Shaka Zulu: The Real Story

In the first years of the 19th century, Shaka Zulu created a nation that would challenge the British Empire for domination of Southern Africa.

Shaka Zulu, a contemporary engraving                                 from Wiki commons

The Bermuda Triangle and the Disappearance of the USS Cyclops

With the exception of the US Navy “Flight 19”, the most famous victim of the “Bermuda Triangle” was the USS Cyclops, a Navy coal-carrier with a crew of over 300, who vanished without a trace in the closing days of World War One.

USS Cyclops                                                                       photo from US Navy

The Cocaine King: Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel

In 1990, one of the richest men on the planet was Pablo Escobar. To some, he was a ruthless drug lord who murdered thousands of people. To others, he was a Robin Hood who gave millions of dollars to poor neighborhoods in Colombia.

Members of the DEA and Colombian police pose with the dead body of Pablo Escobar  (Photo from DEA)

The 1947 Candy Bar Strike

A Canadian tale of kids, candy bars, and communists…….

Candy strikers                                               photo from Edmonton Museum

Treblinka: The Forgotten Camp

It was the second-largest of the death camps built by the Nazis: only Auschwitz killed more people. It was the scene of an armed prisoner uprising and a mass escape. The Nazis destroyed the camp and tried to hide it before the end of the war. And even today, Treblinka is mostly forgotten, hidden in the historical shadow of the much more famous Auschwitz camp.

Concentration camp armbands

How a Bear Almost Ended the World

In October 1962, in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis, World War Three was almost touched off by a marauding Black Bear in Minnesota.

Destroyer of worlds….almost.

The Myth of the Piranha

The South American piranha has a reputation as a dangerous man-eater that can strip the flesh from a skeleton in minutes. Much of the blame for that reputation comes from a US President. But the reality is far different….

Red-Bellied Piranha on display at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago

The Molly Maguires

In the 1850’s, the coal mines of northeast Pennsylvania became a war zone, as miners struggled to unionize and the mine owners called in hired guns. One of these fights centered around a group that became known as “The Molly Maguires”.

The jail in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, where four of the Molly Maguires were hanged.

The Derweze Firepit: Turkmenistan’s “Gateway to Hell”

Near the tiny village of Derweze, Turkmenistan, is a huge open firepit, burning 24 hours a day, that the local residents call “The Gateway to Hell”–and are hoping to turn into a tourist attraction.

The Derweze Gateway to Hell

Wells Cathedral

In the Middle Ages, when the Roman Catholic Church was the most powerful (and richest) institution in Europe and held secular as well as religious influence over everyone’s life, the largest building in any town was likely to be the church. The pinnacle of church-building were the grand cathedrals that dotted Europe as each city sought to build the biggest and most richly ornamented cathedral. Medieval cathedrals were the Middle Ages equivalent of the Apollo moon program–they stretched contemporary technology to its limits, and required enormous investments of manpower and resources. And one of the grandest of England’s churches was Wells Cathedral, near Glastonbury.

Wells Cathedral.

The First (And Last) Voyage of the “Vasa”

In August 1628, the Swedish launched the wooden war ship Vasa with 64 cannons, part of a new fleet that was intended to maintain Sweden’s position as one of the most powerful militaries in Europe. But within half an hour, the Vasa was gone.

The hull of the Vasa emerges from Stockholm Harbor.  photo from Wiki Commons

The Oarfish: Nature’s Deep-Sea Oddity

The Oarfish is one of the oddest fish in the ocean. It is the longest of all the bony fishes (only some of the largest sharks get bigger), and it may have sparked the legend of the Sea Serpent.

Oarfish on display at Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History

A President’s Secret Operation: How Grover Cleveland Hid His Cancer Surgery

Today, in the era of 24-hour news services and round the clock coverage, the US President lives constantly in the camera light. But in the 1890’s something happened that would be utterly impossible today: the President of the United States was diagnosed with a potentially fatal condition, he disappeared completely for several weeks while undergoing life-saving surgery–and it was all kept entirely secret for almost 25 years.

President Grover Cleveland                                             Photo from Wikicommons

The Montauk Monster: A New York Mystery

In the summer of 2008, an odd-looking carcass washed up on the shore of the East River in New York City. When photos of the bloated hairless body were posted to the Internet, it caused a sensation, with speculations that it was an unknown animal, an alien pet from outer space, or perhaps a secret genetic experiment from a nearby government research lab. It was dubbed “The Montauk Monster”.

The Plum Island Animal Disease Center–part of the monster conspiracy…?

The Mystery of DB Cooper

To some, he was just a robber who carried out the US’s only remaining unsolved hijacking. To others, he was a folk hero who beat The Man and got away with it. To all, “DB Cooper” is an American legend.

FBI sketch of “DB Cooper”