The term lithopedion, meaning “stone baby,” refers to a rare medical condition where a fetus dies during an abdominal pregnancy and becomes calcified to protect the mother from infection. This calcification process can preserve the fetus in the mother’s body for years or even decades.

In 1950, A.J. Freiman introduced the Vis-O-Matic in Pembroke, Canada, sparking curiosity across North America. This revolutionary concept allowed customers to browse over 3,750 products on color televisions, write down their selections, and have purchases shipped from Ottawa the next day.

Squid Game was initially conceived as a feature film in 2009 by Hwang Dong-Hyuk, inspired by South Korea’s debt crisis. Rejected repeatedly for its violent themes, the project was shelved for over a decade. Netflix revived it, leading to the global phenomenon we see today.

In 1969, a tiny art exhibit known as the Moon Museum was secretly sent to the Moon aboard Apollo 12. The project, led by artist Forrest Myers, featured a thumbnail-sized ceramic wafer engraved with six artworks created by prominent artists of the time.

In 1899, Lenna R. Winslow of Ohio filed a patent for a groundbreaking voting machine that separated ballots based on the voter’s gender. Designed to address partial suffrage for women, the machine used doors labeled “Ladies” and “Gents” to activate mechanisms displaying gender-specific ballots.

In 1884, LaMarcus Adna Thompson, dismayed by the rise of saloons and brothels, sought to create a wholesome alternative for entertainment. His answer was the Switchback Gravity Railway, a gravity-powered roller coaster at Brooklyn’s Coney Island. Riders paid five cents for the experience.

In 1890, Cedar Key, Florida, was ruled by Mayor William “Billy” Cottrell, whose drunken rampages terrorized the town. Armed and volatile, he bullied residents, forced a black man to attack another at gunpoint, and used his power to threaten and harm those who opposed him.

In October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vasily Arkhipov served as a senior officer aboard the Soviet submarine B-59, near Cuba. The submarine carried nuclear torpedoes and was detected by U.S. naval forces, which dropped practice depth charges to force it to surface.

Pauline Cushman, born Harriet Wood in 1833, transitioned from acting to espionage during the American Civil War. Originally pursuing an acting career in New York, she later moved to Louisville, Kentucky. It was here, under Union control yet rife with Confederate sympathizers, that her life took a dramatic turn.

In 2006, casino mogul Steve Wynn agreed to sell Pablo Picasso’s 1932 painting Le Rêve to hedge fund manager Steven Cohen for $139 million, a record-breaking price for an artwork at the time.