Churches of Antarctica
Antarctica has eight churches: four Catholic, one non-denominational, and three Eastern orthodox.
The strange death of Rudolf Diesel
The inventor of the diesel engine died at sea under mysterious and still unexplained circumstances.
Horror frog
The Central African hairy frog can break its own bones and stick them through its skin as impromptu claws.
The ten commandments of whodunits
In 1929 Ronald Knox codified the ten rules that all detective fiction should follow.
Vidal Sassoon, antifa
Vidal Sassoon was an icon of 20th century fashion – and also beat up fascists in post-WWII London.
The house in the depths
A significant proportion of the food in the deepest ocean falls from discarded giant larvacean houses.
Oldest carpet
A prehistoric Scythian tomb in Siberia contained the oldest surviving carpet in the world.
Sir doctor sheriff grandmaster dean Nariman
Temulji Bhicaji Nariman was a knight, a dean, a plague doctor, a sheriff, a grandmaster, and his marriage lasted longer than almost any other in recorded history.
Relic souvenirs
In early Christian tradition, the power of saints’ relics could be transferred from object to object by a simple touch.
Computer battle of the heavyweights
The Muhammad Ali vs. Rocky Marciano boxing match was screened in theatres across Europe and North America in 1970. In American theatres, Marciano won. In European theatres, Ali did.
Four-legged woman
Myrtle Corbin was born with four legs.
Slap concert
On March 31, 1913, a concert performance in Vienna ended with a riot and a famous slap.
Asterix and the Alexandrine
The Asterix comics are notorious for obscure puns, but the most obscure may be the one used in Asterix and Cleopatra.
Born king
John I the Posthumous was the King of France for five days, from the time he was born until the time he died.
Shot by Australia’s first camel
The first camel in Australia shot its owner, the English explorer John Horrocks.