In November 2017, the art world was stunned when an enigmatic painting of Christ called Salvator Mundi sold for a record-shattering $450 million at auction.
In the winter of 1887, Parisian journalists gathered at a curious construction site on the Champ de Mars. There, amid wooden scaffolding and the rhythmic clang of hammers, they witnessed what one reporter would describe as men "reaping lightning bolts in the clouds."
For over 30 years, one name appeared again and again as the director of some of the worst movies ever made -Â Alan Smithee. But Alan Smithee wasn't a real person. He was a pseudonym used by Hollywood directors who wanted to disavow their finished films.
In the late 1990s, a brazen fraudster named Emmanuel Nwude pulled off one of history's most outrageous cons - selling a fictional airport to a gullible Brazilian bank director for a whopping $242 million.
The next time you find yourself composing an angry email to customer service, take comfort in knowing you're participating in a tradition nearly four millennia old. Long before Yelp reviews and Twitter rants, an irate customer named Nanni etched his frustrations into clay, creating what would become the world's oldest documented customer complaint. His target? A copper merchant named Ea-Nasir...
Deep in the world's oceans thrives a photosynthetic powerhouse you can't even see. The tiny microbe Prochlorococcus measures just 0.6 micrometers wide—half the size of the thinnest human hair. Yet this unassuming organism pulls off an astounding chemical feat: producing up to 80% of the oxygen in Earth's atmosphere.
Deep in the pitch-black abyss of the ocean, a light flickers in the darkness. It's an anglerfish, glowing to lure in unsuspecting prey. With its huge head, sharp teeth, and illuminated fishing rod protruding from its head, the anglerfish looks like something out of a sci-fi movie.
On a fateful night in 1865, a young boy of just five years old witnessed one of the most pivotal events in American history – the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Samuel J. Seymour, who would later recount his experience on the 1956 episode of the TV show "I've Got A Secret," remains the last living witness to this tragic event. Now, over a century later, we delve into Seymour's riveting account and explore the emotions and vivid details of that unforgettable night.
The Antikythera Mechanism is one of the most astounding archeological finds in history. Discovered within the ruins of an ancient Greco-Roman shipwreck ...
Did you know that the Pacific Ocean is not only the largest and deepest of Earth's oceans, but also has more artifacts than all the world's museums combined? And that's not all; it's even wider than the moon! Let's dive into the amazing world of the Pacific Ocean and explore its mind-boggling size, depth, and some of the cool things that make it an incredible part of our planet.
Before TV dramas or social media, early America buzzed over one influential tastemaker renowned for his continental flair. Long before Michelin stars or the Food Network made chefs famous, Thomas Jefferson won widespread fame for his epicurean adventures.