Stories

On September 28, 1918, as World War I raged, Philadelphia hosted a grand Liberty Loan Drive parade to support the war effort. Over 200,000 people crowded Broad Street to watch a procession of soldiers, Boy Scouts, and marching bands. Unbeknownst to them, the parade would become a deadly event, spreading the Spanish Flu, a lethal virus ravaging nearby military bases.

In April 1998, Alex Chappel and journalist David C. West conceived a provocative art hoax that duped the British media. Titled “Fuckart & Pimp,” the show promised visitors a chance to buy art by Canadian artist Angela Marshall—on the condition they perform a sexual act with her.

On August 9, 1986, a massive fiberglass shark appeared head-first in the roof of a house in Headington, Oxford. Commissioned by local radio host Bill Heine, it was a striking protest against war, nuclear weapons, and political powerlessness.

In 1933, American William Dudley Pelley claimed a divine vision foretold Adolf Hitler’s rise and his own destiny as “The Chief” of the United States. Inspired, he founded the Silver Legion, or Silver Shirts, a Christian militia with Nazi-inspired ideals, complete with silver uniforms.

In 1842, as the Republic of Texas faced threats from Mexican troops, President Sam Houston ordered the removal of the Republic’s archives from Austin, citing security concerns. These documents symbolized the capital’s legitimacy, and Austinites saw the move as an attack on their city’s future.

Founded in 1693 by Francesco Bianco as a hot chocolate shop in Mayfair, White’s transitioned into an exclusive gentlemen’s club by the early 18th century. Now located at 37–38 St James’s Street since 1778, it remains one of London’s most secretive private clubs.

Accounts of premature burial date back centuries. Philosopher John Duns Scotus was reportedly found outside his coffin, hands bloodied, after being buried alive. In 17th-century England, Alice Blunden was buried after drinking poppy tea, only to awaken underground. By the time she was exhumed—twice—it was too late.

In the final days of World War II, American intelligence officer Frank Manuel noticed a peculiar symbol etched on walls in Germany’s Franconia region: a vertical line crossed by a hooked horizontal bar. Many dismissed it as a crude swastika, but Manuel identified it as the mark of the Werewolves—guerrilla fighters targeting Allied soldiers and collaborators.

Interstate 19 (I-19), connecting Nogales at the U.S.-Mexico border to Tucson, Arizona, is the only highway in the United States to use metric measurements for its distance markers and exit signs. Distances are marked in kilometers, a decision tied to a short-lived push for metrication in the 1970s.

On May 23, 1618, a heated meeting took place in Prague Castle between Protestant nobles and Catholic representatives of the Holy Roman Emperor. The Protestants, angered by perceived religious oppression, confronted Imperial governors, Jaroslav Martinic and William Slavata, in the council chamber.