Stories

For 16 years, an unknown bomber terrorized New York City, planting explosives in crowded public spaces. Known only as “F.P.,” he left letters taunting the police. His bombs, initially crude, became deadlier. By 1956, after 32 bombings and 15 injuries, authorities were desperate to catch him.

In 1936, as the Spanish Civil War raged, the Republican government secretly moved 510 tonnes of gold—72.6% of Spain’s reserves—from the Bank of Spain in Madrid to the Soviet Union. The operation was ordered by Finance Minister Juan Negrín and approved by Prime Minister Francisco Largo Caballero, aiming to safeguard the reserves from advancing Nationalist forces.

Yang Kyoungjong, a Korean man born in 1920, was forcibly conscripted into the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Japan controlled Korea at the time, and he was sent to fight in Manchuria against the Soviet Union in 1938.

Maison de Jeanne, located in Sévérac-le-Château, France, was constructed in 1478, making it one of the oldest houses in Aveyron. Built with timber framing and cob walls, its design features upper floors that extend beyond the lower floor, a style believed to be influenced by medieval tax laws or jettying techniques.

On November 20, 1916, Ruth Law took off from Chicago in a small Curtiss pusher biplane. Fighting freezing temperatures and thick fog, she covered 590 miles to Hornell, New York, breaking the American cross-country flight record. She completed 884 miles upon reaching New York City, greeted by cheering crowds.

David Livingstone, a Scottish explorer and missionary, spent years mapping Africa and searching for the source of the Nile. He battled disease, extreme conditions, and long periods of isolation while documenting the continent’s geography and cultures.

Jaouad Benaddi spends his mornings trying to get his goats to climb an argan tree. His 13-year-old son, Khalid, climbs first, using a bag of grain to lure them. Some follow naturally, while others must be lifted onto small wooden platforms. Eventually, a dozen goats stand motionless in the tree’s branches, drawing the attention of passing tourists.

Leopold II became King of Belgium in 1865 and sought to expand Belgium’s influence. He focused on acquiring territory in Africa, eventually gaining control over the Congo Free State in 1885 after securing approval from European powers.

Lonnie G. Johnson, born in 1949, was an Air Force engineer and NASA scientist who worked on the Galileo mission to Jupiter and the Stealth Bomber project. He had a lifelong interest in inventing and often worked on projects in his spare time.

In 1952, Marvin Minsky, an artificial intelligence pioneer, created a device at Bell Labs with an unusual purpose—it turned itself off. When switched on, a small lever or mechanical hand would emerge from the box, flip the switch back off, and then disappear inside.