

The 1976 April Fools' Pranks, Planetary Alignment
Sir Patrick Moore, a British astronomer, announced on BBC2 radio in 1976 that a remarkable and impending planetary alignment would momentarily weaken gravity.
According to Sir Patrick, the alignment of Pluto, Jupiter, and the Earth will counteract the gravitational pull of Earth at 947 a.m. The astronomer informed his audience that individuals could experience a brief sensation of weightlessness if they leaped into the air at the exact moment he instructed them to.
When Sir Patrick declared “now” at 9:47 a.m., people jumped all over the United Kingdom and even abroad. Hundreds of people called the radio station to report experiencing the effect.
A caller claimed that she and her spouse had experienced levitation; Sir Patrick had devised the April Fool’s Day joke to mock assertions that a planetary alignment in 1982 would result in significant earthquakes.

Medals of Friendship: The Enduring Olympic Story of 1936
At the 1936 Summer Olympics, two Japanese pole vaulters named Sueo Oe and Shuhei Nishida tied for second, but they declined to compete against each other. As a result, Nishida was awarded the silver medal and Oe won a bronze medal. Upon returning to Japan, the athletes had their medals cut in half and spliced together to create new "friendship medals," which were half silver and half bronze.

The unbroken seal on King Tutankhamun's tomb until 1922
The unbroken seal of Tutankhamun's tomb before it was opened in 1923, it was unbroken for over 3000 years.

The mysterious secret of Dr James Barry
Before women were allowed to enroll in medical school, Margaret Ann Bulkley studied medicine and assumed the identity of Dr. James Barry for 56 years while dressing as a man. After 46 years of service as an army doctor officer, her secret was not made public until after her death in 1865.

The incredible story of a plane that lost its roof in mid-flight and the light signal that saved 94 lives.
On April 28, 1988, Aloha Airlines flight 243 was on the way to Honolulu from Hilo when a huge portion of the upper part of the fuselage blew off the airplane.

The Horrific story of Ariel Castro and the Cleveland abduction
Cleveland abduction victims Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight, and Amanda Berry were forced to live in Ariel Castro's house of horrors for 10 years. He raped and beat them until they escaped in 2013.

Ancient Egyptians Had Pregnancy Tests Over 3500 Years Ago
The ancient Egyptians used a pregnancy test that involved potentially pregnant women peeing on barley and wheat seeds. Plant growth indicated pregnancy: barley for a boy and wheat for a girl. Later tests revealed that pregnant women's urine causes plant growth 70% of the time, whereas non-pregnant women's urine does not.

Sylvan Goldman: The Visionary Who Revolutionized Shopping with the Cart
The inventor of shopping carts, Sylvan Goldman, had to hire several male and female models to push carts around in his store, demonstrate their utility, and explain their use to other customers, due to not catching on initially.

The Mouth of Truth: Ancient Rome’s Legendary "Lie Detector" That Bit Off Hands
Discover the chilling legend of the Mouth of Truth (Bocca della Verità) in Ancient Rome—a massive carved stone face believed to bite off the hand of anyone who lied while inserting their hand into its gaping mouth. Uncover the truth behind its eerie reputation and how this ancient artifact became a symbol of honesty and fear.

Irena Sendler: woman who rescued Jews during holocaust
Irene Sendler was the Zegota resistance group's head of the children's department. She risked her life to smuggle children out of the Warsaw ghetto, place them with Polish families or orphanages, give each child a new identity, and keep records so that they could be returned to their families. In 1943, the Gestapo arrested and sentenced her to death, but she was rescued by Zegota.

Graves holding hands over wall, A Catholic woman and her Protestant husband grave
A protestant man and a Catholic woman who weren't allowed from being buried together in a graveyard in 19th-century Holland turned their graves into a monument showing them holding hands across the wall separating them.

The touching story of David Vetter (bubble boy), the 'boy who lived in a bubble
David Vetter lived his whole 12 years in sterile “bubble”. He was “outside” for 20 second after being removed from his mother’s womb. He never touched any human.

Hedy Lamarr, A Hollywood actress who also a mathematician and inventor
Hollywood actress Hedy Lamarr was also a mathematician and the inventor of frequency hopping spread spectrum, a technology still used for bluetooth and wifi

What is the story behind Wrigley chewing gum?
Wrigley's was originally a soap company that gifted baking powder with their soap. The baking powder became more popular than the soap so they switched to selling baking powder with chewing gum as a gift. The gum became more popular than the baking powder so the company switched to selling gum.

Marion Stokes recorded 30 years of television
Marion Stokes, a Philadelphia woman began taping whatever was on television in 1979 and didn’t stop until her death in 2012. The 71,000 VHS and Betamax tapes she made are the most complete collection preserving this era of TV. They are being digitized by the Internet Archive.

Why was the Eiffel Tower almost demolished
The Eiffel Tower was intended to be a temporary structure for the World's Fair in 1889, but it was nearly dismantled and sold for scrap metal. It was saved because of its potential use as a radio antenna, and it now serves as a tourist attraction as well as a working broadcast tower.

The worst blizzard in recorded history: the 1972 Iran blizzard
The deadliest snowstorm ever recorded occurred in Iran in 1972. It lasted for a week, burying areas in 26 feet of snow and killing over 4,000 people, including the entire populations of three villages.

8 Interesting Facts About The Unsinkable Ship, TITANIC
If you ask your friends what's the most famous ship in history the answer in most cases will be the same, of course the legendary Titanic. Its history is full of mysteries, at first it was a source of hope and national pride as well as proof of the triumphs of mankind but it soon became a source of nostalgia and pain, the extent of which cannot be described in words.

What Was the Beast of Gévaudan?
Between 1764 and 1767, a mysterious animal called the Beast of Gévaudan terrorized the French village called Gévaudan. It attacked and killed about 100 adults and children. While most believe it was a wolf, some say it may have been a wolf-dog hybrid, hyena or even a lion, but without any genetic evidence, the beast will remain a mystery forever.

how Ferris wheel invented
In 1891, Chicago challenged engineers to create a structure to surpass the Eiffel Tower for the World's Columbian Exposition. George Washington Gale Ferris jr. responded with the original Ferris Wheel, a giant rotating structure elevating visitors above the city. This invention became an iconic attraction at the fair.

The true story of Annie Oakley, legendary sharpshooter
Anne Oakley was such a good shooter that she could split a playing card help edge-on, hit dimes thrown into the air, shoot cigarette from her husband's lips, and pierce a playing card thrown into the air before it hit the ground.

William James Sidis: The smartest person yet forgotten by people
William James Sidis, who was only 11 years old when he enrolled in Hardvard, finished his primary and secondary schooling in less than a year. He knew eight foreign languages by the age of eight and even invented his own language, "vedergood."

Did Gil Pérez Really Teleport from Manila to Mexico Overnight? The 1593 Mystery
On October 24, 1593, while performing his guard duties at Manila's Governor's Palace in the Philippines, Gil Perez stopped to lean against a wall and sleep for a while. He opened his eyes to find himself in an unusual environment. Gil was in the Plaza Mayor in Mexico City. They imprisoned Perez, but the authorities in Mexico City decided to release him and return him home.

Susanna Salter: The Trailblazing Story of America’s First Female Mayor
In 1887, Susanna Salter became the first female mayor in the United States, elected in Argonia, Kansas. Her nomination was initially a prank by men opposing women in politics. However, she won by a landslide and served effectively, inspiring the women’s suffrage movement and breaking barriers for women in leadership.

The story of a man who spent 72 hours with 72 venomous snakes to prove they only bite when provoked
In the 1980s, an Indian man spent 72 hours in a glass cabin with 72 snakes, some of which were extremely venomous. His aim was to prove that snakes only attack when provoked. Remarkably, he was not bitten once in those 72 hours and even set a Guinness World Record in the process.

15 interesting facts about Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled Britain for 70 years, has away at the age of 96. She was the country's longest-reigning monarch. Here are some little-known facts about her.