William Utermohlen, an artist who suffered with Alzheimer’s, has provided the world with perhaps its clearest visual representation of the effects of the disease – one that is both fascinating and chilling. “William Utermohlen was born in south Philadelphia in 1933. He studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine […]
Who was Kaspar Hauser? His life is a complete mystery, probably lost to time forever. Only a small portion of his life is known for a fact, so let’s take a look. “Kaspar Hauser (1812? – 17 December 1833) was a German youth who claimed to have grown up in […]
Hilariously, in Brazil, the number 24 is considered “gay”. Why? It’s an unusual story. “Jogo do bicho (“animal game”) is an illegal gambling game in Brazil, prohibited by federal law since 1946, but nevertheless very popular throughout the country. It is a lottery-type drawing, operated on a regional basis using […]
The difficulty in stealing from the English is that most of their valuables don’t belong to them in the first place. “The Stone of Scone (/ˈskuːn/; Scottish Gaelic: An Lia Fáil, Scots: Stane o Scuin)—also known as the Stone of Destiny, and often referred to in England as The Coronation […]
When you’re stranded at sea, it’s only a matter of time before you perish. But how do you go? “Thomas Joseph Lonergan (born December 28, 1964) and Eileen Cassidy Lonergan (née Hains; born March 3, 1969) were a married American couple who were unintentionally abandoned in the Coral Sea off […]
A man impersonates a missing child and fools his family into thinking he’s still alive. It sounds bad, but it somehow gets worse. “Nicholas Barclay, aged 13 at the time he went missing, was last seen playing basketball with his friends in his home town of San Antonio, Texas, on […]
Just imagine – you spend months meticulously planning a bank robbery and the perfect getaway. Then you end up in jail anyway thanks to random circumstance. “Anthony J. Curcio (born September 1, 1980) is an American author, public speaker, and convicted robber. In 2008, Curcio was responsible for one of […]
It sounds like a bad dream – the nightclub is on fire and when you reach the exits, they’re locked. “The Stardust fire was a fatal fire which took place at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, Ireland in the early hours of 14 February (Valentine’s Day) 1981. Some 800 […]
In 1983, Australia’s version of the CIA conducted a mock hostage rescue scenario in the Sheraton Hotel. The problem? The hotel was operating as normal, and none of the staff or guests had a clue what was about to happen. “On 30 November 1983, ASIS garnered unwanted negative attention when […]
We all love to see some instant karma. Here’s some terrorists trying to kill a bunch of people and getting their asses whooped. “The Glasgow Airport attack was a terrorist ramming attack which occurred on 30 June 2007, at 15:11 BST, when a dark green Jeep Cherokee loaded with propane […]
