History Mystery

The Dog Who Became a Saint

St. Francis of Assisi is often associated with animals. His philosophy of respect and stewardship over nature has cemented him in history as a patron of ecology, nature, and the creatures with which we share this planet. Like many other saints, Francis’s gentleness towards animals is just one of the many pious behaviors associated with […]

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History Travel

The Salton Sea: How a Desert Resort Became an Abandoned Wasteland

In 1905, a dry lake bed in Southern California called the “Salton Sink” was filled with water once more as the Colorado River surged and newly constructed irrigation canals funneled the entire volume of the river into this low-elevation desert land. The event was an unprecedented once-in-a-lifetime failure in irrigation planning, and the result was […]

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Biography History List Pirates

Four of the Most Interesting Pirates in History

There’s something about the seafaring life of the pirate which elevates them from simple criminal to roguish antihero in our collective memories. While real pirate’s could be anything from petty thieves with outsized criminal ambitions to former royal navy men with a chip on their shoulder, the common thread between them is a life of […]

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History Mystery

The True Story Behind the Man in the Iron Mask

The author of The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas, wrote several books which fictionalized the lives of French nobility during the seventeenth century. One such novel, a sequel to The Three Musketeers which follows the life of Louis XIV, is entitled “The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later.” From this novel, which is often split into […]

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History List Mystery

Five of the Greatest Unsolved Mysteries in History

In this article, we’re taking a look at some of the most puzzling, head-scratching, page-turning historical mysteries that we’ve previously discussed. Be sure to check out the full articles for each case, where we explore all of the facts and theories in detail!

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History Mystery

Why Was 536 AD the Worst Year to Be Alive?

Ask a modern person which year was the worst to be alive and they might say “2020.” Ask a Medieval European peasant which year was the worst in human history and they’ll likely reply “536.” But what about this particular year made it so terrible? The year 536 saw unusual and prolonged weather phenomena and […]

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Artifact History Mystery

Why is There a Stuffed Crocodile Hanging in This Italian Church Building?

Old Catholic churches often house treasure troves of religious art and relics. From frescoes to altarpieces to the alleged belongings of various saints, church collections can be both impressive and eccentric, especially in churches that date many centuries back. The Santuario Madonna delle Lacrime Immacolate, in English “The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Immaculate Tears,” […]

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Artifact Biography History Mystery

Elmer McCurdy: The Six Million Dollar Mummy

Elmer McCurdy was born in 1880 to an unwed teenaged mother. To spare her the scandal of the circumstances of her son’s birth, Elmer was raised for much of his childhood by his aunt and uncle whom he believed to be his parents. When his adoptive father, George, died in 1890, the truth was revealed […]

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Biography History

Who is Rachel Wall? New England’s Ruthless Female Pirate

Rachel Schmidt was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in around 1760. Very little is known about her upbringing except that her family was Presbyterian and that she seems to have been largely unsatisfied with the life that she grew up into. At the age of about sixteen, Rachel began sneaking away to the sea. She felt […]

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Artifact History

Frozen Charlotte: A Macabre Folktale and a Popular Doll

Pediophobia is defined as an irrational fear of dolls. Many people find porcelain dolls, in particular, to be eerie or creepy. Despite their treasured status amongst doll collectors, the stiff but uncannily human features of these dolls are often likened to corpses. For those among us with this fear towards porcelain dolls, the Frozen Charlotte […]

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