Eben Byers was a wealthy American businessman who became famous in the early 1930s after ingesting large amounts of Radium or Radithor. What is Radium, and what does it do? It is a radioactive element discovered in 1898 by Marie Curie and her husband, Pierre. When ingested, it can cause severe health problems, including cancer. Eben […]
The Strange Story of Eben Byers, Who Drank Radium Until His Jaw Fell Off Read More »
What was it like to travel on the Oregon trail? This is a question that many people have asked over the years. The Oregon Trail was an important route for many people in the 1800s. It allowed them to travel from Missouri to Oregon. This post will take a closer look at what life was
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On 1 November 82 BC, a battle took place virtually within the city of Rome itself. It was a climactic end to a civil war that began the previous between the supporters of the Roman general, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, and an alliance of Marians. The Marians were supporters of the recently deceased military commander, Gaius
Why did Sulla March on Rome? Read More »
In 1940 a new film was released by Walt Disney Productions, which sought to capitalize on the success of the studio’s first feature film a few years earlier, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The new film, called Pinocchio, was the tale of a wooden puppet called Pinocchio carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto. Pinocchio is soon
The Original Pinocchio Was Too Evil for Disney Read More »
A visitor today to the ruins of the town of Pompeii, which was buried under volcanic ash and rock following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, will be confronted by many frescoes, mosaics, and wall paintings showing people and mythological figures playing musical instruments. These scenes in places such as the Villa of
What Were Music and Instruments Like in Ancient Rome? Read More »
On November 17, 1961, Michael Rockefeller disappeared in New Guinea. He was on an expedition to study the local tribes and their culture. The 23-year-old had been on a journey up the Aruwimi River when his canoe capsized. He was never seen again. There are many theories about what happened to Rockefeller, but the most
Did Cannibals really eat Michael Rockefeller? Read More »
There are about as many names for Christmas as there are ways of celebrating it. Some call it Xmas, which simply is an abbreviation of Christmas, as the ‘X,’ as it was originally used, isn’t an ‘X’ at all, but rather what is known as a chi-rho, an early Christian symbol for Christ on the cross.
The Strange History of Yule and How It Inspired Christmas Read More »
On July 15th, 1099, the city of Jerusalem fell to an army that had been besieging it for six weeks. This was a force of over 10,000 Christian crusaders from Western and Central Europe to reconquer the Holy Land from the Muslim powers who had controlled it for over 400 years. In the hours that
Peter the Hermit: The Leader of the People’s Crusade Read More »
The toys that children play with can tell a person a lot about the society involved. In Victorian Britain, the doll house became one of the most ubiquitous forms of play as the manufacture of detailed objects such as these was made possible on a large scale by the Industrial Revolution and the advent of
What Kinds of Toys Did Roman Children Play With? Read More »
Some medical cases are so strange that they almost seem to be from a science fiction novel. One such case is the story of Adam Rainer, the man who was born a dwarf and became a giant. It is a story that has fascinated doctors and scientists for years and remains somewhat of a mystery.
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