Few moments in history are as indicative of how strange the Cold War years were as the saga of American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer and his victory over Soviet grandmaster Boris Spassky in 1972. So why did he never defend his title?
Read MoreAstronomers have spotted a cosmic blast massive enough to make Jerry Bruckheimer blush. The explosion was so big, that researchers are saying it dwarfs every previously observed explosion in size and scale.
Read MoreBilly the Kid was described as slight, cheerful, funny, charming, and witty. He loved to dance and sing and enjoyed a good joke, while fluent in at least two languages. Oh, and he shot people. Shot them dead. Until the night he was shot dead himself. This is the brutal death of Billy the Kid.
Read MoreSinatra invited us to come fly with him, back in the '50s, and later asked us to fly him to the moon. Were those round-trip tickets? He never said. Maybe we assumed he could afford one-way fares, because one-way fares are more expensive than round trips, right?
Read MoreIn February 2020, the British Parliament announced the discovery of a secret 17th-century corridor in the House of Commons, thought to have been sealed off during World War II. Here's everything you need to know about the secret 17th-century corridor discovered in British House of Commons.
Read MoreDecent shoes can set you back a pretty penny, but in June 2019, one collector shelled out a whole lot of cash to buy the most expensive sneakers ever sold.
Read MoreYoung people have always enjoyed pulling crazy stunts, and that’s definitely true for college students back in 1939, who were all about swallowing live goldfish.
Read MoreApocalyptic locust swarms aren't just a plague from biblical antiquity. NPR writes that in 2020, the already poverty-plagued Horn of Africa is under assault from swarms three times the size of New York City. Nothing can stop them... except ducks?
Read MoreHis name was Joseph Merrick, and he had a terrible disease that left him horribly deformed. Nicknamed 'the Elephant Man,' Merrick worked as a sideshow freak, but what caused the disease that gave him so much pain and suffering?
Read MoreThe NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey is credited for spotting a new orbiter during routine NEO observations on February 15th. Kacper Wierzchos of the Catalina Sky Survey tweeted the announcement, "Earth has a new temporarily captured object/Possible mini-moon called 2020 CD3."
Read MoreNew York City sees an average of six manhole explosions a day, and they are doozies. What causes this cartoon-like phenomena to take place?
Read MoreLike much of Disney's output in the '80s and '90s, the tale of a pauper whose fortunes change thanks to a chance encounter with a genie in a lamp was appropriated from a much older fairytale. In Aladdin's case it's a story that researchers think may have a real historical figure at its heart.
Read MoreHe was the King of Rock n' Roll in life, but his death was anything but distinguished. According to musical legend Leonard Bernstein, Elvis was the "greatest cultural force in the 20th century." But he died too young.
Read MoreAn alternative voting method has been making huge strides in the past few years, which combines the benefits of caucuses and traditional voting in one bright, shiny package: it's called ranked-choice voting. Here's how it works.
Read More"I am Spartacus." It's a rallying cry to this day, people together for a common cause, acting as one. But whether or not the moment actually happened in history, we're still asking: Who was Spartacus?
Read MoreWhat do the richest people in the world have in common, aside from owning suits worth more than your life savings? Are all the richest people geniuses? Were they mostly born rich? Here are the stories of the richest people in the world.
Read MoreWhether you liked his music or not, the world of music could probably do with more characters like the late Tom Petty. But if there's one thing about him that wasn't petty, it was his cash.
Read MoreBorn in Detroit, Michigan in 1941, James Phillip Hoffa has spent most of his life as labor union royalty. He joined the Teamsters on his 18th birthday, and studied law at the University of Michigan. From 1968 to 1993, he worked as a Teamster attorney. Where is he now?
Read MoreIf you could turn yourself invisible, would you use your powers for good or evil? Be honest. Thanks to science, you may one day have to consider this question seriously.
Read MoreSure, Bruce Lee was fast, and agile, and the most universally revered martial arts star in history. But how strong was he? Regardless of the man's combat prowess, he was still an extremely slight guy -- a stick figure in a yellow jumpsuit, if you will.
Read MoreBeing an author is hard, but when it goes right, it goes right. Some people have managed to use the art of stringing words together to rake in countless millions. So which one of these precious few has done it the best? Who, in fact, is the richest author in the world right now?
Read MoreFor Catholics, fasting during the Lenten season (Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday) is a way to practice spiritual discipline and penance leading up to their holiest day of the year. In 17th century Bavaria, however, some very clever monks spent their Lent living off of nothing but beer.
Read MoreLife hasn't been easy for Carlos Santana. In fact, it's been a long and bumpy road to legendary status for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer.
Read MoreOn 24 February, 2020, author Clive Cussler died at 88 years old. He lived a pretty extraordinary life. And a pretty successful one.
Read MoreIt's one of those moments in espionage history when someone probably said, "That plan is so crazy, it just might work." Which is fine for movies, but in real life, generally, if the plan is that crazy, it really won't work. Case in point: the incident now known as The Great Locomotive Chase.
Read MoreIn 1990, Willie Nelson found himself at odds with the Internal Revenue Service to the tune of more money than you will ever even find yourself tangentially connected to.
Read MoreThe mortality rate of the coronavirus is somewhere around two percent, and there's no telling just how contagious it is until more data trickles in. What's more, there's a chance that there'll be an outbreak in the U.S. as well. So, what should we do to protect ourselves?
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