In 1928 Nancy Wake ran away from her Australian home and into an unlikely destiny: She became a dynamo in the French resistance, helping more than a thousand people to… Read the rest of the article: New Zealander Nancy Wake became an intrepid leader in the French resistance against the Nazis

In 1804, when she was 5 years old, Mary Anning began to dig in the cliffs that flanked her English seaside town. What she found amazed the scientists of her… Read the rest of the article: In the 1810s Mary Anning begin to unearth strange creatures near her English seaside town

In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll explore some more curiosities and unanswered questions from Greg's research, including a misplaced elephant, a momentous biscuit failure, a peripatetic… Read the rest of the article: Little Bighorn's victors on the bravest man they fought

In the 1970s psychologist David Rosenhan sent healthy volunteers to 12 psychiatric hospitals, where they claimed to be hearing voices. Once they were admitted, they behaved normally, but the hospitals… Read the rest of the article: In the 1970s, David Rosenhan showed that healthy people could be diagnosed as mentally ill

In 1990, two thieves dressed as policemen walked into Boston's Gardner museum and walked out with 13 artworks worth half a billion dollars. After 28 years the lost masterpieces have… Read the rest of the article: The largest art theft in history remains unsolved

Here are five 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: Five lateral thinking puzzles

In 1921 a schooner ran aground on the treacherous shoals off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. When rescuers climbed aboard, they found signs of a strange drama in the ship's last… Read the rest of the article: In 1921 the schooner Carroll A. Deering was discovered aground off North Carolina. The crew had vanished.

In 1932 a quartet of Bronx gangsters set out to murder a friend of theirs in order to collect his life insurance. But Michael Malloy proved to be almost comically… Read the rest of the article: In 1932 four gangsters set out to kill their friend and failed five times in a row

In 1977, a young woman named Robyn Davidson set out to pursue what she called a "lunatic idea" — to lead a group of camels 1,700 miles across western Australia,… Read the rest of the article: In 1975 a woman set out alone to lead four camels across the deserts of western Australia

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the crew of an American seaplane were caught off guard near New Zealand. Unable to return across the Pacific, they were forced to fly home… Read the rest of the article: After Pearl Harbor was attacked, one American seaplane had to circle the world to get home

When the English concert pianist Joyce Hatto died in 2006, she was remembered as a national treasure for the brilliant playing on her later recordings. But then doubts arose as… Read the rest of the article: A surprising case of classical music plagiarism

American geologist Clarence King led a strange double life in the late 1800s: He invented a second identity as a black railroad porter so he could marry the woman he… Read the rest of the article: For 13 years white geologist Clarence King maintained a second identity as a black man in New York

In the 1930s, brothers Homer and Langley Collyer withdrew from society and began to fill their Manhattan brownstone with newspapers, furniture, musical instruments, and assorted junk. By 1947, when Homer… Read the rest of the article: Brothers Homer and Langley Collyer filled their Harlem townhouse with 140 tons of junk

In 1905 Winchester Cathedral was in danger of collapsing as its eastern end sank into marshy ground. The surprising solution was to hire a diver, who worked underwater for five… Read the rest of the article: Diver William Walker spent five years under Winchester Cathedral to restore the building's foundations

The world's longest airplane flight took place in 1958, when two aircraft mechanics spent 64 days above the southwestern U.S. in a tiny Cessna with no amenities. In this week's… Read the rest of the article: In 1958, two pilots managed to stay aloft in a small plane for two months straight

In 1856, an American clipper ship was approaching Cape Horn when its captain collapsed, leaving his 19-year-old wife to navigate the vessel through one of the deadliest sea passages in… Read the rest of the article: In 1856, 19-year-old Mary Patten commanded a clipper ship around Cape Horn

In 1835, settlers in Australia discovered a European man dressed in kangaroo skins — a convict who had escaped an earlier settlement and spent 32 years living among the natives… Read the rest of the article: In the early 1800s, an escaped convict spent 32 years living among the aborigines of southeastern Australia

During World War II, the U.S. Army experimented with a bizarre plan: using live bats to firebomb Japanese cities. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe… Read the rest of the article: In World War II, the U.S. Army experimented with firebombs carried by live bats

The Bronx Zoo unveiled a controversial exhibit in 1906 — a Congolese man in a cage in the primate house. The display attracted jeering crowds to the park, but for… Read the rest of the article: In 1906, the Bronx Zoo exhibited a Congolese man in its primate house

In January 1888, after a disarming warm spell, a violent storm of blinding snow and bitter cold suddenly struck the American Midwest, trapping farmers in fields, travelers on roads, and… Read the rest of the article: 'The Children's Blizzard' of 1888 trapped children in schoolhouses across the American Midwest