In 564 BC, the ancient Olympic Games hosted a combat sports finale so extreme that the ultimate winner was a dead man.

In 1781, one of the founding fathers of the United States drafted a formal scientific proposal to completely change the odor of human flatulence.

In the year 897, a decomposing corpse was dressed in lavish papal robes, propped upon a wooden throne, and subjected to a formal legal trial.

Applying daily cosmetics has historically involved rubbing known poisons, toxic chemicals, and unusual bodily fluids directly onto the skin.

In 2004, a state-run television broadcast informed an entire nation that growing their hair too long would consume their brain’s nutrition and reduce their intelligence.

In the middle of World War II, American pilots flying dangerous bombing missions over enemy territory created a secretive society.

In April 1815, a mountain in the Dutch East Indies exploded with such devastating force that it altered the global climate and triggered a bizarre year without a summer.

In May 1946, trucks rolled through San Antonio, Texas, blanketing neighborhoods in a thick chemical fog.

In 1788, a wooden keg filled with thousands of copper coins was sealed away in the basement of the Bank of New York.

In 2004, the Paddington Basin area of London saw the completion of an unusual structure across the Grand Union Canal.