In 1888, a French government official named Charles-Marie David de Mayréna was sent into the highlands of what is now Vietnam to negotiate treaties with local tribes. Instead, he convinced… Read the rest of the article: In 1888, a French adventurer convinced Vietnamese tribes to crown him king
In the department of Yoro, Honduras, fish turn up on the ground after large storms. The lluvia de peces — literally "rain of fish" — has been reported for over… Read the rest of the article: In a Honduran town, fish appear on the ground after every major rainstorm
A toast sandwich is exactly what it sounds like: a thin slice of toasted bread, placed between two slices of untoasted bread. Season with salt and pepper. The recipe appears… Read the rest of the article: The toast sandwich is a piece of toast between two slices of untoasted bread
Apple added a feature called Vehicle Motion Cues in 2024 that places small dots around the edge of your screen. The dots move in sync with your car — sweeping… Read the rest of the article: The obscure iPhone setting that eliminates car sickness
When a former prosecutor got a new case, the first thing he asked was whether the suspect talked. "Nothing lights up a prosecutor's face when he is faced with a… Read the rest of the article: Former prosecutor says talking to police always hurts you
The UNSW team that used ultrasound to speed up cold brew to three minutes has pushed the technique further — producing espresso-strength shots with room-temperature water. A transducer pressed against… Read the rest of the article: Cold-water espresso cuts energy use 75% and tastes identical
Connect to an open WiFi network, and a captive portal opens a shelf of banned ebooks. The access point is a smart light bulb. Rick Osgood reflashed the ESP32 chip… Read the rest of the article: Screw this light bulb in and it serves banned books
In 1906, a U.S. plant pathologist named Franklin Sumner Earle collected a small brown mushroom in Cuba and shipped it to the New York Botanical Garden. He called it Stropharia… Read the rest of the article: The poster child for psychedelic mushrooms is named after a country that doesn't use it
In January 2020, a Finnish Reddit user posted a photo of curtains printed with eight celebrity faces and asked for help identifying them. Seven were quickly matched — Josh Holloway,… Read the rest of the article: It took Reddit four years to identify the sixth face on a set of curtains
On Sunday, July 13, 1980, around 500 children from 11 marching bands gathered at the Hollinwell Showground near Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, for a Junior Brass and Marching Band competition. At about… Read the rest of the article: In 1980, 300 children collapsed at a marching band competition and no one knows why
The Turnspit Dog was a short-legged, long-bodied breed kept in English kitchens to run inside a wooden wheel connected to a roasting spit. First mentioned in 1576 as "Turnespete," the… Read the rest of the article: The turnspit dog was bred to run on a wheel and roast meat, then went extinct
Theodore Hook is a historical figure whose eccentricity defined his period. He became known for the Berners Street Hoax of 1810—an undertaking considered arguably the greatest practical joke in history.… Read the rest of the article: In 1810, a prankster sent 4,000 letters to flood one London address with chimney sweeps, coffins, and the Lord Mayor
Violet Jessop was born in Argentina in 1887, the eldest of nine children. She survived tuberculosis as a child, contrary to doctors' predictions. At 21, she became a stewardess for… Read the rest of the article: Violet Jessop survived the Titanic, the Britannic, and a collision on the Olympic
Quantum suicide is a thought experiment that takes Schrödinger's cat and puts you inside the box. The setup: a device kills you based on a quantum measurement with a 50/50… Read the rest of the article: The thought experiment that says you can't die (from your own perspective)
Robert Wadlow of Alton, Illinois, was born on February 22, 1918, at a typical 8 pounds 5 ounces. By age eight, he was taller than his father. By his 1936… Read the rest of the article: Robert Wadlow stood 8 feet 11 inches tall and refused to be a sideshow act
On January 13, 532 AD, fans of Constantinople's chariot racing factions — the Blues and the Greens — stopped fighting each other and turned on Emperor Justinian I. The Nika… Read the rest of the article: In 532 AD, a chariot racing riot nearly toppled the Byzantine Empire
On October 3, 1955, the motor vessel Joyita left Apia, Western Samoa, bound for the Tokelau Islands with 25 people aboard — 16 crew and 9 passengers, including a government… Read the rest of the article: A ship found drifting in the Pacific was still afloat but all 25 passengers had vanished
On August 16, 1942, the Navy blimp L-8 lifted off from Treasure Island, San Francisco, on a routine antisubmarine patrol with Lieutenant Ernest DeWitt Cody, 27, and Ensign Charles Adams,… Read the rest of the article: A Navy blimp landed in San Francisco with its engines running and its crew gone
In 1832, a 14-year-old crew member named Otokichi left Japan on a rice transport ship bound for Edo. A storm blew the vessel off course, and it drifted across the… Read the rest of the article: A 14-year-old Japanese sailor drifted across the Pacific for 14 months and could never go home
The Lost Cosmonauts theory alleges that the Soviet Union launched humans into space before Yuri Gagarin's 1961 flight — and that the cosmonauts onboard died. The strongest piece of supposed… Read the rest of the article: Two Italian brothers claimed to have recorded dying Soviet cosmonauts that Moscow erased from history
