The True Story Of The Christmas Present That Saved POWs During World War II
During WWII, Allied soldiers caught by the Nazis became prisoners of war (POWs) and were placed into prison camps. Christmas brought secret tools for escape.
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The Untold Truth Of Alice In Chains' Jerry Cantrell
Founder, co-singer, guitarist, and lead songwriter Jerry Cantrell eschewed the show-offy, over-the-top guitar work of the glam era (as many of his contemporaries did), and in its place opted for pointedly constructed lines suffused with slow, grinding loops and pedal tones of sludge metal.
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The Truth About Frank Sinatra And Ava Gardner's Relationship
The two first met in 1943, while Ava was still with her first husband, the famous actor Mickey Rooney. Frank was married as well, to his sweetheart Nancy, with whom he had a child (and eventually two more). Still, that didn't stop him from showing interest in Ava.
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Why 19th-Century Chinese Women Sometimes Had Two Husbands
Polyandry, when a woman takes two or more husbands, has been found in many cultures throughout history. In the 18th and 19th century, for instance, women in China ruled the roost and sometimes took more than one husband. Who knew the 1800s could be so progressive?
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The Petty Reason This Roman Emperor Slaughtered 20,000 People
Not as well-known, but possibly even more cruelly petty than any of these emperors -- if you can believe it -- was Marcus Aurelius Severus (not Snape) Antoninus Augustus, also called "Caracalla," after a type of cloak that he apparently designed.
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The Truth About Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge Series
Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge, a physical competition reality show, featured a surprisingly supportive, though classically tough-as-nails, Steve Austin. He still yelled everything he said, but this time it was tough love, rather than repeatedly threatening people.
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This Is What Happens If Trump Stays Put In The White House
What would happen if Mr. Trump tries to stay in the White House past January 20? The short answer is, he can't. With or without Mr. Trump's agreement, power will be transferred to the new president after the inauguration, and Mr. Trump will effectively become a trespasser in the White House.
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A Look At Bob Dylan's Complicated Love Life
The fact is, Dylan's had ups and downs in his love-life, just like the rest of us, and many musicologists believe that these experiences have shaped some of his best-known works, filling them with an emotional intensity you can only get through living, loving, and years of reflection.
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The Untold Truth Of Christmas Witches
There are a whole bevy of holiday-themed ghouls, including an eye-catching subset of Christmas witches. These female figures run the gamut, from friendly grandmas to ogresses to wild, pre-Christian goddesses, many with roots in pagan practices. Here are the tales of several Christmas witches.
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The One Human Who Knows The Secret Formula For The Farmer's Almanac
The publishers of the Farmers' Almanac have kept a close lid on how the book makes its predictions without the aid of a satellite or even a groundhog. According to the Farmers' Almanac website, they follow a specific formula, and only one person knows it: Caleb Weatherbee.
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How A Cheetah Brought Siegfried And Roy Together
After seeing Fishbacher perform some magic tricks, Horn approached him and asked, "If you can make a rabbit and a dove appear and disappear, can you do the same with a cheetah?" Roy revealed that he had sneaked his pet cheetah onto the ship. It's unknown if Siegfried made Chico disappear that night.
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The Unusual Material People Made Clothing With During The Great Depression
The farm provided clothing for the family as well -- with a little improvising. Bulk purchases of flour and feed were delivered to farms in large cloth sacks, and savvy mothers soon realized they could stretch the family budget by repurposing the fabric into garments for their families.
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The Time Justin Bieber Was Part Of A Murder Plot
Lots of these reasons people dislike Justin Bieber don't have anything to do with Bieber's music, and more to do with his obtuse or arrogant behavior (such as writing in the Anne Frank House guest book, "Hopefully she would have been a belieber," as the BBC reported in 2013).
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The Lyrics John Lennon Wrote Just To Mess With People
John Lennon showed genius in the songs he created, but that doesn't mean he sought greatness in everything he wrote. The unconventional musician liked to challenge people. In fact, the song "I Am the Walrus" intentionally used befuddling lyrics to stress the point that music isn't always serious.
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Why Edge Ultimately Decided To Leave The Ring
Unbeknownst to Edge's legions of adoring fans, throughout much of his career he was suffering from several neck injuries that would cause the condition that ultimately led to his retirement from the ring. He was lucky that it didn't take him out for good.
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What It's Really Like To Be Santa Claus
Visits to Santa Claus, in malls or Christmas festivals, are a time-honored tradition. The kids tell Santa what they want for Christmas, and parents find out what to buy. Being a Santa Claus isn't just about putting on a costume and asking children what they want. It honestly takes a lot of work.
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This Might Be The Deadliest Snake In The U.S.
The U.S. has its share of dangerous scaley slitherers. Land.com provided an un-ranked list of the deadliest snakes in North America, noting that the eastern diamondback rattlesnake is not only the largest snake on the list, but also boasts the largest fangs of any rattlesnake in the world.
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What You Didn't Know About Debbie Harry
Harry said, "I just continued to try and flag a cab down. But he was very persistent, and he asked me where I was going. It was only a couple of blocks away, and he said, 'well I'll give you a ride.'" She got in the car, but when she went to roll the window down, she realized something was wrong.
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The Church Where People Line Up To Stand In The Devil's Footprint
There is a single floor tile at complete odds with the rest of the cathedral, suggesting it was installed later. In the center of the tile is a very boot-shaped footprint that legend says was made by the Devil himself as he stood in that spot, frustrated at his bargain being broken.
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How Bugs Bunny Saved A Man In A Coma
For two weeks, the family sat by his bedside, waiting for Blanc to wake up from his coma. Then one of his neurologists came up with an idea, explained Open Culture. Instead of talking to Blanc, why don't they try talking to one of his many characters?
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How Billionaire Allen Stanford Lost His Fortune
There's a class of billionaire who will surely never get a drop of our sympathy, and that's the kind who makes his fortune from years of stealing other people's life savings, and then loses his bundle. Such is the case with Allen Stanford, the native Texan with an ego as big as his home state.
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The Robert Rodriguez And John Malkovich Movie You Will Never See
This unusual artistic venture was sponsored by Louis XIII Cognac (owned by the French brand Rémy Martin), which asked Robert Rodriguez and John Malkovich to create a film inspired by the 100 years it takes to properly age a bottle of Louis XIII.
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This Is What It Was Like To Be A Survivor Of America's Last Slave Ship
The Clotilda was America's last slave ship, setting sail in 1860. The ship picked up 110 Africans and made its way to Alabama, where all were sold into slavery. After emancipation, the survivors went on to form Africatown, which is still populated today. Here are the stories of some survivors.
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The Tragic Downfall Of The Monkees' Michael Nesmith
When bands break up, members are free to branch out and establish their own identities and projects. But suddenly being responsible for making their own decisions and solving their own problems often leads to disaster. Members of the Pre-Fab Four, the sitcom-centric Monkees, were no exception.
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This Roman Emperor Made His Horse A Consul
If consuls were horses, they would naturally be far more adept at these tasks. At least, maybe this is what Caligula believed, because, as History states, he made his favorite horse, Incitatus, a consul, and "gave the steed a marble stall, an ivory manger, a jeweled collar and even a house."
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The Untold Truth Of The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
The lighting of the Christmas tree in New York City's Rockefeller Center has been a holiday tradition since 1933, but the origins of the tree itself go back two years earlier. In 1931, with the country in the grips of the Great Depression, Center employees decided to spread a little holiday cheer.
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The Tragic Downfall Of Debi Thomas
The life of an athlete can be short and bittersweet. After their competitive years are over, their lives can be just as hard. Debi Thomas, an Olympic bronze medalist in figure skating, considered the best Black figure skater of her generation, went from extreme highs to extreme lows.
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