazing Randi. In his teenage years, he toured with a carnival and had a popular mind-reading act. He … [Read more...]
At the age of 65, Dorothy Alison announced she would not live to see 75. In 1999, four weeks before her 75th birthday, she died of heart failure. When Dorothy was 14, she had a vision of her father’s death. He died of pneumonia a few weeks later. Neighbors thought she was a … [Read more...]
When Kevin Howard found out his wife was two-timing him, he was heartbroken. He also wanted revenge. He found justice through an obscure law called 'Alienation of Affection.' In other words, his wife's affection was stolen. According to this law, being a homewrecker isn't just … [Read more...]
Jay Wilde grew up on a dairy farm in England. From an early age, he felt an emotional connection to the cows who surrounded him. He couldn’t bear the thought of any animal ending up on his plate. And so, he became a vegetarian. Jay was groomed to follow in his father’s … [Read more...]
When presented with abstract art, those who dispute its value often say, "I could do that!" Jackson Pollock, one of the more famous abstract artists, used a technique of splashing paint on a canvas in a way that looks random. But his work is not as simple as it may seem. His … [Read more...]
