Posts

10First Aircraft Hijacking It is nearly always claimed that the first plane hijacking of an aircraft occurred in 1931, when armed revolutionaries in Peru surrounded a plane that had just landed in Arequipa. To call this a hijacking is a bit of a stretch, however. The pilot, Byron Richards, refused the hijackers’ orders to take off with them onboard. After a two-week standoff, he was told that the revolution had been successful and that he was free to leave....

Or is it? Step away from the sound and fury of received wisdom, and you might find yourself reconsidering some of history’s worst leaders. We already told you about how Nixon secretly did many great things. Here are 10 more leaders whose achievements got overshadowed. 10George W. Bush Saved Millions Of African Lives Mention George W. Bush in polite company, and someone will immediately shout, “Iraq!” Thanks to a bungled reconstruction, Saddam’s old stomping ground turned into a quagmire we’re still dealing with....

While the majority of the world remained hands-off, there were villages, cities, and countries that protected their at-risk neighbors and welcomed those seeking asylum. In these places, refugees were allowed to worship freely and conduct business. Most importantly, they were saved from being sent to concentration camps, where they would have endured starvation, brutality, and, often, death. Here are ten places where refugees found respite from the horrors of the Holocaust....

The loyalty which makes dogs such devoted friends is so strong that it can last unto death and beyond. Here are 10 stories of faithful dogs that will make you want to hug your best friend extra tightly. 10 Shep In 1936, a shepherd in Montana became ill in the field and had to be rushed to the hospital. His dog, Shep, refused to be separated from his owner and followed the man, whose identity is unknown, to the hospital....

10Michihiko Hachiya, Hiroshima ResidentAugust 6, 1945 We started out, but after 20 or 30 steps, I had to stop. My breath became short, my heart pounded, and my legs gave way under me. An overpowering thirst seized me, and I begged Yaeko-san to find me some water. But there was no water to be found. After a little, my strength somewhat returned, and we were able to go on. I was still naked, and although I did not feel the least bit of shame, I was disturbed to realize that modesty had deserted me ....

10 Scores Of 9/11 First Responders For all the sorrow that the 9/11 terrorist attacks caused, they also brought out humanity’s best. Thousands of policemen, firefighters, and others raced toward suffocating dust, toxic debris, and intense flames in a frantic bid to save lives. Hundreds died in the process, and thousands who survived were left with respiratory diseases, heart disease, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and cancer. Forever marred by their own bravery, many were forced to retire and live on government benefits....

10 Officer James Leahy James was a member of the New York Police Department on the day the towers were hit. Leahy had a tough upbringing; his father was murdered when he was just 13 years old, leaving him the head of the family. James married and had children, coaching their football team and never missing a little league game. At 9:35 that morning, Leahy’s wife recieved a voicemail from him saying that he was ok and in the building....

Breathtakingly perched 2,500 feet high in the Vosges Mountains of France, the Mont Sainte-Odile monastery dates back to the 7th century A.D. Its library has, for centuries, housed many rare and ancient books, but in 2003 something peculiar began happening. Many of these books began to seemingly vanish. Since the room was soundly locked and off limits to the public, it was a complete mystery as to where these books were disappearing....

10Explorer 6 And The First Satellite Picture Of Earth Those pesky Soviets were the first nation to place a satellite above Earth, the infamous Sputnik 1, but the US was hot on their heels when the first American satellite, Explorer 1, was catapulted into space a year later in 1958. Not long after, in 1959, Explorer 6 took the first satellite picture of Earth. The image is wholly underwhelming and looks more like a squashed fly than a monumental ball of rock, but it was a massively impressive feat nonetheless....

10 The White Fool Many Native American tribes had their own types of clowns. The “white fool“—or white crazy man—of the Arapaho isn’t just terrifying in hindsight. He was feared by his own people. He was called the white fool because he painted himself in white clay, and he was said to have access to a special sort of medicinal magic. That made him powerful, and it was also understood that the white fool enjoyed complete and absolute sexual freedom during ceremonies....

It wasn’t just that women couldn’t vote or that they didn’t get equal pay. Women’s lives were like a horror story. Throughout our history, everyday life was filled with experiences that made being a woman a waking nightmare. 10Newborn Girls Were Regularly Left To Die In ancient Athens, it was very common for a couple to take a newborn baby girl out in the wilderness and leave it to die—an act they called “exposing” the baby....

But what they have discovered is fascinating and has led to increased health regulations for cattle meat production. For example, the US Department of Agriculture requires that all materials from the spinal cord and brain be eliminated from high-risk cattle. These products are not permitted in the US food supply. Nevertheless, the facts about the human version of mad cow disease are truly horrifying. 10 It Is A Prion Disease Prion diseases (aka transmissible spongiform encephalopathies) are rare forms of brain disorders which alter the structure of a patient’s brain and can be transmitted from one organism to another....

Then there are those events that we think we know, which we may actually be mistaken about. The following theories may not definitely be true, but they all raise the possibility that we’ve been picturing our past completely wrong. 10The Library At AlexandriaDestroyed By Budget Cuts? The fate of the Library at Alexandria is a powerful symbol for the triumph of barbarianism over civilization. The greatest repository of information in the known world, the library was burned to the ground by Julius Caesar in 48 B....

Subways in New York City may use inflatables, as may river channels in Los Angeles. There’s even an inflatable in orbit, miles above the Earth. Each of the ten incredible inflatables on this list will make you think twice about what they are and to what uses they can be put. 10 Rubber Duck In June 2013, the world’s biggest rubber duck visited Hong Kong on its goodwill tour. Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman’s 16-meter-tall (54 ft) creation also surprised residents at a lake in Tianjin, where it dwarfed most maritime vessels....

Well, nearly nobody does. It turns out that there’s a tiny contingent of painters, musicians, designers, and writers who prefer their work to be subtle—so subtle that decades can pass before anyone even realizes it’s there. 10 Hidden Paintings In Old Books If you’ve ever picked up an old, dusty novel in a library, you’ll know that books used to be packaged differently. Pages were gilded, so when the book was closed, its fore-edge (the side opposite the spine) appeared golden....

But in the early days of the United States, many parties with different ideas rose and fell depending on the political situation and the burning issues of the day. Despite never achieving great national power and influence, some parties still applied enough political pressure to force key changes to the nation that can still be felt today. Here, we explore the histories of 10 influential political parties that disappeared....

Their names are disclosed outside the Bible. The historical credibility of this information is dubious at best. These books have more to do with the imaginations of their authors than actual historical accuracy. 10 Cain’s Wife If we read Genesis 4.17 with an inquisitive mind, we will inevitably notice that the identity of Cain’s wife is a puzzle. Until then, there were only four people in the world: Adam, Eve, Abel (recently murdered by his brother), and Cain....

10 William Parry During the reign of Elizabeth I, being a Catholic was a dangerous thing. Many Catholics fled to the continent, and William Parry was sent to spy on them. He sent regular reports back to London, telling his queen who was harmless and who might be plotting against her from the relative safety of Paris. His troubles began in 1580 when he was put on trial for allegedly assaulting a moneylender....

From nearly achieving impossible-sounding speeds to self-harming and even a bit of banditry, these celestial objects are a lot more versatile than we give them credit for. 10 Spin Really, Really Fast For the first time, scientists accurately measured a supermassive black hole’s spin. And it’s a doozy: 84 percent of the speed of light. NGC 1365’s central black hole, 60 million light-years away, is mind-numbingly fast as well as enormous....

And what a week it was. As we trundled toward the midpoint in May, absolutely seismic change was underway. Over in Asia, an unexpected election shock triggered the kind of political earthquake usually associated with the suffix “-exit.” Meanwhile, in the home of Brexit, the government looked perilously close to changing its mind on the whole thing. More on both stories below, but first a quick look at the country gobbling up most headlines this week: Iran....