On December 18, 1944, Morris “Moe” Berg, a former Major League Baseball catcher, attended a lecture in Zurich, Switzerland, not as a curious student but on a mission. Tasked by the U.S. government, Berg was sent to assess and, if necessary, assassinate Werner Heisenberg, a German physicist leading Nazi Germany’s nuclear program. Armed with a gun and a cyanide pill, he attended the talk to determine if Heisenberg’s work could endanger the world.

Jackie Jackson, the eldest of the group, was known for his smooth tenor voice and calm leadership within The Jackson 5. Born in 1951, he often handled background vocals and occasional lead parts. After the group’s success, Jackie pursued a solo career, releasing albums like Jackie Jackson (1973) and Be the One (1989). He later managed the family’s estate and co-founded a record label.

Located in Antarctica, the McMurdo Dry Valleys are the coldest and driest place on Earth. Covering 4,800 square kilometers, these valleys are almost entirely free of snow and ice, with some areas not seeing rainfall for over two million years. The extreme cold keeps the air dry, making it one of the harshest environments on the planet.

In February 1945, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-Black, all-female unit, arrived in England. Tasked with clearing a massive backlog of mail for U.S. troops in Europe, the battalion was led by Major Charity Adams, the first African American woman to be an officer in the Women’s Army Corps.

In 1927, a Georgia Tech student named Ed Smith mistakenly received an extra admissions form and decided to have some fun. He filled it out for a fictitious student named George P. Burdell and submitted it to the university.

Thaddeus Stevens, a Pennsylvania congressman, was one of the strongest voices for abolition in the 19th century. Born poor and with a clubfoot, he overcame immense challenges, eventually becoming a powerful figure in Congress, where he relentlessly fought for the abolition of slavery.

In 1958, the Soviet Union established the Pole of Inaccessibility research station in Antarctica, one of the most remote places on Earth. Located 878 miles from the South Pole, the station was intended for meteorological observations.

Starting in the second trimester, parents may feel their baby moving inside the womb. But did you know that babies also practice crying before birth? While you can’t hear or feel it, research using ultrasound technology suggests babies may start developing the facial expressions of crying before they even take their first breath.

In 1951, London physician Richard Asher identified a strange pattern in certain patients. These individuals presented with dramatic medical histories and symptoms, often arguing with doctors and leaving hospitals against advice. Asher labeled this condition Munchausen syndrome, after the fictional character Baron Munchausen, known for telling wildly exaggerated stories.

The “demon core” was a plutonium core originally meant for use in a nuclear bomb during World War II. It was prepared as a backup for the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945, but after the war ended, it was retained for experiments at the Los Alamos Laboratory.