Tag: history

Peter Stumpp (alternately spelled Stumpf, Stubbe or Stuppe) was a mid-16th century German farmer who was executed on Halloween in 1589. Unfortunately, we only have one surviving account of what happened in the town of Bedburg that autumn, but it’s a detailed one. Rumors were circulating about a massive wolf-like creature, seen prowling the countryside […]

Mysterious shipwrecks. We are fascinated by shipwrecks, and it’s easy to see why. First, there’s the idea of sunken treasure, which has a pretty universal appeal in any culture that admires shiny things (all of them). Then, there’s the uber-creepiness of seeing the remains of a great ship languishing at the bottom of the ocean, […]

Ancient leaders. To say that some ancient leaders were really weird is probably a bit of an understatement. Being really weird was almost a prerequisite for being an ancient leader. Ancient leaders in particular were under a lot of pressure to be all-knowing, all-powerful, and to also figure out what to do with thousands of […]

Time travel is the one that we want to be real of all mysterious phenomena. The possibilities are endless, and some people claimed they’ve already experienced them. Of course, it’s easy to dismiss all these people as nuts or liars, but that’s exactly what the Time Gestapo WANTS you to do … John Titor’s Time […]

Atlantis! The name alone is enough to invoke images of mermaids, bubble cities, sunken ruins, and an ancient, technologically advanced situation that suffered ruin at the whims of the gods or their own hubris. But where did the idea of Atlantis come from? Could it have been a real place, or do its origins lie […]

Entire countries embarrassed. These mistakes made entire countries blush. If countries were capable of vasodilation, of course. The truth is, while countries can be large or small, they’re run by people. And people are capable of some pretty interesting kerfuffles. Switzerland’s accidental invasions of Liechtenstein Switzerland is mostly famous for its neutrality, its chocolate, and […]

There are things about ancient Egypt that still can’t be explained. Few civilizations have a more mysterious reputation than ancient Egypt. But the point of a mystery is to solve it, and over the years we’ve researched and studied our way to learning a lot about the land of hieroglyphs and holy cats. But there’s still […]

The Doomsday Clock. It’s two minutes to midnight. Those words probably make you shiver, just a little bit, because bad things always happen at midnight. And midnight on the Doomsday Clock is the baddest of the bad, the hour of the apocalypse. That’s right, the end of the world. Boom. Everyone dies. But hey, cheer up. When […]

The city of Danzig was home to a lengthy territorial dispute between the Germans and Poles who inhabited it and had been declared a free city by the League of Nations. In late August 1939, the Schleswig-Holstein, a German World War I–era battleship, had entered Danzig on a goodwill visit. At 4:45 AM on September 1, it fired its first […]

Bomber plane captures U-Boat. On August 27, 1941, U-boat U-570, captained by Kapitanleutnant Hans-Joachim Rahmlow, surfaced off the coast of Iceland. Almost immediately, it was spotted by James Thompson, the acting leader of a British squadron based in Iceland who was on an anti-submarine patrol. Immediately, Rahmlow ordered a crash dive, but it was too late. Thompson’s Hudson bomber […]

Operation Jericho was an air raid conducted by the RAF with the goal of freeing the captives of the Nazi-held Amiens prison in France. The raid happened on 18 February 1944, and though it wasn’t a large-scale operation, its precision and accuracy meant that it contributed greatly to the war effort and helped to raise […]

Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy parallels. Abraham Lincoln Predicts His Own Death This story is hotly debated as there is no direct written account by the President himself, but stories from his advisors and close friends. This particular instance does not deal with shaping a war as much as it puts a final nail […]

South Korean provocations sparked Korean War. History teachers say that the Korean War began due to the North’s unprovoked invasion of the South. However, they conveniently forget to mention the that South Korea had an equal role in building up the conflict. In the years after World War II, tensions between the two Koreas simmered to an all-time […]

Hitler feared French admired British. Hitler was no peacenik, but he actually exhibited a very healthy fear of the Anglo-French alliance. In fact, during the re-occupation of the Rhine, Hitler famously ordered his generals to sound a retreat at the faintest sign of French resistance. Hitler also admired the British for their ability to maintain such a large […]

The US Provoked Japan Into War. We have all heard this question a million times: Did the US have advance knowledge of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor? Similarly, why on earth would Japan attack the US—an economic and military giant that even some Japanese leaders acknowledged would inevitably crush them? If some sources are to be believed, President Roosevelt’s administration started […]

The Six-Day-War.  We have previously discussed how the Soviet Union almost invaded Israel during the Six-Day War. We also briefly mentioned that the war was just one big ruse by the Soviets to destroy Israel’s nuclear capability. According to historians Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez, the Soviets had their Arab allies provoke the Israelis into attacking them first. The […]

China improved Tibet. According to the Chinese, their “liberation” of Tibet in 1950 brought the Tibetans better infrastructure, education, and medical care. Ignoring the bloody protests and human rights issues, the Tibetans are now better off than they were before the Chinese came along. While this may sound like an awful attempt at propaganda, some independent historians contend that pre-Chinese […]

The ancient Romans were prudes. Popular belief says the ancient Romans indulged in all manner of sexual depravities, but they were one of the most prudish societies ever. It was actually very offensive for couples to engage in open displays of affection during the time of the Roman Republic—one senator even ended up being driven […]

Fanta for Nazi Germany. It’s February 1944 and Berlin is attempting to recover from American aerial bombing. But life and industry continues on the city’s outskirts. In farmhouses, bottles clang and a mix of ex-convicts, Chinese laborers, and other workers fill glass bottles of what was likely a cloudy, brownish liquid. This is one of […]

This cultist was the father of modern rocketry. On June 17, 1952, a boom rocked Pasadena, California – an explosion at a coach house on the old Cruikshank estate, a plot of land on Millionaires Row where a large manor once stood. The interior of the house was torn apart by a science experiment gone […]