Author: Bess Lovejoy

You may know the sad story of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, the British explorer who aimed to be the first to reach the South Pole—only to arrive in January 1912 to find a Norwegian flag had been planted by explorer Roald Amundsen five weeks prior. Among other setbacks, the Scott expedition was plagued by technical difficulties, infirm ponies, and illness during their 800-mile trek across the Ross Ice Shelf back to their base camp in McMurdo Sound.

Ultimately, all five men perished before they reached the camp. Petty Officer Edgar Evans suffered a head injury, a serious wound on his hand, and frostbite before dying at a temporary campsite on the return journey. Captain Lawrence Oates, suffering severely from frostbite, voluntarily left the camp one night and walked right into a blizzard, choosing to sacrifice himself rather than slow the other men down. Captain Scott, Lieutenant Henry “Birdie” Bowers, and Doctor Edward Adrian Wilson subsequently died in late March of a vicious combination of exposure and starvation.

The makeshift camp in which the last three men died was only 11 miles from a supply depot. When their frozen corpses were discovered on the ice shelf by a search party the following November, a cairn of snow was built around them, tent and all, as there was no soil in which to bury them. A cross made of skis was added to the top. Before they left, surgeon Edward Leicester Atkinson, a member of the search party, left a note in a metal cylinder at the site:

November 12, 1912, Lat. 79 degrees, 50 mins. South. This cross and cairn are erected over the bodies of Captain Scott, C.V.O., R.N., Doctor E. A. Wilson, M.B. B.C., Cantab., and Lieutenant H. R. Bowers, Royal Indian Marine—a slight token to perpetuate their successful and gallant attempt to reach the Pole. This they did on January 17, 1912, after the Norwegian Expedition had already done so. Inclement weather with lack of fuel was the cause of their death. Also to commemorate their two gallant comrades, Captain L. E. G. Oates of the Inniskilling Dragoons, who walked to his death in a blizzard to save his comrades about eighteen miles south of this position; also of Seaman Edgar Evans, who died at the foot of the Beardmore Glacier. “The Lord gave and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

But something even more curious happened next.

In the century and change since Scott and his comrades died, the cairn-tomb has been slowly moving. That’s because it was erected on top of a 360-foot-thick section of ice—the Ross Ice Shelf, which is constantly fed by glaciers on either side. As of 2011, according to the Polar Record, it was buried under approximately 53 feet of ice, as the surface accumulates more ice and the bottom of the shelf melts and refreezes. Assuming the rate of accumulation has been approximately the same for the last five years, they’re about 55 feet inside the ice by now.

The north edge of the ice shelf also grows and shifts, as the entire plate moves slowly toward the water’s edge. As such, the cairn, the tent, and the corpses have traveled about 39 miles away from their original geographic location, and they’re still on the move. No one seems to have pinpointed exactly where they are, but glacierologists who have weighed in on the topic generally believe the bodies are still preserved intact [PDF].

Within another 250 years or so, the bodies of Scott, Bowers, and Wilson will have at last traveled to the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, where it meets McMurdo Sound in the Ross Sea. By then, they’ll be encased in more than 325 feet of ice. The ice is not as thick at the front of the shelf as it is where the cairn began its journey, and so they could be embedded low by the time they get to the water.

It’s tempting to imagine that once the bodies meet the edge of the ice shelf in about two and a half centuries, they’ll just slide out of the melted ice and splash into the ocean. But that’s not quite how it works. As the Ross Ice Shelf advances further out to sea, every 50 to 100 years it can no longer support its own weight and the shelf calves off an iceberg. The particular chunk of the ice shelf holding the remains of Scott and his men is expected to break off into an iceberg (or possibly a mini version called a growler or bergy bit) before they get to the front of the ice shelf at the water. Back in 2011, the Polar Record forecasted that the special day will fall in 2250 or thereabouts.

If all goes as predicted, this means that Captain Scott, Lieutenant Bowers, and Doctor Wilson will then get to ride around the Ross Sea—and later the Southern Ocean—inside of an iceberg about 350 years after their deaths.

Depending on where the berg with the British bodies breaks off from the ice shelf, it will probably stay local and head toward the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands. The iceberg will almost certainly melt someday, be it in a decade or a century. Then, the dead men will be free-floating in the water, where, depending on a host of circumstances, they’ll stay until currents and sea animals have their way with them. Their skeletons are then predicted to wash up somewhere, possibly the South Shetlands—but who can say for sure? All we can really do is keep an eye out for them in the area in about 250 years.

Although the deaths of Robert F. Scott and his team were tragic, it’s possible to imagine that as explorers, they might have approved of the far-out adventure their bodies would endure—centuries after their final one got cut a bit short.

Dog walking is more than just exercise and picking up after your pet. The people who walk your pup are masters at multitasking: while holding a bunch of leashes, they maneuver multiple dogs around a city block or park, checking for danger and making sure the dogs are having a good time. Check out these insights for a glimpse into the lives of professional dog walkers, who routinely deal with everything from canine clothing to random dogs suddenly befriending them.

1. THEY KNOW HOW TO ROCK A FANNY PACK.

Dog walkers need their hands free to hold leashes, open doors, and sometimes control a pack of dogs. That means their tools need to be readily accessible, and a fanny pack is often their tool belt of choice. The gear stashed inside usually includes keys, a phone, plastic bags, extra leashes, treats, collapsible water bowls, and citronella spray (to deter coyotes or aggressive stray dogs).

2. SOME OF THEM ARE ACTUALLY DOG CHAUFFEURS.

Although most dog walkers pick up your dog for a walk, some are more properly referred to as dog drivers. “People call me a dog walker, but because I’m in Los Angeles, I’m really a dog chauffeur,” says Chris Franciosa, the owner of dog walking and pet care company Weezie’s Walkies. “I pick up dogs all over the Westside, drive them to an amazing dog park, and let them frolic and socialize and have a ball.”

3. YOU MIGHT SEE YOUR DOG WALKER ON TV …

Law student Rachel Russell worked as a dog walker in Brooklyn before starting law school. “Many creative people (writers and actors) have day jobs as dog walkers,” she tells mental_floss. Because of the flexible hours and potentially temporary nature of the job, dog walking appeals to creative types who have an irregular schedule or regularly audition for gigs.

4. … BUT DOG WALKING CAN BE A SOLID, FULL-TIME JOB.

“People are usually surprised to hear that dog-walking can be a full-time job that one can make a good living doing,” Christine Neely, the owner of San Diego’s Have a Ball Pet Sitting & Dog Walking, says. Although not all dog walkers are able to earn enough income to make it their full-time job, many dog walkers in larger metropolitan areas can make it work. “I make a living, support my family of four, and even bought a house in Los Angeles while putting my wife through graduate school,” Franciosa says.

5. SOME OF THEIR CLIENTS TRY TO GET AWAY WITH NOT PAYING.

Although dog walkers have big responsibilities, some clients see them more as friends than employees. “People will sometimes try to get away with not paying their dog walkers, viewing the dog walkers as their friends,” Russell says. It should go without saying, but even if your dog walker clearly loves their job and your dog, they need to earn money just like any other worker, so don’t stiff them.

6. THEY CAN SPOT EARLY SIGNS OF ILL HEALTH.

Because dog walkers spend time with your dog on a daily basis, they can quickly spot unusual behaviors. Jordan Kaplan, the owner of New York City’s Petaholics, explains to mental_floss that dog walkers may be the first to spot ticks, rashes, or unusual spots on a dog. “Often we see things before their parents do. Diarrhea is common, whether they ate something or picked up something,” Kaplan says. And if your dog develops a limp that slowly gets worse or has difficulty urinating, your dog walker can tell you and suggest that you bring your dog to a veterinarian.

7. THEY’RE PROBABLY FAMILIAR WITH CANINE CLOTHING.

Some dog owners have specific sartorial requirements for their dogs, depending on the weather or the season. Before taking these dogs on a walk, dog walkers may have to spend extra time fitting four little boots onto a dog’s paws or maneuvering a doggie sweater onto a pooch. It can be time-consuming, but the results are usually pretty cute.

8. THEY APPRECIATE HOW MUCH YOU TRUST THEM.

“The amount of trust given to dog walkers is impressive: you’re giving a stranger your key and entrusting them with your beloved pet,” Russell says. Dog owners entrust dog walkers with their pet’s health, safety, and security, which is already a lot of responsibility. Additionally, most dog walkers keep a copy of their clients’ house keys so they can pick up and drop off each dog at home. That’s a lot of trust, and dog walkers know (and appreciate) it.

9. THEY MIGHT AVOID WALKING CERTAIN BREEDS.

According to Kaplan, most dog walkers will work with any breed, but some petite dog walkers ask for smaller breeds so they don’t have to handle a dog that’s larger than they are.

But size isn’t the only thing that matters. Dog trainer Ted Terroux tells Care.com that dog walkers should consider how their temperament meshes with certain dog breeds. “Some breeds tend to be territorial and some are predatory, while others are adventurous or independent,” he says. A laid-back, passive person might not be best suited to walk an aggressive guard dog, for example.

10. RANDOM DOGS BEFRIEND THEM WHEN THEY’RE OFF THE CLOCK.

One dog walker in San Francisco reveals that dogs often approach dog walkers when they’re off-duty, treating them as if they’re another dog. Whether these dogs are responding to scent on the dog walker’s clothing or intuitively sense the presence of a dog lover, most dog walkers don’t mind being one of the pack.

11. THEY TAKE PHOTOS OF YOUR DOG.

You might have a ton of photos of your dog stored on your phone, but your dog walker most likely has some too. When they’re out and about with your dog, some dog walkers can’t resist the urge to take a selfie with your pup. As dog walker Nicole Zalat writes, dog walkers enjoy sharing photos of their day with their friends and family: “Your dog gave me a high five? Shared … I love walking your dog, and I love telling everyone about her.”

12. THEY’RE EXPERTS AT READING CANINE BODY LANGUAGE.

Dog walkers are always on alert for potential dangers—coyotes, stray dogs, or kids who might run up and startle their charges. Good dog walkers are also highly attuned to canine body language and can tell when a dog is frightened or ready to bite. When something goes awry, they know to walk quickly to the other side of the street or distract their dogs.

13. THEY CARE DEEPLY ABOUT YOUR DOG’S SAFETY AND HAPPINESS.

Most dog walkers truly love animals, and they care very much about your dog’s quality of life. Dog walkers may sing to your dog, hug and kiss it, or call it special nicknames. Frankly, dog walkers may even enjoy spending time with your dog as much as you do.

All photos via iStock.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is on the 10th day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. It is the second of the two “High Holy Days,” following Rosh Hashanah at the beginning of that month.

It is the only major Jewish observance where those over the age of 13 are required to fast for an entire day. As with all Jewish holidays and observances, it begins in the evening and ends 25 hours later. The day is traditionally spent mostly in prayer, with sessions of Bible study and discussions. Pledges are made to each other, and to God, about being one’s best self.

1. JEWS ABSTAIN FROM MORE THAN FOOD.

The fast is not only from food and drink, but also from sexual relations, wearing leather, or using perfumes. In Biblical times, these last two items were marks of wealthier people, and so today humble dress, as well as humble attitudes, are part of the observance.

2. THE FULL NAME IS YOM HAKIPPURIM, THE DAY OF ATONEMENTS.

Technically, the name is plural. All the confessions are done as a community, and chanted in the first person plural: “We have sinned.” This public ritual is said to create a supportive and bonding experience.

3. FORGIVENESS IS A BIG THEME.

In the days leading up to Yom Kippur, people have asked for forgiveness from all their loved ones. One cannot ask for God’s forgiveness, the main point of the day’s activities, until one has been forgiven by the humans involved.

4. THERE ARE SOME CREATIVE LISTS OF SINS.

There are several lists of sins, all in Hebrew alphabetical order, forming acrostics. In modernity, some very clever writers have translated them into English and largely kept the alphabetical order; for example, a recitation would go along the lines of “We have abused, betrayed, been cruel, destroyed, embittered others,” etc. Almost all of these sins are about the ways people treat each other, not how they treat God: violence, rushing to judgment, lack of compassion, indifference to evil, etc.

5. IN ANCIENT TIMES, IT WASN’T A GREAT DAY FOR GOATS.

In the Biblical era, two goats were chosen by lotteries. One was ritually sacrificed to atone for the sins of the people, and the other, as an act of purification, was driven off into the wilderness, and some say over a cliff. This was, of course, the “scape-goat.”

6. THERE ARE SOME LESS-EXPECTED REASONS FOR FASTING.

In addition to fasting as a display of true repentance and to create a less worldly focus, the experience of truly being hungry is supposed to arouse maximum compassion for the poor. It is traditional to make a charitable donation of at least the amount one would have spent for one’s family that day.

7. IT IS THE ONLY HOLIDAY WHERE THE EVENING SERVICE STARTS BEFORE SUNDOWN.

This evening service has a special name: Kol Nidrei, which is also the name of the most important Yom Kippur evening prayer. In it, God is asked to annul and forgive all oaths made under pressure. This is a reference to the religious oaths made in eras when Jews were forced to convert, usually to Christianity, or die.

8. THERE’S ALSO A MEMORIAL CANDLE-LIGHTING.

Since the Holocaust, Jews light a memorial candle for the six million who perished, as well as for departed relatives.

9. EVEN THE TORAH GETS A SPECIAL OUTFIT.

It is customary to wear all white as a symbol of purity and of a new start. Even the Torah scrolls have special white mantles (coverings) for the High Holy Days. Traditionally, men (and in modern times, women) wear a plain white robe over their clothing, called a kittel. This is worn again for the Passover seder, and is the garment in which they are later buried.

10. DANCING USED TO BE INVOLVED.

It is said that in the Biblical era, during the late afternoon of Yom Kippur, the unmarried maidens would dance in the forest clearings, and the unmarried young men would watch, hoping to know which was meant to be his bride.

Chess may seem like a placid pursuit, but it has plenty to do with combat. Of course, the game itself is a virtual portrayal of war complete with castles, knights, and royalty. But during World War II, it also took on new significance for wounded and captured soldiers, who were often faced with long hours of monotony and intellectual starvation.

The Geneva Conventions are best known today for their definitions of war crimes, but in 1929, the third convention helped lay out how to treat prisoners of war. The rules governed not just the physical conditions of POWs but their intellectual and moral needs, requiring freedom of religion, proper medical treatment, and respect based on military rank. The convention also contained a provision on recreation, which stated that “so far as possible belligerents shall encourage intellectual diversions and sports organized by prisoners of war.”

War relief organizations took that provision seriously—and for many prisoners of war during World War II, the regulation translated into a rousing game of chess. The intellectual pursuit didn’t take much room, could be played over the course of time, and was relatively quiet, making it the perfect pursuit for prisons and hospitals filled with people whose range of motion was limited. Throughout the war, chess was championed by organizations like the International Red Cross, which sent chess sets to prisoners in care packages. Soon, chess tournaments could be found in POW camps around the world.

But POWs weren’t the only war casualties who loved chess. In 1945, in response to the influx of wounded veterans at the war’s end, the United States Chess Federation partnered with the magazine Chess Review to bring chess to injured vets, too. The resulting organization, Chess for the Wounded, didn’t just get chess sets into hospitals—it brought some of the biggest names in chess directly to players. Chess greats (many of them women who had not been drafted into service) headed to players’ hospital bedsides to challenge them. Among them were Gisela Gresser, the first American woman chess master and one of the greatest players of all time, and several other U.S. women’s champions who volunteered.

The portable chess board you see above was given to a player by Herbert H. Holland, a U.S. Department of Agriculture worker, attorney, and avid chess player. Holland knew what it was like to be bored and incapacitated in a hospital bed: During World War I, he entered a diabetic coma and spent a total of nearly four years in hospitals recuperating. During those hours, Holland, a self-taught chess player, amused himself by playing chess with his fellow patients—a pastime that eased his boredom and made the long hours more bearable.

Holland never forgot how chess changed his life. During World War II, he collected a total of 1150 chess sets for prisoners of war. He eventually became the head of Chess for the Wounded. Though many players in the program used traditional chess sets, some used postal sets like the one you see above. The cards on the left were used to help players record the moves of several players at once as they mailed their games back and forth to other wounded opponents. Today, it’s in the collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis—a testament to the game’s little-known connection to the modern horrors of war.

Of the wide variety of abandoned buildings, perhaps none are as eerie as deserted hospitals. Whether it’s old military hospitals once filled with wounded casualties, dilapidated facilities for contagious disease patients, or Victorian buildings once used as psychiatric asylums, abandoned hospitals can haunt the imagination with nightmarish thoughts of medical experiments and patient abuse. But while there have undoubtedly been some documented cases of cruel conditions, in truth many of these hospitals were originally considered state-of-the-art. Perhaps because these now-decaying buildings were once so immaculately pristine, it can feel like, of all abandoned institutions, hospitals have suffered the steepest fall from grace.

1. LETCHWORTH VILLAGE

Built in 1911 in the upstate hamlet of Thiells, New York, Letchworth Village was created to be a utopian village for the mentally ill. By 1950 over 4000 patients lived there, many of them children. The village was divided in two by a river (creating a girls’ and a boys’ half), and included its own power station, printing press, stores, and places of worship. At the center of Letchworth Village was the hospital and mortuary.

This self-contained village in the woods was designed to be at the forefront of progressive treatment, but Letchworth was closed in 1996 after reports of decades of abuse and neglect. Exposed along with Willowbrook in Staten Island by Geraldo Rivera, Letchworth was eventually shut down.

Today the hospital, like the rest of Letchworth, is completely abandoned. Empty wards still contain beds and paintings on the walls from the children who lived there. In the pitch-black basements are the laboratories, dentists’ rooms, and the morgue. The full story of Letchworth, exactly what transpired in the hospital, and how many passed through the morgue, is unknown. But a cemetery in the woods a few miles away is home to hundreds of unnamed graves, the plain crosses marked only with numbers.

2. BEELITZ-HEILSTATTEN

Some abandoned hospitals seem more sinister than others by virtue of who was treated there—perhaps none more so than Beelitz-Heilstatten. Medical staff at this now slowly decaying site outside of Berlin once treated two of the most reviled figures in recent German history, Adolf Hitler and Erich Honecker.

Beelitz-Heilstatten was built around the end of the 19th century, initially as a hospital to care for the increasing number of tuberculosis patients in Berlin. A sprawling complex of over 60 buildings, it was converted into a Red Cross hospital during World War I. It was here that a young Adolf Hitler was brought to recuperate after suffering a wound to his thigh during the bloody Battle of the Somme. The hospital at Beelitz was occupied by the Red Army in 1945, and resembled its own small-scale village, complete with private power plant, a post office, restaurants, and even a butcher. In 1990, the recently deposed head of the German Democratic Republic, Erich Honecker, was treated here for liver cancer, and it was from the now-crumbling wards that he fled to Russia.

Beelitz-Heilstatten was finally abandoned in 2000, and like many other empty hospitals is marked by peeling paint, deserted corridors, and rusting medical equipment. But it is the specter of two of its most notorious patients that gives Beelitz-Heilstatten its most disturbing character.

3. NEPONSIT HEALTH CARE CENTER

Rockaway Beach in New York is a beach with a peculiar feature. Here, beachgoers and surfers visiting this remote shoreline enjoy the summer sunshine in the shadow of a foreboding presence: an abandoned hospital.

Located along Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Neponsit Hospital was built in 1918 as a children’s tuberculosis hospital. Campaigned for by Jacob Riis, the journalist and photographer who strove to highlight the abysmal conditions of New York’s slums, the hospital on the beach was considered the ideal location for children suffering from tuberculosis, who were thought to benefit from the air coming in from the Atlantic. In the 20th century, the hospital was converted into a care home for the elderly.

When the hospital was badly damaged during a storm in 1998 and thought to be on the verge of collapsing, the patients at Neponsit were evacuated in the middle of the night, with no warning to patients or their families. Two residents died while being relocated, and another disappeared for several weeks.

The hospital has been left to slowly decay ever since. There have been rumors of plans to convert the beachfront hospital into a hotel—plans thwarted by an existing covenant stipulating that the land could only be used for a hospital or public park. That means visitors to Rockaway Beach will continue to see sunbathers right next to an abandoned hospital for the near future.

4. PRIPYAT HOSPITAL

Deep inside the exclusion zone of Chernobyl is the doomed workers’ town of Pripyat. Now one of the world’s most infamous abandoned towns, Pripyat was opened in 1970 a few miles from the reactors. Designed as a model example of Communist life, the site featured a disco, fun fair, sports fields, river cafes, schools, bars, and a hospital. Big enough to house 400 patients, the hospital also featured a once-thriving maternity ward for the 1000 or so babies born there each year.

Like the rest of the exclusion zone, the hospital in Pripyat is disturbingly eerie. It’s filled with discarded medical equipment, glass-fronted cabinets still filled with vials of medicine, and medical wall charts. But there are also artifacts in the main ER entryway that tell the terrible story of what happened here. On the floor still lies some of the equipment from the firefighters who first responded to the cataclysmic explosion. Inside the hospital, most of the radiation levels are not particularly hazardous in limited doses, but measuring a fireman’s helmet on the hospital floor, the levels jump dramatically. Virtually all the first responders to the explosion died from radiation, as did many of the nurses and doctors who tried to save them.

5. THE ELLIS ISLAND IMMIGRANT HOSPITAL

Ellis Island and the neighboring Statue of Liberty remain two of New York’s most-visited landmarks. Over 4 millions tourists sail to Ellis Island every year, often to see the rooms where many of their ancestors first entered the United States. But Ellis Island has a hidden side—while the half of the island nearest Manhattan is home to once-thriving former immigration halls, the other is home to an abandoned hospital.

Opened in 1902, the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital served as a detention facility for those deemed unfit for entry into New York. Upon arrival from Europe, immigrants were subjected to a brief medical examination (often as quick as 30 seconds), and chalk marks made upon their clothing signified whether they were able to enter the U.S. or sent to the other side of the island for treatment and monitoring. The hospital had wards for patients suffering from contagious diseases such as tuberculosis, diphtheria, and cholera, as well as an autopsy room and vast sterilization facilities for the medical staff. Somewhere around 3500 unfortunate patients died on the island, while 350 babies were born there.

The hospital was closed in the 1930s, and has gradually fallen into decay ever since. In recent years, limited tours by the Save Ellis Island organization and an art installation have allowed a small number into the crumbling ruins of Ellis Island’s dark side.

6. YPRES ADVANCED DRESSING STATION

While the other hospitals on this list occupied grand, state-of-the-art facilities, the preserved remnants of an altogether more rudimentary medical facility from World War I lie outside Ypres, Belgium. The concrete bunkers of what was known as an Advanced Dressing Station are located there by a canal bank. Situated by the British trenches, these dark, concrete rooms were where casualties from the front line were first brought for immediate first aid. It was at these horrific sections of the western front that the Germans first used chlorine gas in 1915.

One of the doctors working in these hellish confines was Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, who conducted his gruesome work amid the “constant background of the sights of the dead, the wounded, the maimed and a terrible anxiety lest the line give way.”

One of the casualties was his close friend Alexis Helmer, and McCrae conducted the burial service himself. As a result McCrae wrote one of the most moving war poems, In Flanders Fields.

Today the makeshift hospital where McCrae watched his friend die has been preserved with a memorial, and the field stations where he tended the wounded have been left untouched.

7. NOCTON HALL

In deepest Lincolnshire is a ruined Victorian mansion, slowly crumbling and being reclaimed by the forest. Once it was a beautiful stately home, on grounds that originally dated back to before 1530. The mansion was rebuilt following a fire to be the home of the 1st Earl of Ripon. But Nocton Hall is more widely known as a military convalescent home, used mostly by the Royal Air Force. Wounded soldiers from World War I all the way through to the First Gulf War recovered there amid the stately grounds and historic home. The site was sold to a private owner in 1995, after which it became abandoned. A further fire in 2004 saw much of the roof of the venerable old mansion destroyed. Despite its status as a Grade II listed building, and its historical significance, Nocton Hall now stands as a haunting looking ruin in the woods, rather than the state of the art medical facility it used to be.

Hats have been used throughout history to convey meaning—whether as a status symbol, a political statement, or simply for sartorial style. Such is the power of a good hat that certain styles have become intrinsically linked with just one famous individual, and inevitably become the first item you reach for when trying to portray that character at a costume party. Below are 8 world famous historical hats and the people who wore them.

1. WINSTON CHURCHILL’S HOMBURG

British wartime prime minister Winston Churchill was renowned for his hats. Churchill himself once wrote a humorous essay on the subject, remarking that as he did not have a distinctive hairstyle, spectacles, or facial hair like other famous statesmen, cartoonists and photographers of the day focused instead on his love of headgear.

Churchill wore a number of styles of hat, from top hats to bowler hats, but he is probably most famous for his homburg. The homburg is a felt hat with a curved brim, a dent that runs from front to back, and a grosgrain ribbon that forms a band. It was popularized in Britain by Prince Edward VII, who first discovered it on a visit to Bad Homburg in Germany in the 1880s. Churchill sported a number of homburgs, from a classic black to a more stylish pale gray with black ribbon, and in 1991 one of his favorites (containing his initials embossed within in gold) sold at auction for $11,750.

2. NAPOLEON’S BICORNE

French emperor Napoleon understood the importance of branding, and throughout his life used imagery and clothing to convey power and status. His most famous hat was his black-felted beaver fur bicorne.

Traditionally, the bicorne, with its distinctive deep gutter and two pointed corners, was worn with the corners facing to the front and back, but so as to be distinct on the battlefield, Napoleon wore the hat sideways so that anyone scanning the crowds would instantly know him by his jauntily angled hat. Napoleon always had his hats made by Poupart & Cie and ordered four new hats each year; he reportedly did not like the look of a brand new hat so got his valets to wear them in for him.

In 2014, a hugely popular auction of Napoleon memorabilia occurred in France, and the starring item was the bicorne hat Napoleon was said to have worn at the Battle of Marengo in Italy in 1800. Although Napoleon owned at least 120 hats, today historians think only 19 examples have survived and most of these are housed in museums or private collections. This ensured the auction of one of Napoleon’s hats was sure to be a great success, and experts were unsurprised when the famous bicorne fetched $2.4 million.

3. ST. THOMAS MORE’S BONNET

Thomas More was Lord High Chancellor of England under Henry VIII and was revered as a Catholic intellectual. However, after refusing to recognize Henry VIII as the head of the Church of England, he sealed his fall from grace and was beheaded for treason in 1535. More was subsequently venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church, and his belongings, including his iconic hat, have since become saintly relics. His hat has become particularly intertwined with our image of the saint due to the famous Hans Holbein painting of him sporting the black velvet Tudor bonnet. At President Obama’s 2013 inauguration, all eyes were on Justice Antonin Scalia sporting a copy of Thomas More’s hat given to him by the Thomas More Society—proving once again the power of a good hat. In September 2016, St. Thomas More’s actual hat went on display at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C. alongside a number of other relics of the saint, including a piece of jawbone and tooth.

4. ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S STOVEPIPE

Sixteenth president of the United States Abraham Lincoln was exceedingly tall at 6 foot 4”, and the addition of his famous top hat accentuated his height even further. Lincoln used to keep papers and speeches tucked inside his hat and he would fish them out when needed, making his hat not just a natty bit of headgear but also a useful repository.

The most famous of Lincoln’s stovepipe hats was the very one he wore on the night of his assassination at Ford’s Theater on April 14, 1865. The silk hat was purchased from Washington hatmaker J. Y. Davis, and was trimmed with two ribbons—one a thin black ribbon with a tiny buckle and the other a 3” black grosgrain mourning ribbon that Lincoln likely affixed himself in a sign of mourning for his son Willie. The hat lay on the floor by his seat during the performance and there it stayed after the president was shot. Both the chair Lincoln sat on and the hat were soon retrieved by the War Department as evidence in the trial of John Wilkes Booth, and later given to the Smithsonian Institution, where they were carefully stored until 1893, when the hat was put on display for an exhibition by the Lincoln Memorial Association. Today the hat is one of the Smithsonian’s most treasured exhibits, providing a tangible link to one of America’s greatest leaders.

5. DAVY CROCKETT’S COONSKIN CAP

Coonskin caps are fur hats made from the skin of a raccoon, with the animal’s tail hanging down the back. The caps were originally worn by Native Americans, but were appropriated by 18th century frontiersmen as hunting caps. Davy Crockett, who is frequently depicted wearing a coonskin cap, seems to have had an authentic connection to them. When Crockett gave up being a politician and returned to Texas, ending up at the Alamo, witnesses described him wearing his coonskin cap. Indeed one such witness, Susanna Dickinson, a survivor of the Alamo massacre, many years later described seeing Crockett’s body: “I recognized Col. Crockett lying dead and mutilated between the church and the two story barrack building, and even remember seeing his peculiar cap lying by his side.” Historians debate whether or not this is an accurate recollection, but it confirms the strong association between Crockett and his iconic coonskin hat.

6. JACKIE KENNEDY’S PILLBOX

Jackie Kennedy was one of America’s greatest style icons, and one of her most memorable looks was the pillbox hat perched on the back of her head. Kennedy had many versions of the pillbox, but the most famous is the watermelon pink one she wore with matching pink Chanel-style suit on November 22, 1963, the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Jackie, who had been at his side in her pink suit, was covered in her husband’s blood. When aides repeatedly suggested she change her clothes, according to biographer William Manchester Jackie refused, saying “No, let them see what they’ve done.” When Jackie finally cast off the pink suit it was scooped up and preserved at the National Archives in Maryland, where it will remain until at least 2103, the display of the blood-stained garment considered too upsetting. But what of the hat? It’s known that at some time during her visit to Parkland Hospital, where JFK’s body had been taken, Jackie removed the hat and handed it to her private secretary Mary Gallagher—but what happened to it after that is unclear.

7. GUY FAWKES’S SUGARLOAF

Thanks to a contemporary engraving by Crispijn van de Passe (the Elder), we have an enduring image of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators in their sugarloaf hats. The most famous of the conspirators in the plot to blow up England’s Houses of Parliament was Guido, or Guy, Fawkes, who has become something of a folk villain in Britain. Every November 5, effigies of him are burned on bonfires and fireworks light up the sky in recognition of the foiled plot.

The sugarloaf hat was a popular style during the Stuart Period (1603–1714) of British history, its round pointed crown resembling the loaves of sugar that were at that time imported from the New World. It was associated with the Parliamentarian anti-monarchists during the English Civil War (1642–51), and was seen as an antidote to the flashy cavalier-style hats worn by the aristocracy. In fact, historians suggest that during the 1600s the sugarloaf hat may have been a way of demonstrating dissidence: At that time it was usual to wear a hat at all times, even indoors, but if a social superior entered the room the hat was supposed to be removed. However, sugarloaf-wearing rebels would subvert this rule by leaving their hat on in the presence of the aristocracy.

After the Gunpowder Plot was foiled, the conspirators were put to death, but the image of Guy Fawkes in his sugarloaf persisted. To this day the same style of hat can be seen adorning the head of effigies across Britain perched atop burning bonfires on November 5.

8. THEODORE ROOSEVELT’S PANAMA HAT

On November 16, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt was photographed while on an inspection visit to the Panama Canal excavation. Roosevelt was pictured at the controls of a massive steam-shovel, sporting a natty light straw hat with a black band. The newspapers dubbed it Roosevelt’s “Panama” hat.

The style that we now know as the Panama hat is actually traditionally made in Ecuador, where the toquilla palm plant used to weave it is endemic. Hats of this sort have been woven in Ecuador since the time of the Incas, but during the 1850s, as more people travelled through Panama up to the United States for the gold rush, savvy Ecuadorian hat-sellers exported their wares to sell in Panama. The hats’ popularity soared during the building of the Panama Canal as the lightweight hats were perfect for the workers to wear to shield their faces from the hot sun. Once the photograph of Roosevelt wearing his Panama hat appeared in newspapers across the United States, including The New York Times, the hat became very fashionable—and the Ecuadorian sombreros de paja toquilla forever became the Panama hat.

At the top of a hill in Budapest, overlooking the Danube River, sits Buda Castle, a gorgeous UNESCO World Heritage site visited by thousands of tourists every year. Directly underneath the castle, however, lies a less-frequented tourist attraction: a series of ancient, naturally formed caves with a colorful and sometimes disturbing history.

The entire cave system is over six miles long, and most of that has been left unchanged since it was used as cold storage (and a rumored dungeon) in the Middle Ages. Between 1939 and 2008, however, a half-mile stretch of those caves was built up and repurposed many times over. Known as Sziklakorhaz or The Hospital in the Rock, its many uses are a testament to the area’s involvement in World War II and the Cold War.

At the start of World War II, the location served as a single-room air raid center, but operating theaters, corridors, and wards were quickly added to create a much-needed hospital. By early 1944, the hospital had officially opened inside the cave, tending to wounded Hungarian and Nazi soldiers. After less than a year of operation, the facility found itself facing its largest challenge—the Siege of Budapest, which lasted seven weeks and was eventually won by Allied forces on their way to Berlin.

As one of the few area hospitals still operational, the Hospital in the Rock was well over capacity during the siege. Originally built to treat around 70 patients, close to 700 ended up crammed into the claustrophobic caves. The wounded lay three to a bed—if they were lucky enough to get a bed at all. Unsurprisingly, heat from all those bodies raised the ambient temperature to around 95°F, and smoking cigarettes was the number one way to pass the time. Add that to the putrid mix of death, decay, and infection and you’ve got an incredibly unpleasant wartime cocktail.

After the siege, the Soviets took control of the caves (and Budapest itself) and gutted the hospital of most of its supplies. Between 1945 and 1948, the hospital produced a vaccination for typhus. As the icy grasp of the Cold War began to tighten, new wards were built, new equipment was installed, and the hospital was designated top-secret by the Soviets, referred to only by its official codename LOSK 0101/1.

Eleven years after facing the horrors of the Siege of Budapest, in 1956, the hospital hosted the casualties of another battle: The Hungarian Uprising. Thousands of Hungarians revolted against the Soviet policies of the Hungarian People’s Republic in a fierce, prolonged battle. Civilians and soldiers alike lay side-by-side in wards as surgeons attempted to save them. During the uprising, seven babies were also born in the hospital.

Surgeons lived on-site and rarely surfaced from the caves. The hospital’s chief surgeon at the time, Dr. András Máthé, famously had a strict “no amputation” rule, which seemed to fly in the face of conventional wisdom, but in the end reportedly saved many patients’ lives. (Máthé also reportedly wore a bullet that he’d removed from a patient’s head on a chain around his neck.)

The Hospital in the Rock ceased normal operations in December 1956, after the Soviets squashed the uprising, as the Soviets had new plans for the caves. With the Cold War now in full swing, the still-secret site was converted into a bunker that could serve as a hospital in case of nuclear attack. Diesel engines and an air conditioning system were added in the early ’60s, so that even during a blackout, the hospital could still function for a couple of days.

The official plan for the bunker was as follows: In the event of a nuclear attack, a selection of doctors and nurses would retreat to the bunker, where they would remain for 72 hours. Afterward, they were to go out and search for survivors. Special quarantined rooms, showering facilities, and even a barbershop were on site for survivors brought back to the site. (The only haircut available to them, however, was a shaved head; radioactive material is notoriously difficult to remove from hair.)

Thankfully, none of these nuclear procedures were ever put into practice. But the hospital was never formally decommissioned, and it wasn’t relieved of its top-secret status until the mid-2000s. For a while, it was still being used as a storage facility by Hungary’s Civil Defense Force. The bunker was maintained by a nearby family, who were sworn to secrecy. In 2004, it was decided that responsibility for the site fell solely on St. John’s Hospital in Budapest, who were seen as the de facto owners in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

By 2008 the bunker was renovated, refurbished, and ready to be opened to the public. Today it operates as a museum, with exhibits detailing life in the hospital from various periods of its history, as well as the history of combat medicine as a whole. The sobering hour-long walk around the hospital concludes with a cautionary gaze into the atrocities of nuclear attacks, with the final walk to the exit featuring a gallery of art created by survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.

The caves beneath Buda Castle have certainly had a bumpy history, and walking through them now is chilling (and not just because they keep the temperature at around 60°F). A tour through the narrow, oppressive hallways is a glimpse at our narrowly avoided nuclear future—definitely a sobering way to spend an afternoon.

The late 4th and early 5th century philosopher and mathematician Hypatia was one of the most admired women in Alexandria, but she was also one of the most hated. She was the first known woman to both study and teach mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy, drawing students from far and wide, but she was also unabashedly pagan in a time when the city’s authority figures were Christian. In the end, her commitment to her beliefs would cost her her life.

Scholars differ on the date of Hypatia’s birth. It is thought that she was born between 350 and 370 CE in Alexandria, Egypt, which at the time was the sophisticated center of learning in the ancient world. She was the daughter of famed mathematician Theon, who wrote commentaries on works by the mathematicians Euclid and Ptolemy (his version of Euclid’s Elements was the only one known until the 19th century), and who also wrote a popular treatise on the astrolabe, an instrument used to chart the position of celestial bodies.

Theon considered Hypatia his intellectual heir and tutored her in art, astronomy, literature, science, and philosophy. She taught math and philosophy at the university of Alexandria, where her father was director. She also wrote, producing several commentaries, and collaborated on more written works with her father. Sadly, none of her works survive, although some scholars believe that part of Theon’s version of Ptolemy’s Almagest was actually written by her.

Hypatia was a follower of the Neoplatonist school of thought, based partially on the teachings of the philosopher Plato. The Greek Neoplatonist philosopher Damascius described Hypatia’s work by saying: “The lady made appearances around the center of the city, expounding in public to those willing to listen on Plato or Aristotle.” She is said to have been a popular teacher—and after her father died, was considered the foremost mathematician in the world.

Hypatia never married and most likely remained celibate due to her Neoplatonist beliefs. Damascius noted that she was “honest and chaste,” while Socrates Scholasticus spoke of her “extraordinary dignity and virtue.”

Orestes, the Roman prefect of Alexandria, admired her mind and sought her counsel. He was a Christian, but tolerant of all the faiths that co-existed in Alexandria, and he worked to form bonds between them. This tolerant attitude would place him in direct conflict with Cyril, the city’s new archbishop, and ultimately lead to Hypatia’s death.

Archbishop Cyril was not as tolerant of other faiths. When he became archbishop in 412, he closed and plundered churches belonging to another Christian sect. After a massacre of Christians by Jewish extremists, Cyril expelled all Jews from the city. Orestes opposed Cyril’s actions and complained to Rome, which led to an unsuccessful assassination attempt on the prefect’s life.

He survived, but Hypatia was less fortunate.

When a rumor spread that she was causing the conflict between Orestes and Cyril, a fanatical Christian sect murdered Hypatia in a particularly gruesome way.

On a March evening in the year 415 or 416 (accounts vary), a mob blocked her chariot as she was driving home. They pulled her from the chariot, stripped her naked, and stoned her to death with roofing tiles. The frenzied mob then reportedly tore her body apart, and burned what remained of her.

Some historians considered Hypatia’s death to be a deliberate act taken by Cyril against Orestes, who refused to reconcile with him. Other historians do not hold Cyril directly responsible for Hypatia’s death, while acknowledging that he did promote the intolerance that helped turn a mob against a prominent pagan figure.

Ironically, despite the fact that she was murdered by a Christian mob at least in part because she promoted Neoplatonist ideas, some of her teachings would eventually influence Christian doctrine. One of her students, Synesius, became a Christian bishop, and some scholars say that his earlier Platonic studies influenced the church’s doctrine of the Holy Trinity.

Today, she is remembered as one of the first women known to have studied math and philosophy, and her name lives on in a scholarly journal devoted to feminism and philosophy. She is sometimes credited with the line: “Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all.”

When you imagine a yoga teacher, you might think of a super-flexible, spiritually enlightened being who seems to radiate peace and benevolence. While it’s true that they inspire their students to harness energy, breathe, and master the downward dog position, yoga teachers also do a lot more than that. We asked a few yogis for the secrets behind their seemingly blissed-out trade.

1. THE BOTTOMS OF THEIR FEET ARE PROBABLY BLACK.

If you work in an office, your feet are most likely covered by shoes and socks. But yoga teachers work barefoot, walking on hardwood floors and stepping on and off yoga mats. Their feet are visibly affected by their work conditions, as Los Angeles yoga teacher Jen Netherby tells mental_floss: “The bottoms of my feet are almost always black since I’m always walking on floors barefoot as I teach.”

2. THEIR JOB REQUIRES PLENTY OF NON-YOGA TIME.

Heather Otterbine, the owner of OmBodies Yoga studio in Chicago, tells mental_floss that a lot of time goes into teaching a one-hour class beyond that hour. “People are always surprised to learn that I don’t ‘only’ practice yoga all day, every day,” she says. Yoga teachers spend time preparing to teach, driving to and from classes, marketing themselves online, doing social media outreach, hosting video webinars, and honing their own practice.

3. PAIN IS ALL AROUND THEM.

Although some students practice yoga to maintain their already-optimal health and wellness, many start yoga because of an injury or chronic pain. According to Netherby, getting in-depth anatomy training helped her better understand her students and how they move. “Lots of students, of all ages, are in pain in some way. I started to notice in my day-to-day how many people walk around with pain, just by how they walk or hold themselves. You really do learn to see people more clearly and have more compassion, as cliché as it is to say that,” Netherby says.

4. THEY’RE WARY OF TOUCHING YOUR MAT.

Because most yoga mats can quickly get sweaty and dirty, your yoga teacher is probably not too keen on touching it. Dr. Robert Lahita tells Elle that yoga mats can be rife with bacteria, fungi, and viruses. “Yoga mats are the worst …[they’re] a perfect incubator for many of our skin infections,” he reveals. To make your mat less germy, clean it regularly with a bleach-based cleaning spray.

5. TAKING CARE OF THEIR HEALTH IS VITAL.

In order to teach class after class, stay flexible, and be in peak physical shape, yoga teachers must take excellent care of their health. By limiting stress, meditating, and doing non-yoga workouts, yogis can bring a strong body and calm mind to class. Eating a good diet also helps them feel their best. To be in tip-top shape, many eschew soft drinks, alcohol, sugar, meat, dairy, and gluten.

6. MIRRORS CAN CONFUSE THEM.

Yoga teachers are constantly using directional signifiers—left, right, up, down—to instruct their students. Whether they’re teaching in front of a mirror or simply standing at the front of a room and mirroring their students’ poses, yoga teachers can understandably get confused about what’s left, right, or (in the case of headstands) up and down. “I spend so much time mirroring students in class that I sometimes have to pause and think which side is right and which is left in my own body,” Netherby admits.

7. MICROPHONES CAN SAVE THEM FROM LOSING THEIR VOICE.

Besides their bodies, the main tool that yoga teachers use to instruct students is their voice. To energize the class and keep everyone’s attention, especially when people are getting tired, good yoga teachers must speak loudly and avoid a monotone. Danielle Cuccio, an LA-based celebrity yoga teacher and CEO of Cuccio Somatology, tells mental_floss that when she first started teaching, she sometimes had to clear her throat by the time she was on her fourth client of the day. To keep her voice strong, Cuccio now teaches three times a day maximum and uses a microphone in some of her larger group classes.

8. THEY GO BEYOND THE PHYSICAL.

“Teaching yoga is like a secret superpower. You sneak in through the back door, and your students have no idea what hit them,” Jen Reuben, the co-owner of Salt Lake Power Yoga, says. Although yoga teachers help their students build physical stamina, they often see extensive improvements in their pupils’ mental health and emotional wellness as well. Cuccio explains that practicing yoga helps us slow down, feel more connected to our true selves, and stop overthinking.

9. PRIVATE LESSONS ARE THEIR BREAD AND BUTTER.

Unless they own their own successful studio, most yoga teachers struggle to make ends meet. They might get a flat rate, graduated rate, or commission based on the number of students who attend each class they teach. But vacation, health insurance, and raises are rare for yoga teachers who work as employees or contractors at a studio. Private lessons (in person or online) can command a much higher rate than teaching group classes, so many yoga teachers rely on them for a significant portion of their income.

10. THEY WISH YOU’D STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHER STUDENTS.

If you look around the room comparing your crescent lunge pose to other students’, you’re probably not making your yoga teacher happy. “It’s a yoga practice, not a performance!” yoga instructor Gina Marciano says. Don’t be discouraged or jealous if the woman in front of you is gracefully flowing through her poses like a master yogini. Instead, focus on your own journey to slowly improve your fitness and stamina. And don’t be afraid to try a difficult pose, clumsily topple over, and get right back up.

11. THEY SMILE THROUGH BAD MOODS.

Yoga teachers are expected to be positive and encouraging, but sometimes that means they have to conceal their own bad moods. “You have your own life, your own moods, your own good days, bad days … But no matter what kind of day you’re having, you have to put on a smile,” Cuccio says.

Forcing a smile, though, can start a positive chain reaction. “It’s not that I’m avoiding what I’m really feeling, but I’m reminded of how much I love my clients and what I do. Moving with my clients, teaching them, smiling, and being the teacher that they come to class for makes me happy and makes that ‘bad day’ maybe not so bad after that hour together,” she admits.

12. THEY’RE LIFELONG STUDENTS.

According to Serge Berliawsky, the founder and director of Shivakali Yoga in Los Angeles, yoga teachers must balance their role as a teacher with their own spiritual needs. “We are thrust into a position of some form of spiritual leadership … Yet at the same time, it is absolutely integral as a yoga teacher that we continue our own personal practice, mindfulness, self-growth, and self-reflection to maintain the purity and consciousness that enables us to hold such a position,” Berliawsky tells mental_floss.

By taking classes from other teachers and continuing to learn, yoga teachers can also keep their skills sharp and continue to innovate. “My students love when I apply new sequences and give them something totally new. It keeps it fresh and fun,” Cuccio says.

All photos via iStock.

The Czech village of Lukova is proud of their ghosts—after all, they helped save a local church.

Locals in Lukova, about 125 miles east of Prague, have long believed their Kostel svatého Jiří (St. George’s Church) is haunted, according to Atlas Obscura. Built in 1352, the building was plagued by fires and general disrepair for centuries, but the kicker came in 1968 when part of the roof fell down during a funeral service. That seemed to confirm what villagers had long suspected: the church was infested with malevolent spirits.

After that, the building was abandoned. The congregation held mass outside instead of stepping foot inside the structure. As if that wasn’t bad enough, during the Communist era the church suffered further decay, vandalism, and theft—even their bell was stolen.

Once the Soviet era ended, locals wanted to restore the church, but lacked the cash. Enter Jakub Hadrava, a sculpture student at the University of West Bohemia, who did what artists do best: brought our worst fears to life (in artistic form, that is). Hadrava created an installation featuring 30 life-size plaster “ghosts,” modeled on fellow students wearing raincoats. These days, the ghosts bring tourists from as far away as Australia. According to the Daily Mail, their donations have helped build a new roof and stabilize the structure. The worshippers pray indoors now.

The ghosts are more than a tourist draw—they also reflect some of the dark history that haunts the region. Some say Hadrava’s figures represent the German-speaking people who once lived in the area and who were expelled after World War II. However, others say the figures are best understood as a meditation on the ephemeral nature of life itself.

You can see more of the church in the video below:

[h/t Atlas Obscura]

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