Stories

In 1926, Toronto lawyer and financier Charles Vance Millar passed away, leaving behind a fortune. His will contained an unusual clause: a large portion of his estate would go to the Toronto woman who gave birth to the most children in the decade following his death.

On December 6, 2019, residents of Drakes Beach, California, discovered an unusual sight—thousands of pink, wriggling marine worms covering the shore.

In the 16th century, a Hungarian nobleman named Gregor Baci participated in a jousting tournament. During the event, an opponent’s lance struck him in the head, piercing through his right eye and exiting near his ear. Despite the severe injury, Baci did not die immediately and reportedly survived for some time after the incident.

U Thant Island, officially called Belmont Island, is the smallest island in Manhattan. Located in the East River, it was unintentionally created during the construction of the Steinway Tunnel in the early 1900s. The tunnel, which now serves the 7 train, required an excavation shaft, and the debris formed this artificial islet near Roosevelt Island.

In 1976, a conversation at the Neuadd Arms Hotel in Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales, led to the creation of bog snorkelling. Gordon Green, a local businessman, suggested a race through a water-filled trench in a peat bog, using only flippers and a snorkel for propulsion.

In 1978, a newly published Michigan Department of Transportation map contained two unusual town names: Beatosu and Goblu. Located in Ohio near the Michigan border, these towns did not exist, yet they appeared just like any other location on the map.

Prince Randian was born in 1871 in British Guiana with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare condition that left him without arms or legs. Despite this, he developed the ability to perform daily tasks independently and became known for his remarkable self-sufficiency.

On June 4, 1940, Winston Churchill addressed the House of Commons after the Dunkirk evacuation rescued 338,000 Allied troops. Despite this success, France was days away from collapse, and Nazi forces remained a growing threat. Churchill’s speech prepared Britain for the worst and aimed to send a message to America.

On November 30, 1954, Anne Hodges was resting on her couch in Sylacauga, Alabama, when a nine-pound meteorite crashed through her roof. The space rock ricocheted off a radio before striking her in the side, leaving a massive bruise. She became the first confirmed person in history to be hit by a meteorite.

In 2003, researchers in India uncovered a species of frog unlike any other. Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis, also known as the purple frog, was found in the Western Ghats. Though new to science, this species had existed for around 130 million years, dating back to the age of the dinosaurs.