Edison's predictions a century ago about air travel, mass production, electric trains, and smartphones (kinda) were more or less on the mark. His forecast about the role that steel would play in our lives, however, ended up a cold, lifeless heap in the slush pile of attempted augury.
Read MoreMusic and television changed forever in 1981, when MTV began broadcasting over America's nascent cable television systems. The very first music video played on MTV was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles. This is what it was really like to be the first music video on MTV.
Read MoreCredited with writing The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer rightfully holds a rarefied place in literary history. But, much like the fictional events in those epic poems, Homer might not have existed.
Read MoreActress and humorist Carrie Fisher had an incredibly unusual life story. As the daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher earned an iconic role in the original Star Wars trilogy. But behind Princess Leia was the tragic story of drug addiction, bipolar disorder, and sour marriages.
Read MoreYes, it's probably exactly what you suspect: Indy 500 racers pee in their suits. But you would too if you were as short on time as they are during a race. A pit crew is forced to change all the car's tires in a little as six seconds, so where do you expect the driver to find time to get to a toilet?
Read MoreFew of us really understand why these beautiful arcs appear in the sky. Sure, it has something to do with sunlight and water droplets -- but what, exactly?
Read MoreFannie Lou Townsend Hamer started her life as the 20th child of Mississippi sharecroppers and ended it as a leader and a hero for civil and voting rights. She started picking cotton alongside her family at the age of six, and was forced to leave school when she was 12 in order to work full time.
Read MorePlague doctors were scary guys in dark robes and long, beaked masks under hats ... right? Here's what it was really like being a plague doctor.
Read MoreIn reality, Revere didn't complete the whole ride, wrote Smithsonian Magazine. Nor was he the only rider. He was, however, a real person. According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, he was a silversmith and engraver, as well as an American revolutionary.
Read MoreHad Chuck Norris actually been married to his Total Gym co-spokesperson Christie Brinkley, as the internet likes to tell you, it would have been pretty awkward when his real wife, Gena, had a cameo in one of their exercise equipment infomercials in 2009.
Read MoreThe wrestling world took a big hit this week when Joseph Michael Laurinaitis -- better known as WWE Hall of Famer Road Warrior Animal -- passed away at the age of 60. According to TMZ, the second half of the legendary Road Warriors team, considered "one of the best of all," died of natural causes.
Read MoreArising into creation as a synthesis of untrimmed wheat fields, trailer parks, and shattered Mich Ultra bottles, Kid Rock emerged into the nu-metal scene of the late '90s with his own, distinctive, Confederate take on the era's rock-rap surge.
Read MorePetty's friendship with Harrison actually goes much deeper than just making music. The two forged a deep, lasting friendship from the moment they first met, almost like brothers. Petty's biographer said that "no matter how corny it might sound, they were kind of falling in love with each other."
Read MoreSharp, loyal, savage, and obedient, Grese quickly rose in rank out of 170 female SS staff to become the warden of the women's camp, which had 30,000 women in 62 barracks. The barracks were the epitome of squalor and disease, and Grese compounded this suffering many times over.
Read MoreMarketed first through a series of late-night infomercials, pretty soon it seemed as though every house -- and office -- had a Magic Bullet. Its compact design allowed people to make a smoothie in their blender and then carry the whole tumbler with them to work.
Read MoreThe fable originated with "one of Washington's first biographers, an itinerant minister and bookseller named Mason Locke Weems." When Washington died in 1799, Weems immediately saw an opportunity to fulfill the American public's desire to learn more about the founding father.
Read MoreMERS, also known as MERS-CoV, or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, is a virus transferred to humans from infected animals -- in this case, dromedary camels, the ones with one hump. MedicalNewsToday reports that MERS-CoV was first discovered in Saudi Arabia September 20, 2012.
Read MoreFrom afar, the clump looks like debris floating on top of the water, but upon closer inspection, you can see that it's made up of what looks like hundreds of insects clinging for dear life. If the visual of ants happily floating along doesn't scare you, congratulations. What a brave person you are.
Read MoreQueen Elizabeth I had to think very carefully about how she presented herself. She had to appear powerful in order to uphold her royal status and push back against the stereotype of a weak woman, alone and unfit to rule. This is the truth about Queen Elizabeth I's iconic look.
Read MoreTake a second to think about all the things you could do with $110 million. For most people, that number might as well be infinity. Is it even possible to squander over a hundred million bucks in one lifetime, let alone a few years? Ask Antoine Walker.
Read MoreDestiny's Child as most people know it, comprised of Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams, started off with different members. One of those former members is LaTavia Roberson. Roberson joined Destiny's Child in the '90s, when it was still called Girl's Tyme.
Read MoreMichael Jackson had a huge 1983. He sold millions of copies of his album Thriller and starred in one of the most popular, famous, and well-produced music videos of all time. This is the untold truth of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video.
Read MoreBefore the death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, there were few people in this world closer to him than bandmate Dave Grohl and Cobain's wife, Courtney Love. Who knows how close Grohl and Love were to each other before Cobain's passing? But after Cobain's death, things got pretty heated.
Read MoreAccording to eyewitness accounts reported by Vice, after a night's filming, Terrence just dropped his radio and ran into the forest, where he quickly disappeared into the trees. Several search and rescue efforts found no signs of him, and as of this writing, Woods is still missing.
Read MoreAt 6'4" he was effectively a giant for his times. He felled trees, split rails, and drove railroad spikes. He was also quite the wrestler. You wouldn't have wanted to fight this guy in close combat. But that doesn't mean he was the best soldier.
Read MoreThe CDC said there are four different kinds of dengue viruses, and so some people may get the disease up to four times in their lifetime if they're unlucky. While generally considered a mild condition, people do die from dengue. About 400 million are infected with dengue every year.
Read Morenames were being entered into the Hall of Fame left and right, but not the "Macho Man." For years, there was speculation over why Savage had been kept out. Savage left the WWE and hopped over to the WCW in 1994, and many believe it was the drama surrounding the wrestler's exit that kept him out.
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