top of page
When Bob Marley Survived Getting Shot During A Home Invasion
It is almost impossible to listen to a Bob Marley song and picture the man ducking bullets in his own home. Yet that’s precisely what...
The Murder Of Mary Pradd (Often Known As Old Mary Pradd, Sometimes Mary Pratt)
London Nomades, by John Thomson, in Victorian London Street Life (1877). Mary Pratt is sat on the steps of the caravan. Police Constable...
The Man Who Fell to Earth: D.B. Cooper and the Hijacking That Vanished Into Legend
The FBI sketch of D.B. Cooper It all started on a grey Wednesday afternoon—24 November 1971—when a man walked into the Portland...
Unit 731, Japan’s Horrific Human Experiments Program During World War II
A bacteriological experiment being conducted on a test subject in Nong’an County of northeast China’s Jilin Province by Unit 731 personnel. November 1940. Officially known as the Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department of the Kwantung Army, Unit 731 was a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Located in the Pingfang district of Harbin, in the puppet state of Manchukuo (now Northeas
Yuri Knorozov, The Man Who Deciphered The Mayan Script In The 1950s And Named His Cat As Co-Author
Yuri with Asya When the Russian linguist Yuri Knorozov finally visited Mexico in the early 1990s, he was received with the reverence...
The Perverse Power of Tiberius Caesar — Rome’s Reclusive Emperor and the Scandal of Capri
Explore the notorious life of Tiberius Caesar, Rome’s second emperor, whose reclusive reign on Capri gave rise to enduring tales of sexual depravity, political paranoia and scandalous excess. Uncover the truth behind the myths with this deep dive into one of Rome’s most controversial rulers.
The Clutter Family Murders: An Examination of Truman Capote’s ‘In Cold Blood’
On 14 November 1959, the quiet Kansas town of Holcomb was shattered when Herb Clutter, his wife Bonnie, and their two teenage children were brutally murdered in their farmhouse. Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, ex-convicts chasing a rumour of hidden cash, left no witnesses. Truman Capote later immortalised the case in In Cold Blood, but his narrative blurred fact and fiction — leaving behind a legacy of controversy as well as tragedy.
Paul Grüninger: The Swiss Policeman Who Chose Humanity Over Bureaucracy
When the world slid towards chaos in the late 1930s, there were individuals who, faced with impossible choices, quietly chose to do the...
For Three Months In 1973, The Dutch Government Banned Cars On Sundays To Curb Oil Consumption
Imagine this: it’s a crisp Sunday morning in late 1973, and the usually bustling streets of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague are...
Black Bart: The Gentleman Bandit Who Robbed Stagecoaches with Poetry
Black Bart, the gentleman bandit of California, robbed Wells Fargo stagecoaches politely and left poems—until a laundry mark exposed him in 1883.
Mary Surratt and the Lincoln Assassination: Her Involvement, Legacy and Execution
Mary Surratt was an American boarding house owner executed in 1865 for her role in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. She became the first woman executed by the U.S. government.
This Is Why Mata Hari Was Not the Spy You Thought She Was
Mata Hari was born on August 7, 1876 as Margaretha “Gretha” Geertruida Zelle in the Netherlands. Since her conviction as a double agent...
When Nazis ‘Played’ in Madison Square Garden In 1939: A Dark Chapter in American History
Six and a half months before Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland, an unsettling event took place in New York City’s Madison Square Garden...
Charles Osbourne: The Remarkable Life Of The Man Who Hiccuped for 68 Years
Charles Osborne holds a singularly unique place in medical history as the man who hiccuped for an astonishing 68 years. His extraordinary...
The Sad Story Of Yakov Dzhugashvili, Stalin's Eldest Son And His Gruesome Death
Yakov Dzhugashvili, Joseph Stalin’s eldest son, lived a life overshadowed by his father’s power. Captured during World War II, his death in a Nazi camp remains shrouded in controversy and tragedy.
Anita Berber: A Portrait of Excess and Intrigue in the Roaring Twenties
Throughout history, certain figures stand as vivid reminders of an era characterised by excess and liberation. Anita Berber, an...
Meet The Forty Elephants, The All-Girl Gang From London
When we conjure up images of crime gangs, our minds often drift to Italian mobsters or Japanese Yakuza members, maybe Mexican or...
Cecil Chubb: The Guy That Bought Stonehenge But His Wife Hated It So He Gave It Away
In 1915, Cecil Chubb went shopping for dining chairs and came home with Stonehenge. Discover how his impulse buy became a national treasure.
'Sleep With Donald Trump', The Competition We All Missed in 1990
In August 1990, Playgirl Magazine advertised the chance to “Sleep with Donald Trump” on its cover to its predominantly female audience....
The Man Who Smoked A Pipe Through His Eyes, Meet Alfred Langevin
Some people juggle, some perform card tricks, and then there was Alfred Langevin—who could smoke a pipe through his eyes. A Man of Unique...
The Final Days of Ernest Hemingway: A Glimpse into the Troubled End of a Literary Giant
Ernest Hemingway survived through anthrax, malaria, pneumonia, dysentery, skin cancer, hepatitis, anemia, diabetes, high blood pressure,...
When The Beatles Played A Gig And Only 18 People Showed Up.
In December 1961, Sam Leach secured a series of performances for his musician friends from Liverpool at the Palais Ballroom in Aldershot,...
Shane MacGowan Is One Of The Greatest Writers Of Modern Times. Exhibit A: The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn
In Irish mythology, Cuchulainn was a formidable leader and the main character in the "Ulster Cycle" of poems, which can be considered...
bottom of page