

Ancient Jericho: The First Walled City In History
Jericho, also known as Arīḥā in Arabic, is a West Bank town. Perhaps founded as early as 9000 BC, Jericho is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. Jericho’s long history has been proven by archaeological digs. The location of the city holds significant archaeological value as it showcases the initial stages of permanent settlement development and the progression towards civilization. Carbon dating back to approximately 9000 BC, remnants of Mesolithic hunters have been discovered, along with a prolonged period of habitation by their offspring. By 8000 BC, the settlers had developed into a cohesive group capable of building a substantial stone wall around the settlement, which was at one point reinforced by a colossal stone tower.
The term “town” is appropriate given the size of this settlement, which indicates a population of about 2,000–3,000 people. Thus, during the course of these 1,000 years, people have transitioned from a hunting to a fully settled lifestyle. This suggests the evolution of agriculture, and grains of cultivated wheat and barley have been discovered. Thus, one location that offers proof of extremely early agriculture is Jericho. It is very likely that irrigation had been developed in order to supply enough land for cultivation. Palestine’s initial Neolithic culture was an entirely indigenous creation.

A second, non-native group succeeded these around 7000 BC, bringing with them a Neolithic culture that continued to lack the ability to make pottery. This occupation most likely marks the entry of newcomers from one of the other centers where the Neolithic agricultural way of life had developed, perhaps in northern Syria. By 6000 BC, this second Neolithic stage came to an end. The next millennia at Jericho are mostly devoid of evidence of human habitation.
Jericho did not begin to exhibit the effects of northern developments until approximately 5000 BC. At that time, an increasing number of Neolithic villages—marked by the use of pottery—had begun to appear. Nonetheless, the earliest ceramic users in Jericho were rudimentary in comparison to those who came before them, residing in uncomplicated underground huts. Most likely, they were pastoralists in the main. Over the next 2,000 years, occupation was sparse and possibly intermittent.

Like the rest of Palestine, Jericho saw the emergence of an urban culture again around the end of the fourth millennium BC. Jericho was once again a walled town, having had its walls rebuilt numerous times. The urban life again broke down around 2300 BC. The newcomers, who were nomadic and comprised of several groups, were most likely the Amorites. Their descendants, who shared a culture throughout the Mediterranean littoral, were the Canaanites, who lived around 1900 BC.
Excavations have revealed evidence of Canaanite houses and domestic furniture, which were discovered in their tombs as the deceased’s possessions in the afterlife. The Canaanites brought town life back to their homeland. These discoveries have indicated the nature of the culture that the Israelites found when they infiltrated into Canaan and that they largely adopted.

In biblical history, Jericho is well-known for being the first town that Joshua’s Israelites attacked after crossing the Jordan River (Joshua 6). The biblical story states that after the Israelites destroyed it, it was abandoned until Hiel the Bethelite settled there in the ninth century BC (1 Kings 16:34). The Bible makes multiple references to Jericho. Herod the Great built a winter home in Jericho, where he passed away in 4 BC. The 1950s and 1951 excavations uncovered some information about Herodian Jericho: a stunning façade by the Wadi Al-Qilṭ is most likely a remnant of Herod’s palace, and its design reflects Herod’s adoration for Rome.
This area, roughly one mile (1.6 km) south of the Old Testament town, became the center of Roman and New Testament Jericho. Traces of other fine buildings can be seen in this area. A mile east of the Old Testament site, on a third site, was the Crusader city of Jericho, where the modern town would eventually grow.


Will & William Wests: The puzzling situation of two inmates who are identical but not related
These are the mugshots of Will West and William West, and they are not related. They were both sent to Leavenworth Prison at the same time, in 1903, and after some confusion, the staff understood they had two different prisoners with the nearly same name, who looked exactly alike. They are part of the reason fingerprints are now used as identification.

Ea-Nasir: world's oldest written customer complaint
This clay tablet, written in cuneiform, is the oldest known written customer complaint about the delivery of poor quality copper ingots. Originally from ancient Babylon, the tablet dates back to 1750 BCE, and it was written by a customer named Nanni to a merchant named Ea-Nasir. It is currently housed in the British Museum.

Terry Fox, a 21-year-old one-legged cancer patient who ran 143 days before dying
Terry Fox was a 21-year-old one-legged cancer patient who ran 3,339 miles across Canada in 143 days before dying.

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.

Nearest Green, America's first known Black master distiller
Nathan "Nearest" Green was an African-American head stiller who is now more frequently referred to as a master distiller. He was renowned for imparting his distilling knowledge to Jack Daniel, the creator of Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey distiller, after Jack Daniel was freed from slavery following the American Civil War.

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

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.

Inside China’s Footbinding Tradition: The Painful Ritual of Lotus Shoes and Bound Feet
In China, Lotus shoes were used to bind women's feet to keep their feet small

Remembering the miracles of the 1985 Mexico earthquake (unbelievable stories)
In 1985, after an 8.0 magnitude earthquake hit Mexico City, nearly all newborn babies survived a collapsed hospital. They are known as “Miracle Babies” for surviving 7 days without nourishment, water, warmth or human contact.

Martin Couney, Saved Thousands of Premature Babies Wasn’t a Doctor at All
Martin Couney never qualified as a medical doctor. However, in the 1900s, he saved thousands of premature babies by exhibiting them in incubators at his Coney Island sideshow. Over the course of his career, he is said to have saved about 6,500 babies that had previously been written off by mainstream medicine.

The true story of Josephine Myrtle Corbin, the lady born with four legs and two private parts
Josephine Myrtle Corbin, an American sideshow performer born in 1868, had a rare condition known as dipygus, which caused her to have four legs, each smaller inner leg paired with one of her outer legs. Corbin joined the sideshow circuit, captivating audiences as the "Four-Legged Girl from Texas."

story of the youngest mother in the world at age of five - Lina Medina
Lina Medina, a five-year-old Peruvian girl, became the youngest mother in history in 1939 when she gave birth to a boy.

History of Treadmill, punishment for prisoners
Treadmills were originally a punishment used to harness human power on a giant wheel used to grind grains, hence the name "treadmill." The History of Treadmill

Knockers-up: waking up the Industrial Britain's Workers in 1900-1941
Before alarm clocks were invented, there was a profession called a knocker-up, which involved going from client to client and tapping on their windows (or banging on their doors) with long sticks until they were awake. It lasted into the 1920s.

The youngest person executed, George Stinney Jr was proven innocent
In 1944, George Stinney Jr. was 14 years old when he was executed in South Carolina. It took only ten minutes to convict him — and 70 years to exonerate him.

Keith Sapsford: The Story of 14-Year-Old Stowaway
The final image of 14-year-old Australian Keith Sapsford, who aspired to travel the world. In February 1970, he sneaked into the wheel-well of a plane flying from Sydney to Tokyo. It opened mid-air & fell out. When a photographer was testing a new lens, he captured this moment on film and was surprised when it developed.

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.

Juliane Koepcke: The Teenager Who Fell 10,000 Feet And Trekked The Jungle to survive
In 1971, a high school student was sucked out of an airplane after it was struck by lightning. She fell 10,000 feet to the ground while still strapped to her chair and survived. Only to endure a 9-day trek to the nearest civilization.

Vince Coleman, a railway dispatcher, sacrificed his own life
Vince Coleman, a railway dispatcher, sacrificed his life in order to warn an incoming train of an imminent explosion. His telegraph said “Hold up the train. Ammunition ship afire in harbor making for Pier 6 and will explode. Guess this will be my last message. Good-bye, boys.” He saved 300 lives.

Thomas Baker's heroic act that earned him the "Medal of Honor" was 8 bullets until death
Thomas Baker instructed his team to leave him with a pistol and eight bullets propped up against a tree after he was injured. Later, American troops discovered the now-deceased Baker in the same location, lying next to eight dead Japanese soldiers and carrying an empty pistol.

Albert Einstein’s brain after it was stolen from his body
Albert Einstein's brain was taken by the opportunistic pathologist who performed his autopsy hours after he died and kept in two jars for 30 years. The stolen brain of Albert Einstein was preserved in a cookie jar for 30 years until being discovered by a journalist.

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.

Nuclear bomb accidentally dropped on North Carolina in 196
4 January 1961: The 4241st Strategic Wing's Boeing B-52G-95-BW Stratofortress, serial number 58-0187, was on a 24-hour airborne alert mission off the United States' Atlantic Coast.

Medieval Medicine: A 1,000-year-old onion and garlic salve kills modern bacterial superbugs
Scientists recreated an Anglo-Saxon manuscript-based 9th century onion and garlic eye remedy and discovered that it killed 90% of antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria (MRSA).

The History Behind the “No One Dies Alone” Program
In 1986, while doing a night shift at the hospital, Sandra Clarke, a registered nurse, was asked by an elderly patient to stay. She promised to be back after checking on her other patients, but by the time she returned, the gentleman had passed away. Clarke became one of the key figures in launching No One Dies Alone, a program that allows volunteers to sit with terminal patients who have no one else.