The “Hundred Flowers Campaign” of…

The “Hundred Flowers Campaign” of 1956 China, allowed and encouraged people to speak freely and openly express their opinions about the communist regime. After a year, the campaign was withdrawn the Chinese government imprisoned those who spoke critically about them.

There was a radioactive energy drink…

There was a radioactive energy drink called Radithor on the US market between 1918-1928. One prominent user was buried in a lead coffin. That user was Eben Byers. In 1927 Byers injured his arm falling from a railway sleeping berth. For the persistent pain a doctor suggested he take Radithor, a patent medicine manufactured by […]

After the breakup of the Soviet Union…

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Lithuanian basketball team couldn’t afford to participate in the 1992 Olympics, so the Grateful Dead funded the team’s expenses, and the team wore tie-dye uniforms.

‘Desire paths’ is the term…

‘Desire paths’ is the term for the paths that are naturally created by people’s footfalls when they walk around paved paths. Some universities and hospitals have avoided these by waiting to see where they formed naturally, then paving over established desire paths.

Ancient Roman Joke Pen

While excavating for Bloomberg’s headquarters, archaeologists have discovered a ancient Roman stylus inscribed with (roughly) “I went to Rome, and all I brought you was this pen.”

Navajo was once in danger of losing…

Navajo was once in danger of losing a lot of speakers, but the Navajo nation set up programs to teach the language as well as many bilingual schools. Now there are even institutes, community colleges, and technical universities with classes in the Navajo language.