Utterly interesting

Step back into 19th-century Cornwall through the haunting photographs of the Gibson family. From shipwrecks to shopfronts, their images preserve a world shaped by the sea.

The Chicago Tylenol murders left seven people dead and millions terrified. Forty years on, the case remains unsolved — but it changed medicine forever.

In 1985, two Dublin boys ran away from home — and ended up in New York. With no tickets, no passports, and only a handful of coins, they bluffed their way across three countries. All to meet B.A. Baracus. A true story wilder than fiction.

A father. Three trials. A grey sweatshirt. A science fight in court. Our long read on the David Camm case covers the BACKBONE sweatshirt, Charles Boney, touch DNA and why a jury said not guilty in 2013.

Michael Rockefeller vanished in 1961 while collecting Asmat art. Did he drown in the fierce currents of New Guinea, or was he killed in a tribal revenge ritual?

Explore the wisdom of Marcus Aurelius, Rome’s philosopher emperor. Discover his Stoic lessons on resilience, humility, fate, and ignoring the opinions of others, drawn from Meditations. A timeless guide for modern life, leadership, and mindfulness.

In 1966 the Beatles wrapped themselves in meat and dolls and America freaked out. Yesterday and Today was recalled, sleeves were pasted over, and a collector legend was born. Here is the full story of the Butcher Cover, the mixes, and how to spot rare first state copies.

The Clash’s Combat Rock captured their peak and their downfall. From chaotic Bangkok photo shoots to lost albums and feuds between Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, here’s how the punk icons made their final classic before imploding.

A party in a hotel suite. A young actress in agony. The biggest comedian in the world on trial. Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle was acquitted in six minutes yet Hollywood still banished him. Who was Virginia Rappe and what really happened in room twelve nineteen. Read the full story.

She was just 25 when she volunteered to be bitten by infected mosquitoes. Clara Maass died in 1901 during yellow fever experiments in Cuba—but her sacrifice helped prove the mosquito theory and changed public health forever. Read her story: utterlyinteresting.com

Meet Johnny Coulon, the bantamweight champion who baffled the world as “The Unliftable Man.” At just 5ft and 110lbs, he stunned wrestlers, strongmen, and even Muhammad Ali with a clever trick of leverage and nerve pressure. A boxer turned vaudeville sensation!

John Aspinall gambled with people’s fortunes, their lives, and sometimes their trust. From cheating dukes at the Clermont Club to letting keepers die in his zoos, he thrived on scandal. Discover the dark legacy of the gambler who loved tigers more than people.

Noor Inayat Khan, the daughter of a Sufi mystic and descendant of Tipu Sultan, became the first female wireless operator sent into Nazi-occupied France. Betrayed, tortured, and executed at Dachau, her story is one of bravery and extraordinary sacrifice.

In 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson bet $50 he could drive across America. With a mechanic, a bulldog, and a car named Vermont, he made history.

From Arthur Guinness myths to Beatles connections and family tragedies, explore the rich and turbulent history of the Guinness dynasty.

In 1983, Metallica recorded Kill ’Em All in a haunted studio with stolen amps, champagne raids, and no backup guitars. Here’s the chaotic story behind their legendary debut.

In 1980, Turkish Airlines flight 293 was hijacked — and war correspondent Coşkun Aral captured it all. Discover the surreal story of the hijacking where both hijacker and pilot smiled.

In the Public Enemy era of the 1930s, gangsters like John Dillinger turned to underworld plastic surgeons to change their faces and erase fingerprints. Discover the history of outlaw surgery, the doctors involved, and why it never truly worked.

In 2006, the Liberty City Seven were arrested in Miami for plotting to attack the Sears Tower. But were they dangerous terrorists — or hapless men caught in an FBI sting? Here’s the strange story.

Beyond curry and chutney, discover how Indian words like pyjamas, bungalow, loot, shampoo, and jungle entered English during the British Empire and remain part of everyday UK speech.

Sydney’s 1920s criminal women turned mugshots into fashion portraits. Figures like Kate Leigh, Tilly Devine, and Dulcie Markham posed in pearls, furs, and frocks — unforgettable images of crime and style from the City of Shadows archive.

On 6 Sept 1949, Howard Unruh walked through Camden, NJ, killing 13 people in just 12 minutes. Known as the “Walk of Death,” it is often called America’s first modern mass shooting. His chilling story still echoes today.

When Jane Cunningham Croly and her peers were denied entry to a Dickens dinner in 1868, they created their own club. Sorosis became the first women-only club in America, and a catalyst for women’s rights, civic activism, and the power of sisterhood.

In 1975, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme of the Manson Family aimed a gun at President Gerald Ford in Sacramento. The weapon misfired, Ford survived, and Fromme spent 34 years in prison.