Utterly interesting

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!

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 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.

During WWI, thousands of soldiers returned with devastating facial injuries. Sir Harold Gillies gave them back their faces, dignity, and hope. From 11,000 surgeries at Sidcup to pioneering gender-affirming operations, he changed medicine forever.

In April 1976, AC/DC played their first ever UK gig at The Red Cow pub in West London. Discover how a tiny, sweaty venue helped launch one of the world’s greatest rock bands onto the global stage.

Roger Stone’s career is a story of scandals, dirty tricks, and crimes. From Watergate to Trump, dictators to voter fraud claims, explore the controversial life of America’s most infamous political trickster.

In 1900, the Chicago Tribune counted down the 20 household items most often used by women as weapons. Broom handles, hat pins, rolling pins, even soup tureens — a quirky list that reveals much about self-defence history.

In 1959, John Howard Griffin darkened his skin to live as a Black man in the segregated South. His book Black Like Me shocked America and remains a landmark in civil rights history.

Nicolae Minovici was the Romanian doctor who risked his own life by hanging himself to study death. But beyond his daring experiments, he also founded Romania’s first ambulance service and a folk art museum that still stands today.

In 1897, The Champion Text Book on Embalming blended science, ritual, and business. Its haunting photographs, echoing Old Master anatomy scenes, documented how embalmers removed fluids, battled disease, and shaped the modern funeral industry.

In 1980, Alain Mingam photographed the execution of a man accused of betraying Afghans to the Soviets. His haunting image symbolises the Soviet-Afghan War — a conflict that reshaped the Cold War and left the photographer questioning his own role as a witness.

In the frozen skies above the Eastern Front, German soldiers feared many things: artillery bombardments, strafing runs, and advancing...

Few monarchs in history can claim to have drawn a pistol on their would-be assassins while leaving the opera in full evening dress. Yet...

Poisoned with cyanide, shot, beaten, and thrown into a river, yet still alive? The death of Rasputin is one of history’s strangest legends. Uncover the truth behind the Mad Monk’s murder, the myths spun by his killers, and the prophecy that doomed the Romanovs.

In 1987, scrap scavengers in Brazil found a glowing blue powder in an abandoned clinic. It was beautiful — and deadly. The Goiânia accident became one of the world’s worst radiological disasters, contaminating hundreds and leaving a lasting scar on the city.

Collage of a woman in various roles, displaying emotions from pensive to intense. Includes a film poster with dramatic text. Black and white tones.

In 1987, 23-year-old Kenneth Parks drove 14 miles while sleepwalking, killed his mother-in-law, nearly strangled his father-in-law, and then turned himself in while covered in blood. He had no memory of it, and in 1992, was acquitted after experts confirmed he was asleep the entire time.

In 1979, Thai prisoner Ginggaew Lorsoungnern faced the firing squad for her role in a child kidnapping. Her execution went horrifically wrong — her rare heart condition meant the first volley failed, forcing a second. This is the haunting story of her final day.