In the 1870s, new farmsteads on the American plains were beset by enormous swarms of grasshoppers sweeping eastward from the Rocky Mountains. The insects were a disaster for vulnerable farmers,… Read the rest of the article: In the 1870s, enormous swarms of grasshoppers beset pioneers on the American plains

When Maria Marten disappeared from the English village of Polstead in 1827, her lover said that they had married and were living on the Isle of Wight. But Maria's stepmother… Read the rest of the article: In 1828, Ann Marten began to have disturbing dreams about her missing stepdaughter's whereabouts

In 1952, New Zealander Tom Neale set out to establish a solitary life for himself on a remote island in the South Pacific. In all he would spend 17 years… Read the rest of the article: In 1952, New Zealander Tom Neale set out to live alone on a desert island

In 1896, Norwegian immigrant Helga Estby faced the foreclosure of her family's Washington farm. To pay the debt she accepted a wager to walk across the United States within seven… Read the rest of the article: In 1896, Helga Estby set out to win $10,000 by walking across the United States

In the 1930s the world's best-known conservationist was an ex-trapper named Grey Owl who wrote and lectured ardently for the preservation of the Canadian wilderness. At his death, though, it… Read the rest of the article: Grey Owl, the world's best-known conservationist in the 1930s, turned out not to be who he'd claimed

1930 saw the quiet conclusion of a remarkable era. The tiny population of St. Kilda, an isolated Scottish archipelago, decided to end their thousand-year tenure as the most remote community… Read the rest of the article: Britain's most remote community gave up their unique way of life in 1930

At the turn of the 20th century, a rogue tiger terrorized the villages of Nepal and northern India. By the time British hunter Jim Corbett was called in, it had… Read the rest of the article: In 1907, hunter Jim Corbett stalked a Nepalese tiger that had killed 434 people

Here are six new lateral thinking puzzles to test your wits and stump your friends — play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no… Read the rest of the article: Six lateral thinking puzzles

In the winter of 1931, a dramatic manhunt unfolded in northern Canada when a reclusive trapper shot a constable and fled across the frigid landscape. In the chase that followed… Read the rest of the article: In the winter of 1931, a mysterious fugitive led police on a 300-kilometer chase through northern Canada

As the Civil War fractured Washington D.C., socialite Rose O'Neal Greenhow coordinated a vital spy ring to funnel information to her beloved Confederates. In this week's episode of the Futility… Read the rest of the article: Socialite Rose O'Neal Greenhow was a surprising spy for the Confederacy

In 1961, Goya's famous portrait of the Duke of Wellington went missing from London's National Gallery. The case went unsolved for four years before someone unexpectedly came forward to confess… Read the rest of the article: In 1965, a retired truck driver was convicted of one of the greatest art heists in British history

In the 1940s, Frances Glessner Lee brought new rigor to crime scene analysis with a curiously quaint tool: She designed 20 miniature scenes of puzzling deaths and challenged her students… Read the rest of the article: Frances Glessner Lee created miniature death scenes to train investigators in the 1940s

In 1909, 22-year-old Alice Huyler Ramsey set out to become the first woman to drive across the United States. In an era of imperfect cars and atrocious roads, she would… Read the rest of the article: In 1909, Alice Ramsey set out to cross the United States by car

In 1822, Irish thief Alexander Pearce joined seven convicts fleeing a penal colony in western Tasmania. As they struggled eastward through some of the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, starvation… Read the rest of the article: In 1822, a desperate band of convicts fleeing a Tasmanian penal colony ended up resorting to cannibalism

In 1902, scam artist Cassie Chadwick convinced an Ohio lawyer that she was the illegitimate daughter of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. She parlayed this reputation into a life of unthinkable… Read the rest of the article: In 1902, scam artist Cassie Chadwick claimed to be the illegitimate daughter of Andrew Carnegie

In 1978, two luminaries of South Korean cinema were abducted by Kim Jong-Il and forced to make films in North Korea in an outlandish plan to improve his country's fortunes.… Read the rest of the article: In 1978, Kim Jong-Il abducted two South Korean cinema stars to make films in North Korea

One night in 1631, pirates from the Barbary coast stole ashore at the little Irish village of Baltimore and abducted 107 people to a life of slavery in Algiers —… Read the rest of the article: In 1631, Barbary pirates abducted 107 people from an Irish village and forced them into a life of slavery

Ferdinand Demara earned his reputation as the Great Impostor: For over 22 years he criss-crossed the country, posing as everything from an auditor to a zoologist and stealing a succession… Read the rest of the article: The amazing career of Ferdinand Demara, "The Great Impostor"

In 1929, detective novelist Arthur Upfield wanted to devise the perfect murder, so he started a discussion among his friends in Western Australia. He was pleased with their solution —… Read the rest of the article: Detective novelist Arthur Upfield invented the perfect murder, then watched a killer adopt it

Here are seven new lateral thinking puzzles to test your wits and stump your friends — play along with us as we try to untangle some perplexing situations using yes-or-no… Read the rest of the article: Seven lateral thinking puzzles