From the nation’s very existence to its national pastime, fortune has played as key a role as fortitude in winning the day. Conversely, seemingly insignificant circumstances—including, of all things, a window frame—have played outsize roles in determining the direction of the nation. 10 The Fortuitous Fog That Saved Washington’s Army The United States came incredibly close to surviving a grand total of six weeks. In August 1776, General George Washington and the bulk of the Continental Army were defending present-day Brooklyn....

Very few of these shows have impacted the comics, and fewer still create characters that become a part of the comic canon. Such rare characters are called canonical immigrants. Here are 10 characters that started out in other mediums but ultimately became recurring characters in comics. 10 Batgirl (DC: Batman titles) For comic book historians, April 14, 1954, was a watershed moment. That was the day Fredric Wertham published Seduction of the Innocent, a warning that the overt violence and hidden references to sex and drugs in comics could encourage criminal activities in kids....

Misconception: He wouldn’t treat an innocent person badly just to solve a case. Many people see Sherlock Holmes as a white knight of the detective world: he solves cases using only the power of his mind and innocent people never get hurt in the process. He is universally beloved as the greatest fictional detective in the world, but he had more of a dark side than just his drug use and other eccentric habits....

10 Blind Hoarder In Brooklyn In September 2016, an elderly Brooklyn woman was found living with the corpse of her son, whom she had not seen in 20 years. Legally blind hoarder Rita Wolfensohn did not notice the remains among piles of trash. Wolfensohn’s sister-in-law, Josette Buchman, discovered a “completely intact” skeleton on the second floor. Still clad in jeans, sneakers, and shirt, the corpse was lying on its back on a thin mattress....

10The Squid Rover Jupiter’s moon Europa has long been seen as a great candidate for extraterrestrial life due to the high likelihood of the moon having oceans under an icy crust. We have been itching to send something there to see exactly what Europa has to offer. A proposed joint venture between NASA, ESA, and the Japanese and Russian space agencies to schedule a mission to Europa in 2020 was canceled due to NASA’s budget problems....

See Also: 10 Interesting Stories Behind The Invention Of Modern Foods For instance, while most of us eat the food that we buy, there are a few creative souls out there who dare to be different. As the list below shows, food can be an effective weapon – either as it is or disguised as something far more deadly. 10 Avocado Grenades The California Department of Public Health claims that the avocado tree started growing in Mexico some 7,000 years ago....

10 Koh Hingham, Thailand The beaches of the little island of Koh Hingham are undeniably beautiful, covered with smooth black and white rocks. No one lives there, and visitors need to find someone on the nearby island of Koh Lipe who’s willing to take them. The trip lasts about 20 minutes, and once you’re there, you’d better make sure that you don’t take anything back with you. According to the legend, the stones and beaches are protected by an ancient curse, cast by the god of Tarutao....

Stories like these keep the interested coming. The Castle of Good Hope is part of Cape Town’s ghost tour, and people line up to experience the creepiness for themselves. But what exactly is it that makes a place creepy? Is it the (true) stories of historic incidents? Or is it because knowing what happened there makes the atmosphere change? Either way, places like those below tend to give just about everyone, well, the creeps....

10Raum The Lesser Key of Solomon: Goetia, The Book of Evil Spirits is a book on ceremonial magic compiled in several different versions, many of which surfaced in the 1700s. The book details a list of demons that can be summoned from the netherworld and tells not only how to summon them, but exactly what forms each demon takes and what their characteristics and abilities are. In the beginning of the version compiled by Dr....

Several people hoped for instant fame performing daredevil stunts while at the Falls. In 1829, Sam Patch would dive into the Niagara River first at 85ft above the water and later that year at a height of 130ft. The Great Farini, Maria Spelterini and Jean Francois Gravelot, aka “The Great Blondin” would cross the Niagara River Gorge on a tightrope in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Frank M. Brown would swim across the Niagara River and Walter Campbell and his dog Jumbo would navigate the category 6 whirlpool rapids in the 80s....

10The Great Bustard We’ve already talked about bustards, which look like small ostriches, and the way the males puff out their throats to the size of an American football and dance around to attract their mates. But a new study published in PLOS ONE suggests that females aren’t attracted to the male’s puffed feathers in the front. Instead, the female is actually checking out the male’s caboose. The researchers believe that the female is looking at the male’s cloaca, a hole surrounded by white feathers that’s used for intestinal, urinary, and reproductive purposes....

If they do, in fact, exist, why do only certain people see or sense them? Why do some ghosts haunt places for decades only to disappear abruptly, while others appear only on the anniversary of a tragedy? These questions are likely to remain unanswered as the debate around ghosts, and other paranormal entities continue. However, many people have had eerie real-life experiences that have shaken up and even convinced some skeptics that certain specters may be real....

You go through the usual morning routine. You eat breakfast, unless that isn’t your thing. You finish getting dressed, grab your belongings, say goodbye to whoever is in the house, and hit the road. Next thing you know, you’re coming home after a late night, and someone pulls out a gun and shoots you in the leg. Amazingly, something in your pocket stops the bullet. Wonder what that something could have been?...

Have you ever considered looking through your trash—or anyone else’s—for treasure? Would you be willing to think outside the box if you could make some serious money? As they always say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Here are 10 average people who have made six figures or more from garbage. 10 Maen Mahfoud A UC Berkeley graduate from Syria, Maen Mahfoud has had experience with both the richest and the poorest of society....

Some of these experiments might prove beneficial. However, others might seem pointless in helping us to better understand our universe and the laws that govern it. So grab your astronaut ice cream, and let’s explore ten experiments in space that seem pointless…but maybe aren’t. 10 A Rose by a Different Scent In 1998, NASA partnered with the International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF) to study the impact of microgravity on the smell of a rose....

Whether these items are fun or absolutely pivotal to our daily lives, inventions by women have contributed a lot to our way of living and helped to shape the course of human history. It’s awe-inspiring to sit back and think of the collective conscious thought that has been the totality of humanity and the contributions certain individuals have made to it. Here are 10 extremely important things that were invented by women....

They are a glimpse into the basest part of our nature. They are a living embodiment of the human id, of the dark, animalistic thing that drives us deep inside. They are a terrifying insight into humanity, unrestrained. 10 There Are Chimpanzee Serial Killers In 1975, Jane Goodall witnessed the birth of the first chimpanzee serial killer. Her name was Passion, and she didn’t kill alone. She passed it on to the next generation, teaching her children to terrorize, kill, and cannibalize....

“The Hands Resist Him” is a painting that has garnered much attention for allegedly being haunted. One look at the 36″ x 24″ oil on canvas, and it is easy to see why.[1] A young boy stands next to a life-size, hollow-eyed doll while mysterious hands press against the glass panels of the doors behind them. The imagery is designed to suggest otherworldly connections, but many believe that there is more to it....

Forgers often go to extreme lengths to fool museums into buying their work. Some fakes are so good that historians and archaeologists have a hard time telling them apart from the real thing. Many museums have fallen victim to forgers, including the famous Louvre, which exhibited a fake artwork for several years without realizing it. 10 The Three Etruscan Warriors In 1933, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (aka the Met) in New York City added three new pieces of art to its exhibition....

Here’s the problem with that line of thinking: Some of the greatest examples of world literature deal with crime and the people who commit such antisocial acts. While this list is not meant to imply that each novel listed is “great,” it is meant to highlight the important role that real-life crime has played in the history of fiction. 10 The Great Gatsby Considered an example of the much-vaunted “great American novel,” F....