In 2017, Brianna and Austin, expecting their first child, faced a severe crisis due to Austin’s excessive energy drink consumption. Austin, who developed the habit while working longer hours and commuting, suddenly collapsed one morning. Brianna, nine months pregnant, woke to her mother-in-law telling her Austin had an accident and was in the hospital.

In the 1880s, horse diving emerged as a unique and daring spectacle in the United States. Invented by William “Doc” Carver, a former sharpshooter and showman, the sport involved horses and their riders plunging off a high platform into a pool of water. Inspired by an incident where his horse accidentally dived off a bridge, Carver turned this into a daring act for entertainment.

In the 1920s and 1930s, kangaroo boxing emerged as a curious spectacle in Australia. The idea of pitting human against kangaroo may seem absurd, but it drew crowds fascinated by the exotic and the unusual.

On January 22, 1941, a group of young people gathered in a cabin in the woods of Maryland with an unusual mission: to kill Adolf Hitler through voodoo magic. Their arsenal included a dressmaker’s dummy, a Nazi uniform, axes, nails, rum, and a strong belief in voodoo’s dark powers.

On July 21, 1918, World War I reached American shores in a surprising attack at Nauset Beach, Massachusetts. A German U-boat, U-156, surfaced and began shelling the tugboat Perth Amboy and its four barges.

Millie and Christine McCoy were born on July 11, 1851, in North Carolina, joined at the lower spine and sharing some internal organs. Their parents, enslaved people Jacob and Monimia McCoy, saw the twins sold to a showman who displayed them in freak shows. They were kidnapped and sold multiple times, eventually ending up in the hands of showman J.P. Smith.

In 1905, the Salton Sea, California’s largest lake, was accidentally created when the Colorado River breached an irrigation canal and flooded the Salton Sink, a low-lying desert basin. For two years, water flowed unchecked into the basin, forming a vast inland sea.

Dooagh Beach, located on Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland, was a popular destination for locals and tourists. However, in 1984, a powerful storm swept the beach away, leaving only rocks and pebbles behind. For over three decades, the sandy shore that once attracted visitors vanished completely.

Kuldhara, a village near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, India, was established in 1291 by the prosperous Paliwal Brahmins. Renowned for its well-planned layout and advanced water management system, Kuldhara was a thriving community amidst the arid Thar Desert.

In 1855, the Mississippi State Insane Asylum opened its doors in Jackson, Mississippi. Established to care for individuals with mental illnesses, it was one of the first institutions of its kind in the state. The asylum was built on a sprawling, picturesque campus, with the aim of providing a serene environment for its patients.