This train is pretty bizarre in and of itself, but to see it in 1888 rural Ireland is mind-boggling. “The Lartigue Monorail system was developed by the French engineer Charles Lartigue (1834–1907). He further developed a horse drawn monorail system, which had been invented by Henry Robinson Palmer in 1821. […]
Was the nuclear mine a good idea? Maybe, but its development revealed some issues… “Blue Peacock was designed after the free-falling Blue Danube and weighed 7.2 long tons (7,300 kg). A total of two firing units were built: the casing and the warhead. Due to its large steel casing, it […]
Decoys, dummies and deception – all’s fair in love and war. Today we’re mostly looking at war though… “Dummies and decoys are fake military equipment that are intended to deceive the enemy. Dummies and decoys are only one aspect of military deception. During World War II, dummy airfields and even […]
Even in the small chance you’ll succeed in your mission, you’ll never know. “During World War II, Japanese Special Attack Units (特別攻撃隊, tokubetsu kōgeki tai, often abbreviated to 特攻隊 tokkōtai), also called shimbu-tai, were specialized units of the Imperial Japanese Navy and Imperial Japanese Army normally used for doomed missions. […]
During WWII, Britain had a rather questionable plan involving a dead body. Surprisingly, it was hugely successful. “Operation Mincemeat was a successful British deception operation of the Second World War to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. Two members of British intelligence obtained the body of Glyndwr Michael, a […]
If your name was Bum Farto, would you try to keep a low profile or would you make sure history would remember the name Bum Farto? “Joseph “Bum” Farto (July 3, 1919 – January 1, 1986) was a fire chief and convicted drug dealer in Key West, Florida, who disappeared […]
Today we take a look at the many incidents of notorious Irish former priest, Neil Horan. “Cornelius “Neil” Horan, sometimes referred to as The Grand Prix Priest, The Dancing Priest, or The Armageddon Priest (born 22 April 1947), is a laicised Irish former Roman Catholic priest who is noted for […]
Elephants are beautiful, intelligent and sensitive creatures, but they also possess a size and strength that makes it advisable not to provoke them. “Mary (c. 1894–September 13, 1916), also known as “Murderous Mary”, was a five-ton Asian elephant who performed in the Sparks World Famous Shows circus. After killing circus […]
These are perhaps the most historically notable songs of all time – have you heard of any? “Organ²/ASLSP (As Slow as Possible) is a musical piece by John Cage and the subject of the second-longest-lasting (after Longplayer) musical performance yet undertaken. Cage wrote it in 1987 for organ, as an […]
If natural selection favours traits that increase an organism’s ability to survive, how did self-destruction evolve as one of these traits? “Autothysis (from the Greek roots autos- αὐτός “self” and thysia θυσία “sacrifice”) or suicidal altruism is the process where an animal destroys itself via an internal rupturing or explosion […]
