The Littlest Skyscraper: How J.D. McMahon’s 480-Inch Con Fooled Investors in 1919

Australian blood donor James Harrison has been one of our most impressive and valued donors, having donated for 60 years. Know his story, how he was a pioneer of our Anti-D program, and why this matters.

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.

Bill Haast immunized himself by injecting snake venom into his blood for several years. He holds the Guinness World Record for surviving the most lethal snake bites, having been bitten over 172 times. Bill became known as "Snake Man" around the world and lived for over 100 years.

Long before radar revolutionized air defense, enormous acoustic mirrors and specialized sound locators stood as the first line of defense against enemy aircraft. Designed as giant “ears,” these structures amplified distant engine noises, allowing operators to detect incoming planes by sound alone. Dive into the intriguing world of these pioneering listening devices, their operation, limitations, and enduring legacy in military history.

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.

When Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs first opened in 1916, the owner hired people to dress as doctors and eat hot dogs outside his shop, to convince people his hot dogs were healthy.

The ancient city of Jericho is the world's oldest walled city, with evidence of stone fortifications dating back nearly 9000 years.

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

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.

In 1814, there was a beer flood in London when a tank containing more than 300,000 gallons ruptured in which 8 people drowned.

A baboon worked as a signalman for the railroad in the late 1800s. He never made a mistake and worked for the railroad until the day he died.

In China, Lotus shoes were used to bind women's feet to keep their feet small

In 1859, wealthy settler Thomas Austin released 13 wild rabbits on his Australian estate. By 1920, their population grew to 10 billion.

Blanche Monnier, she was a French woman noted for her beauty, she wished to marry an old lawyer that her mother disapproved of, so she locked her in a small dark room in her attic for 25 years.

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

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.

An airplane crashed into the Empire State Building in 1945. Among other damage, plane parts severed the cables of an elevator and the woman inside fell over 70 stories. She lived and holds the world record for the longest survived elevator fall.

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.

Henry Ford was the first Industrial Giant to give his employees both Saturday and Sunday off in the hope of encouraging more leisurely use of automobiles and thus popularizing the concept of the "weekend."

Polish troops raised an orphaned bear cub during WWII. He enjoyed drinking beer, and was trained to salute. He became officially enlisted as a member of the forces, and helped carry artillery during battle.

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

In the 1940s and 1950s, Quaker Oats and MIT conducted experiments on radioactive iron and calcium-containing cereal. The diet was part of a study to see if the nutrients in Quaker oatmeal traveled throughout the body. In January 1998, a $1.85 million settlement was reached for 30 victims who came forward.

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.

Super Mario is named after real-life businessman Mario Segale, who was renting out a warehouse to Nintendo. After Nintendo fell far behind on rent, Segale did not evict them but gave them a second chance to come up with the money. Nintendo succeeded and named their main character after him.

Sleep deprivation, long before modern interrogation techniques, was considered a “clean” and effective form of torture—leaving no physical scars, yet breaking minds with haunting silence. Victims endured days and nights without rest, leading to vivid hallucinations, disorientation, and psychological torment. This article traces the dark history of sleep deprivation as a weapon, examines the science behind its effects on the brain, and shines a light on the painful balance between human endurance and cruelty in the annals of coercion.