Stories

In 1983, a deep-sea expedition aboard the RV James Cook trawled up a strange fish from the abyssal depths near Australia and New Zealand. It was later described by Joseph Nelson in 1995 as Psychrolutes microporos, a species belonging to the blobfish family. The holotype specimen is preserved in the Museum of New Zealand.

Founded in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) became the country’s primary agency for civilian foreign aid.

In 1969, journalist Susanna McBee walked into multiple doctors’ offices, receiving amphetamine prescriptions within minutes. She was handed colorful diet pills before even speaking. Her investigation revealed a widespread problem—amphetamines were handed out freely, normalized for weight loss and mental health.

On November 14, 1957, New York State Troopers noticed something strange in the small town of Apalachin. A large number of expensive cars with out-of-state plates had arrived at the home of Joseph Barbara, a local businessman with a criminal record.

In Conisbrough, South Yorkshire, a small residential street became famous for its unusual name: Butt Hole Road. While the origin of the name is uncertain, local residents believe it referred to a communal water butt. However, in American English, the phrase has a crude meaning, leading to international attention.

In Deventer, a city in the Netherlands, a large copper cauldron hangs on the Waag building. This cauldron, dating back to the Middle Ages, was used for executing counterfeiters by boiling them alive in oil. Counterfeiting was considered a severe crime, as it threatened the economy and trust in currency.

In 1889, Eben Moody Boynton introduced the Boynton Bicycle Railroad in Brooklyn, New York. It was a unique monorail system that ran on a single track at ground level while using an overhead wooden stabilizing rail for balance. Boynton believed this system would be cheaper and more efficient than conventional railroads.

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.