For the better part of the 13th century, the Mongols were a horseback riding cultural and military juggernaut of the Eastern hemisphere. Still, nothing lasts forever, and Genghis Khan's empire, while still famously genetically prevalent, has since crumbled. Here's what happened.
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In 1937, Doctor Josef Mengele began work at Frankfurt, Germany's Institute for Hereditary Biology and Racial Hygiene. There, he worked under the supervision of hardcore eugenicist Otmar Frieherr von Verschuer, researching the effects of nature versus nurture, specifically focusing on twins.
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While a person's integrity isn't inherently defined by their bank account, former Uruguayan head of state Jose Mujica, dubbed "the world's poorest president," governed with a heart of gold.
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Elizabeth I had the extremely mixed blessing of being born of the House of Tudor, the reigning royal family of England, which began with Henry VII in 1485. Royalty being what it is, and national elections being what they weren't, succession was always an issue.
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In 1954, the Ray Kroc met Dick and Mac McDonald at their San Bernardino, California restaurant, was impressed by their efficient operation, and became their franchise agent who polished the concept, built the McDonald's restaurant chain ... and became filthy rich.
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In 1918, children used to skip rope to a rhyme that captured the tenor of the time. Via Stanford University, it went like this: "I had a little bird. Its name was Enza. I opened the window, And in-flu-enza." Unfortunately, Enza flew in through a lot of windows.
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Joshua Tree National Park's got death, despair, stifling heat, and a dark and sinister past. Joshua Tree is in the Mojave Desert, the only place on Earth where you'll find the giant yucca plants called "Joshua Trees." The park's history is full of tragedy. This is the tragic history of Joshua Tree.
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How did we as a culture get from wearing tunics, robes, gowns, and togas to cargo shorts and mom jeans? How did pants go from being a sign of barbarism to being one of the only requirements to eat at a Waffle House? And why do we call them pants?
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"The real story of the Old West can never be told unless Wyatt Earp tells what he knows, and Wyatt will not talk," said perhaps the oldest of those friends, William Barclay "Bat" Masterson.
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Nearly forty years after his final match and four years after his death, the name Muhammad Ali is synonymous with pugilistic excellence. But he wasn't always named Muhammad Ali.
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What if you were Henry VIII's kid? Would life be all strawberries and high fashion as the child of England's most notorious ladykiller?
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With the rise of the coronavirus, what's left of the mall experience is often shuttered as part of the nation working together to stop the spread. Classic mall stores such as Sears, among others, may not survive the pandemic.
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Regardess of everything else Lennon was (and he was a lot), there's one thing he certainly was: Filthy rich.
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Six years isn't such an age gap in a relationship, married or otherwise, ahead or behind. It maybe gets a little more problematic when the groom is 21 and the bride is 15. Somehow, Loretta Webb and Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn made it work.
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An estimated 50,000 women died there between 1938 and 1945. This place was relentlessly inhumane. Yet the horrors of Ravensbrück went overlooked for decades.
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Biography says this of Edward Theodore Gein: He "wasn't actually a serial killer — he only admitted to killing two women." So there you go. That's all. Not such a bad guy. Especially if you're a Hollywood writer.
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Bonnie and Clyde are consistently credited with killing 13 people, nine of them law enforcement personnel. But there's more to the story.
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A few months ago, times were simpler -- largely because Tiger King hadn't yet premiered. But now that it has, with its puzzling cast of characters, we have names like Bhagavan 'Doc' Antle, and equally puzzling financial situations. With his money in mind -- how did the tiger earn its stripes?
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Virgil was Wyatt Earp's older brother, but it's Wyatt who gets all the attention these days. The same argument could be made for Jesse and Frank James.
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Queen Elizabeth I had her pick of the litter in terms of recreational activities. Some of them got pretty gross. Here's what she did for fun.
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According to the Bureau of Prisons, Alcatraz as federal penitentiary saw 14 escape attempts, starting in 1936, when Joe Bowers tried to climb a chain link fence. But only one attempt was (possibly) successful.
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Monarchies being what they are, provisions must be made for who takes over when the present occupant of the throne kicks the royal bucket. The whole megillah gets infinitely more complicated if the monarch in question didn't marry, and had, as part of her public image, the title "Virgin Queen."
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In all of the history of the United States, by 1861 no one had successfully assassinated a president, let alone a president-elect. That included Lincoln -- but that doesn't mean people hadn't tried.
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Henry VIII, King of England, was by no means the picture of health. By all reports a fairly robust, even athletic, man in his younger days, by the time he died in 1547, age 55, he was probably not what a lot of children wanted to grow up to be. But he did manage to avoid 'sweating sickness.'
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Today's contestants are the creme de la creme: in the red corner, with a career 56 wins and three acrimonious divorces, we have two-time heavyweight champion of the world Muhammad Ali. In the blue corner, martial arts icon and verifiable Green Hornet BFF Bruce Lee.
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Until 2005, it was legal to execute juveniles in the United States. As Oyez details, the case of Roper v. Simmons put an end to capital punishment for citizens under 18 years of age. Before 2005? That was a different story.
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She was only 18 when she took an ill-fated bus ride with a fellow student, Alejandro Gómez Arias. Though it would prove life changing, it may well be the reason we know her today.
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