Surgical instruments mechanic Erwin Perzy of Vienna, Austria, was performing experiments in order to improve the brightness of then newly invented electric light bulbs. Shoemakers at the time used the trick of putting candles in front of glass globes of water in order to create a diffused spotlight.
Read MoreHomo erectus looked a bit different from Neanderthals and modern humans, but you probably wouldn't notice they're a different species if you ran into one on the street. They grew to nearly average modern human height and had similar proportions.
Read MoreThe holiday season of 2020 is missing many of its traditional gatherings and celebrations due to the global pandemic caused by COVID-19. This is not, however, the first time in history that the holidays have been interrupted by a widespread and very contagious disease.
Read MoreJohn Lennon is remembered as a musical genius. We've learned a lot more about his personal life in recent years — and most of it is unflattering. But, with the information we now have about his history, we can see just how his childhood influenced his later behavior.
Read MoreCome into a tremendous fortune under no action of her own, and bearing not only the weight of the Winchester name, but the knowledge of how many deaths her money came from. Such was the dilemma faced by Sarah Winchester.
Read MoreUnfortunately, little did Lennon know that he had actually sealed his fate the day he said those words, for they had a profound effect on a young man from Fort Worth, Texas, named Mark David Chapman, who shot and killed John Lennon on December 8, 1980.
Read MoreIt wasn't until after Rasputin seemed to improve the Tsar's son's hemophiliac condition that the country would embrace his reputation. He became a favorite in Tsar Nicholas II's court, until his personality turned certain important people against him.
Read MoreThe Boston Common Christmas tree has been a gift from the Canadian province of Nova Scotia for 48 years. Per the Boston Globe, the gift is thanks for the assistance Boston offered to Nova Scotia after the Halifax Explosion of 1917.
Read MoreLiberace defined glitz and glamour. However, when the stage lights dimmed and the curtain closed, Liberace was a man at war with himself. Here's his story.
Read MoreIt was even more common to blame animals for the spread of the disease, and 14th century Europeans became completely fixated on the wrong animal. Instead of trying to eradicate the disease-filled vermin that were ravaging the cities, some decided black cats were to blame for all their problems.
Read MoreThe Laurel Canyon mansion/studio is a popular stop for rock and roll sight-seers exploring LA, and it's popular for reasons beyond the music industry as well. The Mansion is said to be home to spiritual entities, and many of those who've spent time at the studio have left with ghost stories to tell.
Read MoreWomen in ancient China, beginning in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) up until the early 20th century, bound their feet as a means to attract better marriage prospects. This made their feet incredibly small, but it also meant their feet become gnarled, broken, and painful.
Read MoreThe M60 is not the sort of vehicle the military wants citizens driving around the streets, and chances are you aren't going to find one with the keys in it unless you're desperate enough to grab one from a military base. Which, oddly enough, is exactly what happened in 1995 in San Diego.
Read MoreFor the longest time, it was believed that we killed off Neanderthals, since they seem to have disappeared shortly after we traveled out of Africa. The takeover was thought to be a gradual one. All the evidence suggested we were smarter, with more advanced weapons, hunting techniques, and language.
Read MoreBetween 1929 and 1939, the entire industrialized world was caught in the grip of the biggest financial crisis in history -- the Great Depression. While the Great Depression was horrible for those who lived through it, the U.S. would look very different today if it hadn't happened.
Read MoreThe Japanese temple at Sanjūsangen-dō is home to 1,001 statues of the Kannon Bodhisattva, the Buddhist goddess of mercy. But this shrine holds more than just an impressive statuary; it's home to an important rite of passage.
Read MoreAs Elton John described his early career, "The word 'celebrity' didn't exist, you were either successful or not." But Sir Elton has a very specific reason for the disdain he has for reality TV and its stars.
Read MoreAlice in Chains were among the pioneers of the sonic sounds coming out of Seattle, Washington, when grunge took over rock n' roll in the 1990s. But the band was plagued by demons that were all too common among their contemporaries and reached the point of breaking up.
Read MoreWhile it might seem pretty straightforward that after the end of WWII, the Nazi party needed to pay the price for their crimes, it didn't exactly work that way. Many fled Europe in the aftermath of the war and ended up in South America. How they got there is both bizarre and terrifying.
Read MoreSonny & Cher rode a rollercoaster of successes and failures. Together they topped the charts, danced on the edge of bankruptcy and became a television sensation. But they eventually split, effectively ending Sonny Bono's time as a star. After a rebirth in politics, his life was cut short by tragedy.
Read MoreWhile we know that humans are led by senses such as sight and sound, a recent study has found that humans are also led by their noses and their senses of smell. Here's what you probably didn't know about humans' sense of smell according to science.
Read MoreWhile guitarist Jimi Hendrix's death came unexpectedly in 1970, the 27-year-old's fame continued to blossom posthumously, with the rocker gaining legendary status years after his passing at a young age. This is the eerie way Jimi Hendrix foreshadowed his own death in a song.
Read MoreMank tells how screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz or "Mank," wrote Citizen Kane, a thinly veiled attack on newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. As with all real-life stories turned into film, liberties had to be taken. Here are the times Mank lied to you.
Read MoreThe world of the Neanderthals was a near-endless winter and there were many ways to die, as the unluckiest Neanderthal in history once found out. Some deaths, and this still holds true today, are simply the result of an unfortunate circumstance. This was the unluckiest Neanderthal in history.
Read MoreVince McMahon built the WWE into a global sports entertainment empire worth billions. But all that success came at a cost, as the use of steroids became rampant among wrestlers. In 1993, McMahon's chickens almost came home to roost. Here's how a steroid trial almost led to Vince McMahon's downfall.
Read MoreSandoval, in the Refinery 29 interview, describes a highly sensitive, artistic process of crafting stories and music, saying, "We like to take our time experimenting with different ideas and creating new sounds until we feel satisfied that we've accomplished something mind-expanding."
Read MoreWhich brings us to the 2008 production 10,000 BC, where things get even less accurate. Monumentally inaccurate, really. Think of it this way: The film puts history in a tumbler, shakes it up, and pours a tall glass of annoyance for a metaphorical bar full of historians. Honestly, it's almost sci-fi.
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