Though botanically a fruit, pumpkins are one of the most beloved vegetables. Here are some little-known facts (and dark secrets) about pumpkins. 10 When A Pumpkin Isn’t A Pumpkin Pumpkin plants are in the Cucurbitaceae family, which includes melons, cucumbers, and squash. While pumpkins are often thought to be separate from squash, they are, in fact, a type of squash.[1] “Pumpkin” is neither a specific species nor a valid botanical classification....
But male prostitutes have made history, too. They’ve inspired poets and artists, led rebellions, brought down powerful political figures, and become infamous serial killers. Two of these men, Lao Ai and Shai Shahar, are famous for their liaisons with women, while the others primarily served other men. Here are some of the most famous—from ancient times to today. 10 Phaedo Of ElisFourth Century BC Phaedo, a handsome young man from an aristocratic family, was captured in the war between Elis and the allies, Athens and Sparta....
The last week before Christmas was dominated in the US by the Trump administration’s first major legislative victory. More on the White House’s generation-defining tax rewrite below alongside a quick glimpse at all the other big stories on display this week. From political upsets in Africa to scientific leaps to tragedy in Asia, the week leading into the holidays was defined mostly by how busy it was. 10 SpaceX Successfully Sent A Recycled Rocket To The ISS Sometimes, the biggest ideas are also the simplest....
In a world where everything from our cars to our jobs to our very organs are controlled by robots, why wouldn’t you be terrified? Here are 10 more reasons the robopocalypse is just around the corner. It looks innocent enough, but beneath the adorable exterior of the ApriPoco robot lies a cold, calculating memory bank. Though it was designed as a remote control for your home theater, the technology has far-reaching implications besides remembering which channel HBO is....
This is not so much strange as it is downright dangerous and dirty. Not having tools strong enough to do the job without labor, the ancients had to mine everything by hand; and those hands were usually the small hands of children. Life expectancy in the silver mines was 3 months – but that didn’t bother the Romans because it was slaves that did the work. Young boys would be pushed down very small holes that were extraordinarily deep considering they were dug manually....
Donatism was an early Christian heretical movement which was named after Donatus Magnus, Bishop of Carthage, in 313 AD. The Donatists believed that the Church should be a church of saints and not sinners. This view led huge numbers of them to seek out martyrdom – either by suicide, or by asking strangers (often in large groups) to kill them all. This was such a widespread belief that it is surprising to know that they survived (albeit as a very small sect) until the 7th or 8th century....
Sometimes, the plot of a movie or a film’s dramatic appeal depends on a misconception. For example, a woman who normally uses only 10 percent of her mental capacity may suddenly use all her brainpower. As an instant genius able to perform marvelous feats, she is a much more intriguing character than one who lives an ordinary life. Whether accidentally or intentionally included, misconceptions appear in a variety of films....
10Trinil Shell500,000 Years Ago Zig-zag engravings on a shell discovered in Trinil, Eastern Java, might be the world’s oldest art. The etchings date back half a million years and are believed to have been the work of Homo erectus—the ancestor of both Neanderthals and modern humans. Discovered in 1890 by Eugene DuBois, the freshwater mussel shell was examined and stored along with skeletal remains. Over 100 years later, a biologist studying Homo erectus’s usage of marine resources uncovered its significance....
10 De Loys’ Ape As the story has it, in 1917 Swiss geologist Francois de Loys led an expedition to Venezuela in search of oil. By 1920, he and the surviving members of his party had reached the Rio Tarra, near the Colombian border, where they encountered a pair of strange primates. The monkey-like creatures walked upright, stood at around 140 centimeters (4’ 6”) tall, and lacked tails. They approached aggressively, waving their arms, shouting, and flinging their own excrement, so de Loys shot one of them dead....
Throughout history, world leaders have sought out those that practice the occult, hoping to gain from their esoteric knowledge and in some cases, their alleged mystic power. Here are ten mystics, occultists, and so on who served the rich and powerful. 10 John Dee During the late 16th century, John Dee straddled the fence between science and magic, devoting his intellect to the fields of mathematics and astronomy as much as alchemy and divination....
2000: Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker apologizes for dissing New Yorkers. In an interview, Rocker talked about how disgusted he felt, riding in the New York subway with green haired punks, street people with loathsome diseases, as well as how rude the fans were. After the resulting brouhaha, he taped an apology which was shown on the big screen at Shea Stadium before a game. “I have apologized and felt badly for anyone who took my comments personally....
However, cutesy nicknames and baby talk between two people in love may actually be part of a cycle that only strengthens their bond. When two people in a relationship have a secret language, it draws them closer together. And when two people are exceptionally close, they invariably create some sort of special code to speak together. These codes quickly become very important. One study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships found that a couple’s ridiculous nicknames and sneaky code words had a direct positive connection to their relationship satisfaction....
As we search the stars for signs of life and continue to refine and improve on what artificial intelligence can do, it’s worth remembering how little we really know about the alien minds already around us in the natural world. 10Other Primates Recent chimpanzee (Pan) research has revealed that certain species in West Africa have been using stones to fashion crude Stone Age tools and have been smashing nuts for almost one million years....
Still, some crimes are so astonishing that they simply defy comprehension—even to the most desensitized individuals. Here are 10 such murders committed by serial killers. 10 Richard Chase And Terry Wallin Richard Chase (aka “The Vampire Killer of Sacramento”) was a serial killer who terrorized an otherwise peaceful Northern California during the late 1970s. His motive was clear: bloodthirst and cannibalism. Chase sought compulsively to drink the blood of animals, people, just about anything he could get ahold of....
10Live Beetle Bling The use of live beetles as jewelry dates back to ancient Egypt, when soldiers wore scarabs—supposedly with magic powers—on their uniforms into battle. In Mexico, an ancient Mayan tradition tells of a princess forbidden to marry her true love. A witch doctor turned her into a Maquech beetle so that she could live out her life on her lover’s tunic, near his heart. Mayan women began wearing live Maquech beetles in honor of the legendary princess....
This was quite a week for stories involving the “blankest blank in the world.” We talk about the oldest human remains in Poland, the youngest person to bike around the world solo, and the oldest fossils on Earth. If that’s not enough for you, there are also entries involving a dead pimp, a scarf that looks like genitals, and a vote to abolish slavery. 10 A Gruesome Fate For A Neanderthal Child Anthropologists from Jagiellonian University in Krakow and Washington University in St....
From slaughtering animals on a moving train to mocking an entire race in motion pictures, it’s amazing (and more than a bit alarming) what used to pass for entertainment. Highlights—or shall we say lowlights—include a sex-offending skunk, an amusement park mini-city that treated little people like zoo animals, and a chart-topping song extolling the virtues of roofies. 10 Poor Tours: An International Slum-sation Following the Industrial Revolution, late 19th-century London was among the Western world’s most economically imbalanced cities....
The first birth control clinic in the US was opened in 1916 in New York City by Margaret Sanger, an advocate for the right to contraceptive use.[1] The approval of such offices appears to have been controversial even back then, as the first one had a difficult time finding doctors and was quickly shut down after its initial opening. Still, professionals carried on with their work in the pursuit to find and refine contraceptive methods....
SEE ALSO: 10 Times The Nazis Tried To Use Supernatural Powers Some of those theories venture into an area bordering on absurd. Absurd or not, however, they are possibly some of the more interesting conspiracy theories of their time. 10 1936 Black Forest Incident According to various reports that surfaced toward the end of the 20th century, a UFO crash-landed in Germany’s Black Forest near Frieberg in 1936. It is claimed that the craft was saucer-shaped and was ultimately recovered by SS troops shortly afterward....
10Surveillance Camera Figure Officer Karl Romero was spending a relatively quiet Saturday evening on duty at the Espanola police station in New Mexico in 2014, keeping an eye on the several surveillance cameras installed around the place. Things were going well until he spotted something strange on one of the cameras pointed at the entryway to the station. Watch this video on YouTube Scrutinizing the visuals on the camera, Romero initially thought that the bright white “blob” he was looking at must be an insect until he spied the legs below it....
