curiosities

Astronomers Use An Optical Illusion To Reveal An Ultramassive Black Hole 30 Billion Times Bigger Than The Sun

Using gravitational lensing, astronomers were able to closely observe the black hole at the center of the Abell 1201 cluster and determine its mind-boggling size.

By Austin Harvey • Apr 4, 2023

News

Astronomers Use An Optical Illusion To Reveal An Ultramassive Black Hole 30 Billion Times Bigger Than The Sun

Using gravitational lensing, astronomers were able to closely observe the black hole at the center of the Abell 1201 cluster and determine its mind-boggling size.

By Austin Harvey • April 4, 2023

The Bizarre Legend Of Belsnickel, The Centuries-Old Christmas Figure From German Folklore

Still celebrated by the descendants of German immigrants in America today, Belsnickel is a menacing character who bears some similarities to Santa Claus — but has a violent approach all his own.

By Kaleena Fraga • Apr 1, 2023

The Bizarre Legend Of Belsnickel, The Centuries-Old Christmas Figure From German Folklore

Still celebrated by the descendants of German immigrants in America today, Belsnickel is a menacing character who bears some similarities to Santa Claus — but has a violent approach all his own.

By Kaleena Fraga • April 1, 2023

The Ghostly Legends Of Crybaby Bridges, Where The Wails Of Murdered Infants Rise From The Waters Below

From Anderson, South Carolina to Monmouth, Illinois, crybaby bridges across America are said to be haunted by the newborns who were supposedly murdered there.

By Neil Patmore • Mar 25, 2023

The Ghostly Legends Of Crybaby Bridges, Where The Wails Of Murdered Infants Rise From The Waters Below

From Anderson, South Carolina to Monmouth, Illinois, crybaby bridges across America are said to be haunted by the newborns who were supposedly murdered there.

By Neil Patmore • March 25, 2023

A Pentagon Official And A Harvard Scientist Suggest That An ‘Alien Mothership’ Is Watching The Earth

The mysterious interstellar object ‘Oumuamua may be an alien spaceship sending out probes to other planets, the draft paper suggests.

By Austin Harvey • Mar 23, 2023

News

A Pentagon Official And A Harvard Scientist Suggest That An ‘Alien Mothership’ Is Watching The Earth

The mysterious interstellar object ‘Oumuamua may be an alien spaceship sending out probes to other planets, the draft paper suggests.

By Austin Harvey • March 23, 2023

Inside The 1904 Olympic Marathon So Disastrous That The Sport Was Nearly Banned

Less than half of the racers in the 1904 Olympic marathon finished the notoriously perilous race — and only after the winner was dragged across the finish line.

By Genevieve Carlton • Mar 22, 2023

Inside The 1904 Olympic Marathon So Disastrous That The Sport Was Nearly Banned

Less than half of the racers in the 1904 Olympic marathon finished the notoriously perilous race — and only after the winner was dragged across the finish line.

By Genevieve Carlton • March 22, 2023

The Fugate Family Of Kentucky Has Had Blue Skin For Centuries — Here’s Why

For nearly 200 years, the Fugates — known as the blue people of Kentucky — remained largely sealed off from the outside world as they passed their blue skin from generation to generation.

By Gabe Paoletti • Mar 21, 2023

The Fugate Family Of Kentucky Has Had Blue Skin For Centuries — Here’s Why

For nearly 200 years, the Fugates — known as the blue people of Kentucky — remained largely sealed off from the outside world as they passed their blue skin from generation to generation.

By Gabe Paoletti • March 21, 2023

Scientists Thought This 300 Million-Year-Old ‘Blob’ Fossil Was A Jellyfish — Turns Out, They’d Just Been Looking At It Upside Down

What was once considered a fairly common jellyfish fossil is actually an ancient sea anemone, a new study reveals.

By Austin Harvey • Mar 16, 2023

News

Scientists Thought This 300 Million-Year-Old ‘Blob’ Fossil Was A Jellyfish — Turns Out, They’d Just Been Looking At It Upside Down

What was once considered a fairly common jellyfish fossil is actually an ancient sea anemone, a new study reveals.

By Austin Harvey • March 16, 2023

Inside Phrenology, The Bizarre Turn-Of-The-Century ‘Study’ Of Head Shapes

Considered a pseudoscience today, phrenology once claimed to predict a person's character and mental traits based on the shape of their head.

By Kaleena Fraga • Mar 10, 2023

Inside Phrenology, The Bizarre Turn-Of-The-Century ‘Study’ Of Head Shapes

Considered a pseudoscience today, phrenology once claimed to predict a person's character and mental traits based on the shape of their head.

By Kaleena Fraga • March 10, 2023

Inside The Bizarre Murder Of Blair Adams — And Why It Remains Unsolved Decades Later

Blair Adams became convinced that someone was after him just before he fled his home in Canada in July 1996 — then he mysteriously turned up dead in a Tennessee parking lot just a few days later.

By Neil Patmore • Mar 7, 2023

Inside The Bizarre Murder Of Blair Adams — And Why It Remains Unsolved Decades Later

Blair Adams became convinced that someone was after him just before he fled his home in Canada in July 1996 — then he mysteriously turned up dead in a Tennessee parking lot just a few days later.

By Neil Patmore • March 7, 2023

Sokushinbutsu: How Buddhist Monks Spend Years Mummifying Themselves Alive

A Japanese tradition dating to the 11th century, Sokushinbutsu is a years-long process where Buddhist monks slowly mummify themselves before death.

By Krissy Howard • Mar 5, 2023

Sokushinbutsu: How Buddhist Monks Spend Years Mummifying Themselves Alive

A Japanese tradition dating to the 11th century, Sokushinbutsu is a years-long process where Buddhist monks slowly mummify themselves before death.

By Krissy Howard • March 5, 2023