As bad as coronavirus is -- and it is bad, make no mistake about it -- Black Plague was worse. (So far, anyway.) Also known as Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death, in the mid-1300s it ravaged Western Europe. It would rear its head again in San Francisco.
Read MoreThe early eighties were a particularly revolutionary time for British rock band Queen. The decade also saw Freddie Mercury leave behind his trademark long hair and painted fingernails for a strikingly different look.
Read MoreThe Secret Service's mandate wasn't expanded to presidential security until 1901, when President William McKinley was assassinated while in office. The first president to be assassinated was Abraham Lincoln, in 1865 ... and, in a deep historical irony, it was Lincoln who established the Service.
Read MoreBetween overwhelmed aunts, the folks at your church, and coworkers who won't stop pumping in the break room, there's a good chance you know somebody perpetually pregnant. Now, researchers have found a marsupial that double-bunks its pregnancies like it's running a shady hostel in its womb.
Read MoreBefore going solo as the Piano Man, Billy Joel showed off his less polished side as one-half of a band named Atilla, which was a fusion of prog-rock, psychedelic, and heavy metal. It might've led to the worst rock album of all time.
Read MoreIn February of 2020, Netflix at long last pulled back the curtain, allowing its viewers the opportunity not just to watch things, but to watch a screen showing what other people are binge-watching. The old gods were dead, and the age of the Netflix Top Ten had begun. Here's the catch.
Read MoreJohn Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the second and third presidents of the United States, helped lay the foundation of the country. They were also the best of frenemies.
Read MoreIn March 2006, a bright new dawn peaked over the technological horizon, when Toshiba released its first consumer HD DVD player. It would be an understatement to describe this device as the pinnacle of man's engineering aptitude. It could do anything, from playing HD DVDs, to ... uh.
Read MoreBing Crosby was a beloved entertainer, dominating the silver screen, music charts, and infiltrating radios across the country from the 1930s to 1960s. Yet despite all his success, Crosby's personal life was filled with hardship. This is the tragic real-life story of Bing Crosby.
Read MoreBrian May's guitar playing helped define Queen. After writing some of Queen's greatest hits, May spent his time caring for animals and studying the night skies.
Read MoreShemp may not have been the most famous Stooge, but he was instrumental in their success. Here's his story.
Read MorePegasus was mostly horse, but with the addition of wings, therefore enabling flight for a creature that doesn't usually fly through the air with the greatest of ease.
Read MoreAmerica loves two things: expensive whatnots and big booms. For more than a decade, the good folks at Mythbusters were kind enough to bring us the second of the two. Some were more expensive than others.
Read MoreThe humble cicada begins its life as an egg, so small as to be imperceptible to all but the most astute. Then, like fossil fuels and the Uruk-hai, they emerge from the firmament and make everyone's life hell.
Read MorePrince recorded some of the greatest songs of all time, from "When Doves Cry" to "Purple Rain." His performances were always a mix of sensuality and power that is still unmatched. But the Purple One was more than a performer. He was also a brilliant songwriter.
Read MorePepper Balls fall under what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classifies as "Riot Control Agents." Sometimes they get lumped together and called the same thing, kind of the way facial tissue always gets called Kleenex, no matter what brand it is.
Read MoreThe Headless Horseman has cantered through Scandinavian mythology, early German folklore, and northern Indian lore. This is the legend of the Headless Horseman explained.
Read MoreBy the time Fleetwood Mac got around to recording the follow-up album, Rumours, things were dissolving, emotionally.
Read MoreBrendan LaCava, has been making steady progress forging a career in show business. Given his pedigree, it seems like manifest destiny.
Read MoreReferred to as "kinetic impact projectiles," rubber bullets are composed of a metal core encased by a rubber shell (later changed to plastic to minimize injuries). But they still injure plenty of people.
Read MoreHumans have always been a little suspicious of dogs of the not-so-nice variety. Wolves may only want to be left alone, but mankind has long told tales of another kind of dog: the black-furred, red-eyed beast that lurks in the night, watching and waiting. This is the legend of hellhounds explained.
Read MoreLook! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's -- a blimp. Are you trying to say Superman put on weight? Of course not. That would be mean. Plus, you're probably talking about spotting an airship, which could be a blimp, a zeppelin, or a dirigible.
Read MoreSome people might tell you that once they hit Earth, meteorites go to live on a farm with other meteorites, where they can run through the fields together and chase rabbits. Some people would be wrong.
Read MoreThe royal family follows a lot of rules. These can involve what they wear, how they walk, or what to say, but one of the lesser-known ones has to do with titles. For example, Elizabeth II is Her Majesty the Queen, but her husband remains His Royal Highness, Prince Philip. Why is that?
Read MoreThe late 1990s were a magical time. But all was not well in America -- there was a dire threat lurking just over the horizon. The United States National Security Agency was on top of it. In January of 1999, they made their move, officially banning Furbies from NSA property.
Read MoreIn what might well be a case of rock-and-roll toe-may-toe/toe-mah-toe, Lindsey Buckingham was either fired from Fleetwood Mac or was "forced out" (which is kind of the same thing, maybe) by fellow Fleetwooder Stevie Nicks in 2018.
Read MoreKurt Cobain struggled mightily with stardom and bearing the weight of his generation's problems. Here's what the final 12 months of Kurt Cobain's life was like.
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