Stories

In 1271, after nearly three years without a pope, frustrated officials in Viterbo locked the cardinals in a palace and removed its roof to force a decision. This event led Pope Gregory X to establish conclave rules in 1274: electors would be secluded cum clave—“with a key.”

Veijo Rönkkönen lived quietly in the woods of Parikkala, Finland, working at a paper mill for 41 years and avoiding social contact. But in secret, on his rural property near the Russian border, he was building a concrete world—one he worked on for five decades.

Each year, millions gaze up at the 60-foot faces of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt at Mount Rushmore. The man behind the mountain, Gutzon Borglum, began carving in 1927 at age 60, but his path to the Black Hills began with another project—on Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Before he became the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Jorge Mario Bergoglio—now known as Pope Francis—held a job that few would associate with a future pontiff.

In the late 1800s, people in Gallatin, Tennessee, often spotted an enormous man riding through town in a cart pulled by goats. That man was John William Rogan, who grew to a staggering height of 8 feet 9 inches (267 cm), making him the second-tallest person in recorded history.

In the early 1960s, while the Cold War superpowers competed for dominance in space, a small college in Beirut launched its own race to the stars

Wittenoom, once the largest town in the Pilbara during the 1950s, was built to support Australia’s only blue asbestos mine. Operated from the 1930s to 1966, the mine produced crocidolite asbestos—among the most hazardous mineral fibers known.

Between the 15th and 17th centuries, Venetian women wore platform shoes called chopines—some towering over 50 cm (20 inches) tall. Originally designed to protect dresses and shoes from muddy streets, chopines soon became fashion items flaunted by courtesans and noblewomen alike.

Beneath the dry plains of Gonabad lies a vast underground marvel. Built between 700 and 500 BCE during the Achaemenid Empire, the Qanats of Ghasabeh stretch over 33 kilometers and include 427 vertical shafts. Designed to transport groundwater without pumps, the system still functions today.

In 1741, Marco Cazotte was born in Venice. He would become known as Pipine, or Petit Pépin. Born with symmetrical phocomelia, he had no arms or legs—his hands and feet were attached directly to his torso. Despite this, he could move on his own by trotting.