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.

Polydactyl cats are born with more than the usual number of toes due to a congenital condition called polydactyly. Normal cats have 18 toes, but polydactyl cats can have up to 28 digits. This trait is most commonly found along the East Coast of North America and in South West England and Wales.

Hallgrímskirkja, the tallest church in Iceland, stands at 74.5 meters (244 ft) in Reykjavík. Designed by architect Guðjón Samúelsson in 1937, its exterior was inspired by Iceland’s basalt lava columns, formed by cooling volcanic rock.

Ōkunoshima, a small island in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea, is home to hundreds of feral rabbits. Tourists flock to the island, now called Usagi Jima, or “Rabbit Island,” to feed and photograph the tame bunnies. With no natural predators and an abundance of food from visitors, the rabbit population thrives.

On March 24, 1863, at midnight, Peter escaped captivity from the Louisiana plantation of Capt. John Lyons. Lyons owned 3,000 acres and 38 enslaved people in St. Landry Parish. Peter traveled through swamps and rivers, covering miles of dangerous terrain. His goal was to reach Union forces stationed in Baton Rouge.

Macropinna microstoma, also known as the barreleye fish, was first described in 1939, but for decades, little was known about it. This deep-sea fish lives at depths of 600 to 800 meters (2,000 to 2,600 feet) in the Pacific Ocean, where sunlight barely reaches.

On November 9, 1970, a 45-foot (14 m) sperm whale washed ashore near Florence, Oregon. The massive carcass began to rot, emitting a foul odor. Local officials debated how to remove it, ultimately deciding to use dynamite to disintegrate the remains.

In June 1936, a shipyard worker named August Landmesser stood among a crowd at the Blohm+Voss shipyard in Hamburg. While hundreds raised their arms in the Nazi salute during the launch of the naval training vessel Horst Wessel, Landmesser stood with his arms crossed, refusing to salute.

In 1947, the U.S. Air Force began experiments to study how the human body withstands extreme deceleration, aiming to improve aircraft safety. Dr. John Stapp volunteered for the high-speed rocket sled tests, experiencing forces no human had endured before.

In April 1961, Soviet surgeon Leonid Rogozov was stationed at the remote Novolazarevskaya research station in Antarctica. At 27 years old, he was the only doctor among the 12-member team.