The Middle East is the birthplace of the world’s three largest Abrahamic religions—Christianity, Islam, and Judaism—and has been the site of numerous religious wars, such as the brutal Crusades. But while nine out of ten people living in the Middle East nowadays identify as Muslim, it hasn’t always been that way. As the battle for

Incest, or sexual relationships between biologically close family members, is an idea that may make your skin crawl. But it has often been practiced around the world throughout history. Royals often married close family members to keep their bloodline pure and to protect the throne politically and economically. Cultural attitudes toward incestuous relationships vary more

The Vikings are well-known for fighting and exploring, yet religion and ritual practices were a big part of their culture and everyday life. Their religious beliefs included many different gods and goddesses, so much so that it is considered a “non-doctrinal community religion.” This means that their beliefs and rituals varied among people. Although they

Humans have been sailing for millennia, but submarines as we know them today are a more recent innovation. It takes a brave soul to journey in one of these claustrophobic underwater vessels, surrounded on all sides by the crushing pressure of the sea. We all know about the Yellow Submarine, but most people don’t know

Crimes are committed every single day, including murder, theft, and assault. People break into homes and cause countless problems for others. And that’s what we think of when it comes to crimes—people. But as we’re going to learn, humans aren’t the only culprits. Some of the same crimes for which people have been responsible have

In 1927, the Cecil Hotel (currently known as Stay on Main) opened with initially 700 rooms decorated in Art Deco style, intended to attract and entertain businessmen. Located at 640 S. Main Street in Downtown Los Angeles, it wasn’t long before the hotel fell victim to the hard times that hit during the beginning of

In mid-2018, Chris Martin was having his UK home renovated when he discovered a World War II bunker in his back garden. The two-room concrete bunker found at the Middlesbrough home was large enough to hold up to 50 people. Martin plans to turn the bunker into an office or wine cellar. He isn’t the

Japan is one of the most peaceful countries in the entire world. Last year, the country hit a record low number of crimes, with just 915,111 in total.[1] Much of this decline was based on a shrinking number of thefts. It therefore seems that most of Japan’s crime is associated with some form of larceny.

Women, throughout most of history, haven’t shared the same opportunities as men. They’ve been relegated to their homes, with the doors that lead to the great deeds that get one’s name written into history firmly closed. At best, their names are remembered only by virtue of being somehow connected to a famous man. But throughout

Keeping up with the news is hard. So hard, in fact, that we’ve decided to save you the hassle by rounding up the most significant, unusual, or just plain old mind-blowing stories each week. This was the week when the dream of a new, post-Mugabe society finally seemed to die in Zimbabwe. Following last year’s

The ancient Romans are well-known for keeping an abundance of written records about their society. Sometimes, it almost seems as though we know more about them than we do about ourselves. Of course, World History and History of Western Civilization courses and textbooks always cover the history of the Romans. After all, so much of

Throughout history, the world—particularly the the United States—has seen its fair share of conspiracy theories come and go. From reptilians disguised as humans to chemtrails, it’s fair to say that most of these theories are entirely absurd. From time to time, though, a conspiracy theory that many thought to be ridiculous is shown, in fact,

It is not common for fish to hunt land animals because sea and land creatures are rarely adapted to survive in the other’s territory. Even at that, land animals are likelier to go into the water to hunt sea animals. However, it sometimes happens in the reverse, with fish coming on land to hunt land

So far, on Who Is America?, Sacha Baron Cohen has convinced a member of the Georgia House of Representatives to pull down his pants and try to touch people with his butt, yelling, “I’ll make you a homosexual!” and “USA! USA!” He’s gotten a reality show star to say she saved 6,000 people in Africa

In some ways, prisoners actually get a better deal than you do. It’s not just the fashionable orange jumpsuits or the active sex life that is always so thoroughly enjoyed by one of the two inmates involved. In a lot of very important ways, we actually take much better care of prisoners than we do

Belgium is a tiny country nestled between the Netherlands, Germany, and France. As a result, Belgium is home to one large community of Dutch-speakers, known as the Flemish, an equally large community of French-speakers, called the Walloons, and a small community of German-speakers. Despite its size, Belgium was once a colonial power that ruled the

In the early 1800s, Britain and America found themselves in a whirlwind of scientific and medical discovery. The study of anatomy and surgery was extremely popular. This led to a gruesome trade in bodies, a practice which was mirrored elsewhere around the world. Grieving families could no longer bury their dead and expect them to

On January 1, 1917, the body of Grigori Rasputin, the advisor to the rulers of Tsarist Russia, was found trapped under the frozen surface of the Neva River. He’d been shot three times and horribly mutilated; his killers, it seemed, had even gouged out his right eye. Everyone was a suspect. Rasputin was seen as

The word of the Holy Bible isn’t always as clear-cut as we’d like it to be. It didn’t fall from the sky, bound in leather, with every word in perfect English. Instead, it’s something countless scribes have spent thousands of years deciphering, working off age-old manuscripts that don’t always say the same things. They don’t

We all love a good cup of coffee to start off the morning, but this beverage can be used in several other ways. Just like coffee is good for our bodies, it has other benefits that can make our lives easier. Next time you think about throwing those used coffee grounds away, think again. They

The story of the Amber Room has all of the elements of an Indiana Jones film: the bounty of kings, the spoils of war, theft by dastardly Nazis, a tireless search by the Soviet Union, mysterious deaths, and a priceless treasure waiting to be found. Construction of the “Eighth Wonder of the World” began at

Before he sold the rights to Disney, George Lucas had his own vision for a new Star Wars trilogy. He had a lot written. He’d already created an outline for the trilogy, worked with Michael Arndt to write an early script, and approved concept art for the movies that, for a time, he was going

We’re seeing an experiment in action. Over the past few years, more and more countries and states have been legalizing marijuana, and we’re finally getting to see what effect it really has. There have been all kinds of predictions. The naysayers have been sure that legalizing pot will all but bring the world to its

Keeping up with the news is hard. So hard, in fact, that we’ve decided to save you the hassle by rounding up the most significant, unusual, or just plain old mind-blowing stories each week. The last full week of July was marked by tragedy. An inexplicable shooting in Toronto, a dam collapse in Laos, and

Drones have drastically changed the way we explore the skies and film breathtaking landscapes. As much as this revolutionary product changes our lives, however, it can pose a threat if it’s used for sinister purposes. It’s disturbing to discover all the things that criminals can do with technology as advanced as this. With drones, they

At his peak, Isaac Newton had one of the most rational minds in human history. His was a brain unlike any other, one that allowed him to develop the fundamental laws of gravity and physics as well as make significant contributions to calculus, the latter of which he did in less time than it takes

Churches are synonymous with Christianity. We often think of churches as places of worship for Christians even though there are churches that are not targeted at that group. These non-Christian churches are dedicated to the worship of other gods or humans or might not even be involved in the worship of any god at all.

The first dinosaur bones weren’t found by scientists. They were uncovered thousands of years ago by early men with no way of understanding what they were seeing. Ancient men stumbled upon fossils just like we do today, and they had to do their best to figure out what in the world they were looking at.

The comma is a punctuation mark of mystery. Its precise origin is unknown, and debating its current meaning is practically a full-time job for self-appointed grammar police. However, English majors are far from the only ones affected by the comma. The US government pays millions of dollars in extra taxes because of bad grammar. Rappers

In the 1950s, there was a real danger afoot. The Communists, as our brave senators warned us, had infiltrated the governments of the democratic world. And they’d brought with them their most powerful weapon: the gays. As Senator Kenneth Wherry told the American people, “Only the most naive could believe that the Communists’ fifth column