A London-based research project has produced the most detailed ultrasound image yet of a 20-week-old fetus, The Telegraph reports. iFind (intelligent fetal imaging and diagnosis), an initiative led by researchers at King’s College London, is working on computer-guided ultrasound technology so that scans can be automated and uniform as well as more accurate.

Typically, a 20-week ultrasound (also called a mid-pregnancy scan) helps detect fetal abnormalities like spina bifida, but current scans can’t catch everything. One researcher The Telegraph spoke to estimated that only about half of all congenital abnormalities show up on the 20-week scan.

One issue with current ultrasound systems is that technicians can only use one probe for imaging because they need their other hand to work the settings on the machine. The iFind researchers want to create a robotic system that can take ultrasounds with multiple probes. By collecting a large dataset of high-quality 3D ultrasound images, the algorithm will learn to recognize organs and detect normal versus abnormal development.

The high-definition video recently captured by iFind is clearer than typical ultrasounds because the new algorithm can correct for the fetus’s normal movement during the scan, creating a more focused image (similar to steadying your camera in low-light conditions). The result is an unprecedented look at a fetus in the womb that could give parents and doctors a much better idea of the baby’s condition.

[h/t The Telegraph]

A newly discovered photograph of Harriet Tubman is going up for sale at Swann Auction Galleries in New York City, according to Jezebel.

The previously unrecorded image is part of an 1860s carte de visite collection, a type of miniature photo album that was popular at the time. Tubman’s photo is one of 44 photo cards of abolitionists and politicians collected by Emily Howland, a Quaker abolitionist.

The photo (left) is a particularly rare find because of how young Tubman was when it was taken. It dates back to just after the Civil War when she was in her early forties. (Tubman was born sometime between 1819 and 1823, but the exact date is unknown.) Many of the known photos of the abolitionist and suffragist show her later in life. The famous photo on the right was taken sometime in the 1870s when she was in her early fifties.

The photograph is going up for auction on March 30.

[h/t Jezebel]

All images courtesy Swann Auction Galleries

What do a brothel token, ice cream trucks, and an ancient Egyptian portico have in common? They’ve all been found at the bottom of some of the world’s most famous rivers. But the treasure trove doesn’t end there. Here are nine unusual items that have surfaced from well-known rivers across the globe.

1. A SHIPWRECK ON TOP OF ANOTHER SHIPWRECK // NEW YORK CITY’S WATERWAYS

A cabin cruiser located at the bottom of the Hudson River near Yonkers (the exact location is kept secret) sits atop an older, flattened shipwreck—”probably a nineteenth century sailing ship,” according to New York Magazine.

Other bizarre NYC discoveries include “gribbles” (Limnoria tripunctata), wood-eating isopods that gnaw on the pilings holding up the FDR Drive, ice cream trucks, and just a little further out, the remnants of an early 20th century amusement park. There’s also a $26 million collection of silver bars from a 1903 shipwreck lying in the Arthur Kill area, but those have yet to be recovered.

2. ROMAN BROTHEL TOKEN // THAMES RIVER

In 2012, an amateur archaeologist discovered a Roman brothel token near the Thames’s Putney Bridge. The bronze token depicts a graphic act of passion; experts believe this “sex token” was hidden beneath the mud for around 2000 years. 

3. NILE CROCODILE // RIVER SEINE

In case the grit and grime doesn’t deter you, here’s another reason to forgo a dip in the Seine: In 1984, a 31-inch Nile crocodile was found crawling in a sewer near the popular Pont Neuf bridge. Sanitation workers stumbled upon the reptile while on the job, and called in a zoo vet. It eventually found its way to the Aquarium de Vannes. While its life pre-sewer remains a mystery, the veterinarian estimated the croc spent one to two months living in France’s sewer systems before its discovery.

Over the years, the Seine has seen its fair share of terrifying creatures. Sightings of snapping turtles, snakes, and pacu—relatives of piranhas with an almost uncertainly undeserved reputation for biting off testicles—have all been reported.

4. 15,000 BICYCLES // AMSTERDAM CANALS

Amsterdam, a city of 780,000, has been estimated to have around 2 million bicycles. But as canal cleaners have discovered, bicycles fill more than just streets: Approximately 15,000 bikes are pulled up from Amsterdam’s canals each year.

“Bike fishing” has actually become a popular Amsterdam tourist attraction. The local water company (Waternet) has perfected the activity with a claw and crane device that sits atop a barge.

5. ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PORTICO // NILE RIVER

In 2007, a team of Egyptian archaeologists embarked on the Nile River’s first underwater excavation, hoping to uncover antiquities and shipwrecks from the river’s deep past. Surveying the Nile’s dense, intensely muddy waters wasn’t easy, and required specific gear, including side scan sonar to find artifacts beneath the mud and a GPS, according to Daily News Egypt.

Despite the tough conditions, the historic dive did not disappoint. Archaeologists discovered a portico (covered entryway) for an ancient Egyptian temple. According to a 2008 National Geographic report, the entryway led to the temple of fertility god Khnum. The stone featured inscriptions that date back anywhere from 945 to 525 BCE. The archaeologists also found parts of an ancient Christian church during their dives.

6. SOVIET FIGHTER PLANE AND PILOTS // VISTULA RIVER

In 2015, Poland’s Vistula River reached historically low levels, which unearthed rare World War II artifacts, including a Soviet fighter plane and the remains of its pilots. According to the Associated Press, the plane crashed in January 1945 when Germany’s army was retreating back toward Berlin. The plane was hit while flying low across the Vistula, and ultimately crashed through the ice into the river.

Explorers also found parts of the pilots’ uniforms, boots, parachutes, a sheepskin coat collar, and radio equipment with Cyrillic controls.

7. COMPUTER TOWER // RIVERS OF AMERICA

When Disneyland visitors raft over to Tom Sawyer Island, they don’t just drop gum or cellphones in the river (although hundreds do that every year). In 2010, Disneyland employees uncovered a desktop computer tower during a routine maintenance draining.

8. MACHETES AND A SAUNA // LOS ANGELES RIVER

Every spring, the Friends of the Los Angeles River organization hosts a city-wide river cleanup that draws thousands of volunteers, who pick up 70-plus tons of trash and an assortment of unusual trinkets and treasures. Findings from the group’s more than two decades of cleanups include machetes, a sauna, and a phone booth.

9. 18TH CENTURY CANNONS // DETROIT RIVER

According to experts, the Detroit River’s muddy waters obscure numerous museum-worthy relics. Between 1980 and 2011, divers pulled up six separate cannons dating back to the 1700s, according to a recent story in the Detroit Free Press. And those cannons, which were likely part of a stash kept by British soldiers before the War of 1812, represent just a small portion of the treasures on the river’s bottom (which, given the visibility issues, divers can usually only locate by touch). In November, a 6000-pound anchor belonging to Greater Detroit—a 2100-passenger steamship which traveled the Great Lakes from 1924 to 1950—was recovered; there are also rumors of Prohibition-era vehicles, like a Model T, on the river’s Canadian side. (Divers need a federal permit to explore there.)

Facebook is more than just a place for finding cat videos and political rants. Starting this week, the social network is expanding its “weather greetings” updates into fully developed forecasts.

According to TechCrunch, the new feature is now accessible through News Feed on the desktop site and through the “More” menu on the Facebook app. Users will see a typical forecast powered by Weather.com. It includes highs and lows, current conditions, hourly forecasts, and forecasts for the week. Situated above that information is a playful header that varies based on the weather. Rain might bring up a cartoon deer ducked under a tree, while overcast weather displays a bird poking out from a bush beneath a partly cloudy sky. The forecast defaults to the user’s current location while giving them the option to add more places to follow (though it doesn’t let users swipe through them like some other apps do).

Facebook started experimenting with placing casual weather updates at the top of News Feed last year, but this is their first serious attempt to compete with established weather apps. The launch is one of several recent moves from the website to branch outside the social media bubble. In September, Facebook announced plans to make it easier for customers to purchase products from businesses within Messenger. Not long after that, the site rolled out job-recruiting features that put them in direct competition with services like Monster and LinkedIn.

[h/t TechCrunch]

Tidying up is currently trendy, but professional organizers have long promoted the benefits of getting rid of unnecessary possessions and organizing your space. Whether they’re tackling a messy car, chaotic closet, or cluttered bedroom, professional organizers help people simplify and unclutter—and no, they won’t judge you while they’re doing it. We spoke to a few professional organizers about the realities and misperceptions of the job.

1. THEY’RE NOT TRYING TO MAKE YOU GET RID OF ALL YOUR STUFF.

People often think organizers want you to pare down your possessions to as few items as possible. While some people subscribe to extreme minimalism—and challenge themselves to limit their belongings to just 100 items, for example—most organizers care more about how your stuff complements your life than how many items you have.

“Some people believe that an organizer is going to come in and make them get rid of everything,” professional organizer and productivity consultant Jennifer Lava tells mental_floss. “The truth is I just want people to be able to not be overwhelmed and to get to a level of stuff that is right for them.”

2. HOARDERS ARE THE EXCEPTION, NOT THE RULE.

According to Lava, people with hoarding tendencies make up only two to five percent of the population. “Many people seem to think all we do is work with people who have a hoarding disorder, when in fact, it is only a small part of the population,” she tells mental_floss.

Rather than wade through ceiling-high piles of old magazines and mounds of dirty clothes, most professional organizers work with non-hoarders who are simply overwhelmed by their possessions. “Americans tend to have a lot of stuff and feel like they don’t have a lot of time. But by reducing the stuff they have to what they need, use, or love, and then creating an effective system to manage these things, they spend less time dealing with their stuff and more time doing the things they want to do,” Lava explains.

3. THEY BURN A LOT OF CALORIES.

Organizing is a physically demanding job. As professional organizer Rachel Seavey of Collector Care tells mental_floss, organizers spend a good chunk of their time lifting, bending, carrying heavy items, and building cabinets or shelves. “New organizers are always exhausted when they first start out. Clients are usually tuckered out as well! It’s not easy work,” Seavey says.

Suzanne O’Donnell of My LA Organizer echoes Seavey, adding that organizers can expend a lot of calories. “I’m constantly moving during a session, and because I track my heart rate and calories burned, I know I am getting a great workout,” she says.

4. DRAWERS ARE THEIR NEMESIS.

No matter how neat your home may appear, you probably have a few messy drawers where you stash random trinkets that you’re not sure where else to put. Because drawers help people conceal messiness, organizers detest them.

To keep drawers orderly, organizers suggest that you clear out unnecessary stuff and insert drawer dividers. “Whatever tool you use to divide the drawer, put like things together in those dividers. If you need extra help getting things back in the right divider, you can label them too,” Lava suggests. That way, drawers have designated spots for specific items, and you’ll be able to quickly locate what you need.

5. THEY’RE NOT JUDGING YOU.

According to professional organizer June Bell, most people think their homes are messier than they actually are. “It’s kind of funny, but every time I enter a new client’s home or business for our first appointment, they always say, ‘Oh, my home/office must be the worst you’ve ever seen. I’m so embarrassed because it’s so messy!’” she says in a Reddit AMA. But good organizers leave their judgments at the door, so don’t feel bashful about your messy home on their account.

Bell admits that even some of her friends worry that their homes aren’t orderly enough for her to come over for a social visit. “I tell [my friends] that when I visit them, I’m there to see them. I value them for who they are, not the tidiness of their stuff.”

6. THEY STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN PRACTICALITY AND STYLE.

Unlike most interior designers, who focus more on aesthetics than function, professional organizers put more emphasis on their clients’ specific lifestyle needs. For example, organizers may put commonly used items in shelves that are easily accessible and stash bulkier or rarely used items out of reach.

But while function is key, organizers don’t completely ignore design. As professional organizer Jeffrey Phillip explains, making a room stylish yet also practical requires a balancing act. “I bring in my influence of blending style and efficiency, so everything has the right flow and function and sings as one cohesive space,” he tells Brit + Co.

7. THEY HAVE A VARIETY OF SPECIALITIES, SOME OF WHICH YOU MIGHT NOT EXPECT.

While some organizers are generalists who work in typical home and office spaces, others specialize in emergency preparedness, genealogy research, digital clutter, or collections and memorabilia. Some organizers also get extra training to help clients who suffer from physical disabilities, ADHD, OCD, or hoarding. Still others—who often refer to themselves as productivity consultants or time-management coaches—help people organize and manage their time more effectively. These professionals encourage their clients to avoid procrastination, plan their tasks for the next day, and take enough breaks.

8. THEY OFTEN HELP PEOPLE UNDERGOING MAJOR LIFE CHANGES.

Many people hire professional organizers during times of stress and upheaval, such as a divorce, death in the family, or move to a new residence. Even positive life changes—a child moving away for college, the arrival of a new baby, or someone losing a large amount of weight—can be stressful times that prompt people to call on a professional organizer. Good organizers are empathetic and encouraging, knowing that in some cases clients may be grappling with feelings of frustration, shame, or anxiety. As they help clients tackle an empty bedroom or redo a closet, organizers also help clients sort through their emotions and adjust to life changes.

9. CAMERAS HELP THEM DO THEIR JOB.

While organizers certainly use their keen eye for detail to assess a space and figure out how to improve it, they rely on cameras more than you might think. Cameras come in handy in a variety of organizing situations, from encouraging people to donate old stuff to making shopping trips easier. For example, organizers may encourage clients to take photos of sentimental items (and then donate them) rather than keep them in a closet. Additionally, some organizers take photos of the space they’re working on. Referring to the photos while shopping for boxes and bins helps organizers pick the right size and quantity of organizational tools.

10. THEY CAN HELP YOU SAVE MONEY.

Because of their insider knowledge and relationships with vendors, professional organizers can save you dollars on everything from junk pickup to closet shelving. They can also help you find reputable appraisers for the paintings in your attic or the coin collection in your closet. Organizers may even help you find forgotten cash. When Bell and a client were organizing files in her office, they found a forgotten bank account worth $7000!

11. THEY WISH YOU’D HOLD OFF ON BUYING STORAGE CONTAINERS.

At the beginning of a big organizing project, most people rush to a store to buy containers, bins, and dividers. While these tools are useful, organizers wish you’d wait to purchase tons of containers. Their advice: Before bringing more stuff into your home, first go over the stuff you currently have and determine what you can get rid of. Once you know how much stuff you want to keep, you can shop for the appropriate number (and size) of containers.

12. WHEN THEY BECOME CERTIFIED, THEY’RE CALLED CPOs.

Forget CPAs and CFOs. CPOs—Certified Professional Organizers—are professional organizers who have completed 1500 hours of paid work and passed the Board of Certification for Professional Organizers exam. CPOs must also renew their credential periodically by participating in continuing education courses or attending conferences. Four thousand professional organizers and CPOs belong to The National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), an organization that provides education, networking, and professional development opportunities to organizers across the U.S.

13. YOU PROBABLY WON’T FIND THEM WITHOUT A LABEL-MAKER.

Because electronic label-makers are lightweight, portable, affordable, and versatile, they’re a must-have tool for the majority of organizers. Label-makers also print labels quickly, making them a handy tool for labeling boxes, office supplies, and items in kitchen cupboards. Besides label-makers, organizers often travel with soft tape measures so they can easily determine the dimensions of the space in which they’re working.

14. THEY LOVE HELPING PEOPLE.

Although organizing a space gives them a sense of satisfaction, organizers ultimately love working with people and helping them achieve greater productivity and peace of mind. “I love seeing the relief on my clients’ faces at the end of a session. They are already feeling more at ease in their home or office knowing that they can find their stuff,” Lava says. Good organizers also teach people the skills and knowledge to be able to organize their stuff on their own. “There is nothing like doing something that I enjoy and comes easy to me, and sharing all the wonderful benefits with others,” Lava adds.

All photos via iStock.

Last year it was all supermoons, all the time. This year it’s going to be eclipses. There’s the big one on August 21—start planning your trip now!—and leading up to it are a couple of smaller events, starting with a penumbral lunar eclipse tonight, and an annular solar eclipse later this month. The eclipse tomorrow night, February 10, will occur during a “Snow Moon,” and if you stay up a little bit longer, you might even be able to spot a comet. In other words, if you’re looking for cheap date ideas for the last Friday before Valentine’s Day, you’ve come to the right place.

SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH THE SNOW MOON

Full moons have names. They survive largely through the pages of the Farmer’s Almanac, a 99-year-old annual best known for its weather predictions. You might recall the Hunter’s Moon, or the Harvest Moon, and who could forget the Beaver Moon?

Tonight’s moon is called the Snow Moon, named by the American Indians for the obvious reason: February is the snowiest month. (This moon was also sometimes called the “Hunger Moon,” for the same reason, and the “Shoulder to Shoulder Around the Fire Moon.”) Generally speaking, you get only one full moon per month. In fact, the word “month” is derived from “moon,” referring to a full cycle of its phases. Next month is the Worm Moon, because with the onset of spring, you have the wormiest month. And so on.

If you decide to have a moonlit picnic with your sweetheart, that kind of trivia is solid gold.

THE SOFTER SIDE OF A LUNAR ECLIPSE

So what of this eclipse business? You might notice also that the moon seems a little … off. I don’t want to get your hopes up here: You will not see a Pacman-like chomp taken out of the moon, nor any well-defined line that you can point at and say, “See that? That is the edge of the Earth’s shadow.”

Penumbral eclipses are a bit subtler than that. What you’ll want to look for is a darker hue to pass across the lunar surface. That’s it, but it’s still really cool. What’s happening is this. Shadows have two elements: the umbra and the penumbra. The umbra is the darkest part of a shadow. (The red super harvest moon in 2015 was caused by the Moon passing into the umbra of the Earth’s shadow.) The penumbra is the much gentler, much blurrier shadow that surrounds the umbra. It’s the place where the light source (in this case the Sun) is partially blocked, but not entirely. That’s the part of the Earth’s shadow that the Moon will be passing through tonight. As long as you keep your expectations in check, you should enjoy the show.

(There’s also the antumbra, in which the object being shadowed is fully contained in the light source—we’ll talk more about that on February 26, when the Moon as seen from the Southern hemisphere will become a giant, terrifying ring of fire.)

If you live in North America, you can watch the penumbral eclipse on February 10 at precisely 7:43 p.m. EST.

THE TEAL COMET NEAR HERCULES

There will also be a comet out for your pre-Valentines Friday date night viewing pleasure. Its full name is Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková, but its friends call it “45P.” It will be visible around 3:00 a.m. EST. This particular comet visits us every five years, and tonight is its closest approach to Earth in its orbit. You’ll be gazing in the vicinity of the constellation Hercules, and looking specifically for a teal dot with a tail.

Realistically speaking, though, will you be able to see it? If the light pollution in your area is nil, and if your eyes are well adjusted, there’s a very slim chance you’ll be able to spot it with your naked eyes. I would not risk a disappointing end to a date night, however. After checking out the eclipse, head inside where it’s warm and go to Slooh. At 10:30 p.m. EST, astronomers will begin coverage of the comet, and use telescopes to give you a much better view than you’ll find in the backyard. If you have a fireplace, all the better for setting the mood. It is a Shoulder to Shoulder Around the Fire Moon, after all.

Today’s world was shaped by yesterday’s weapons. Mankind’s ever-evolving arsenal is constantly reshaping our technologies, our political climate, and our relationship with nature. Here are 10 key developments that transformed the planet we call home.    

1. SPEAR-THROWING DEVICES REVOLUTIONIZED HUNTING.

The spear is one of the oldest known tools; in fact, it might even pre-date our species. In 2012, archaeologists recovered the stone tips from some models in South Africa, leading them to conclude that spears were likely invented around 500,000 years ago. Given their extreme age, these were most likely made by Homo heidelbergensis, the ancestor of both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. Eventually, primitive man paired this ancient weapon with a device that made spears faster, deadlier, and more accurate than ever before. The atlatl—or “spear-thrower”—is an unassuming stick carved out of wood or bone. A hook projects upwards from the rear end while the front comes with a handgrip on the underside. Primitive hunters would grab the handle, place a spear on top of the gadget, and aim it at their target. Then, using a precise sweeping motion, they’d fling the spear forward. By creating extra leverage, the atlatl enabled people to throw these projectiles more forcefully than an unassisted human arm ever could—meaning our ancestors were now free to initiate attacks on dangerous game animals like mammoths and whales from a fair distance away. (The oldest atlatls on record were built in France around 17,500 years ago.)

2. BRONZE WEAPONS ONCE CONQUERED EGYPT.

The Hyksos, a group of conquerors hailing from what is now Palestine, began a gradual takeover of Egypt in about 1700 BCE, thanks in part to their superior technology [PDF]. Their Bronze Age weapons had, by and large, never before been seen in Egypt. The Hyksos introduced the Egyptians to bronze armor and the chariot, and brought with them state-of-the-art axes whose metal heads were affixed to the shaft via a socket. In contrast, Egyptian soldiers still relied on an outdated axe-making technique which involved splitting the axe shaft and then riveting on the head. This put the locals at a big disadvantage because while their axe blades were liable to fly off mid-swing, those of the Hyksos remained firmly attached. Ironically, the Hyksos’s advanced weaponry was later used by southern Egyptian rebels to drive them out once and for all in 1521 BCE.

3. GREEK FIRE HELPED PROTECT THE BYZANTINES.

Many historians credit the Byzantine Empire with shielding western Europe from Arabic and Turkish advances. It fended off enemies thanks, in part, to antiquity’s most mysterious chemical weapon: Greek fire. The composition of this substance was a well-guarded secret; today’s experts can only speculate about what its ingredients might have been. Potent enough to burn on the ocean’s surface, it was almost impossible to extinguish. In 941 CE, the Byzantines used this magic elixir to decimate a Rus naval fleet on the Black Sea. Similarly, in the eighth century CE, Greek fire helped thwart an attempted Arabic naval siege of Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire’s capital city. To launch and ignite the incendiary mixture, Byzantine troops could pump it into clay or ceramic containers which—like modern grenades—violently exploded when hurled against a target. Another delivery method involved expelling jets of Greek fire-induced blazes through an early kind of flamethrower.

4. LONGBOWS BROUGHT ABOUT THE END OF AN ERA.

Medieval history buffs love to talk about the game-changing Battle of Crecy. Waged in a French village of the same name on August 26, 1346, the contest pitted about 10,000 Englishmen against a Gallic force of 40,000 to 50,000. Although they were outnumbered, the English managed to keep their own casualties down to roughly 300 soldiers while the French lost somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 men—along with the battle. The key to England’s success was a newly-adopted weapon: the dreaded longbow. Originally designed by the Welsh, the English army first began using them in the 1330s, during the reign of King Edward III. At a time when most bows didn’t exceed four feet in length, the typical longbow stretched six feet from end to end, and could easily shoot down opponents from 180 yards away with enough force to penetrate chain mail. Because of its power, the introduction of the longbow changed the rules of European warfare. Previously, mounted cavalries had been considered the most important part of a medieval military campaign. But longbows were a good deal cheaper than—and tended to make short work of—horses. As a result, equestrian knights gradually found themselves replaced by skilled archers and foot soldiers, who were mostly peasants—a fact that would profoundly affect the continent’s economic future.

5. GUNPOWDER CONQUERED CONTINENTS …

You’d be hard-pressed to name an invention that’s had as big an impact on the course of human events. Gunpowder was born in China at some point during the ninth century CE. It’s generally thought that the substance was first produced when local alchemists mixed charcoal, sulfur, and potassium nitrate as part of a medical experiment. “In China, you still see people who sometimes use gunpowder as a medicine,” says historian Laichen Sun, who adds, “It didn’t take long for the Chinese to see that this new elixir also could have a practical application in war.” Indeed, by the year 1232 CE, China had started using primitive, gunpowder-based grenades and landmines to ward off Mongolian invaders. (The Mongols, in turn, are often credited with introducing the material to India, Europe, and the Middle East.) Within the next few centuries, handheld firearms—the tools that, among many other things, enabled European explorers to conquer the Americas—had also come into being.  

6. … AND CANNONFIRE SHAPED BORDERS. 

In medieval Europe, noble families often lived behind castle walls, which had the effect of handicapping any attempt at centralized governance. If, say, a French baron were to disregard his king’s orders, he could avoid suffering any consequences simply by hiding behind the walls of his estate. Back then, laying siege to one of these buildings was a difficult and time-consuming task with a miniscule chance of success, even for the biggest medieval forces. But when large gunpowder weapons started to appear on the continent, they changed this whole equation. During the 15th and 16th centuries, massive cannons—along with strategically-placed mines—efficiently breached previously impenetrable castle walls. To defend themselves from such assaults, noblemen now had to rely on standing armies. Paying for all those troops required enormous tax bases—the kind that only large, centralized governments could preside over. This incentivized monarchs to start consolidating power within their kingdoms and develop the first European nation-states.

7. “MINIE BALLS” POPULARIZED RIFLES.

Although rifles have been around since the 1400s, they didn’t become popular combat weapons until fairly recently. That’s because, for centuries, loading them was a real pain. Early rifle ammo had to have the same diameter as the barrel’s interior, meaning soldiers would need to forcefully ram every bullet down the rifle’s shaft. Then along came Claude-Étienne Minié, a French army captain who changed rifle usage forever. In 1849, Minié created a lead, conical bullet with an opening at the base. Unlike most rifle ammo, he designed these to be a bit smaller in diameter than the barrels they were intended for, meaning a soldier could drop one into his gun with ease. Once the trigger was pulled, the bullet’s bottom would expand—at which point, it’d catch the grooves and start spiraling. Just like that, Minié made rifles a lot more user-friendly. His new bullets, referred to as “Minié balls,” offered reliable, long-range accuracy, which was first capitalized on by the British during the Crimean War (1853-1856). Later on, both Union and Confederate forces adopted them in the American Civil War, which contributed to the conflict’s utter devastation.

8. TANKS BECAME A BATTLEFIELD STAPLE.

On September 15, 1916, a World War I standoff between British and German soldiers in northern France became the first battle in history to feature tanks, when the British turned up with 49 of them. Weighing 28 tons apiece, the gargantuan vehicles could each hold a crew of eight men and sported a combination of light machine guns and heavier firearms. At first, they didn’t impress. Though the tanks were built to roll across every obstacle from trenches to barbed wire, all but 22 broke down before reaching the front lines. And of those that did reach their destination, seven stopped working once the fighting began in earnest. Despite these inauspicious beginnings, the tank would go on to play a major role in the Second World War; the 1941 Battle of Brody alone featured 800 Axis-built ones and 3500 Russian models. 

9. AK-47s DEFINED MODERN WARFARE …

Earlier inventors (including Richard Gatling and Hiram Maxim) paved the way for semi-automatic and automatic weapons like Mikhail Kalashnikov’s AK-47. But as author C.J. Chivers argues, none of these devices shaped modern warfare quite like the lightweight, low-cost, easy-to-manufacture Kalashnikov. Its development coincided with nuclear proliferation, and while nuclear weapons “served to freeze borders in place and prevent total war … the Kalashnikov percolated from state to state, army to army, group to group and man to man and became the principle firearm used for modern war and political violence, in all of its many forms,” Chivers says. Because the weapon was given designation as an official Soviet firearm, the gun was produced in huge quantities and shipped all over the USSR—whether people wanted them or not. From there the weapons circulated around the globe, and served as inspiration for countless copycats eager to harness the AK-47’s power for themselves. “The Kalashnikov, in actual practice over the past 60-plus years, has proven much more deadly” than “big-ticket weapons” like submarines or atomic bombs, Chivers points out. “But it gets a lot less official attention.” 

10. … AND NUCLEAR WEAPONRY SHAPED INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS.

No list of history-altering technologies would be complete without acknowledging the first atomic bombs and their ongoing political aftermath. In August 1945, a pair of these weapons were dropped onto the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing more than 200,000 people by some estimates. From there, the United States and Soviet Union began their decades-long nuclear arms race which resulted in both superpowers stockpiling enough of these devices to destroy the planet several times over. Today, nine countries are known to have at least one such weapon at their disposal.

Since 2011, an estimated 4.9 million people have fled their homes in Syria to take refuge in other countries. About 656,000 of those refugees are now living in Jordan, where some will find work with an unlikely employer: IKEA. The Swedish home-goods giant is launching a new textiles line that will be crafted in Jordan by Syrian refugees, according to CNN.

The new rugs and textiles, which will hit showrooms in 2019, will provide jobs for about 200 refugees, mostly women. The company is working with local women’s organizations to design the project and make sure that the hours are flexible enough that women who need to care for family members can still work.

The company’s nonprofit arm, the IKEA Foundation, has already been working to assist those fleeing conflict in places like Syria and Sudan. Its flat-pack refugee shelter was awarded the London Design Museum’s award for design of the year in 2016. In November 2016, it also teamed up with the Red Cross to build a replica of the real home of a displaced family in Damascus inside one of its Norwegian stores.

The rugs and other goods will be sold in a limited edition in the Middle East, so they may not make it to your neighborhood IKEA.

[h/t GOOD]

The kings, queens, and captains that populate pop culture are, for the most part, imagined. But then there are those familiar figures who are far from fictional. While unfortunately there’s no evidence there was ever an actual Mother of Dragons, other positions from books, folklore, television, and other cultural channels are (or were) very real, and we’ve got the backstories (and, in some cases, current titleholders) to prove it.

1. THE SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM

He was Robin Hood’s villainous rival in the classic English tale, trying his best to thwart the folk hero’s stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. But in real life, the Sheriff of Nottingham’s responsibilities are remarkably less sinister.

Some argue Robin Hood’s sheriff was based on actual Nottingham Sheriff Reginald de Grey, who was tasked with pulling together an army to defeat the outlaws (including possible Robin Hood inspiration Roger Godberd), defying the area royals in the 13th century. Once modern police forces came along, the job had less law enforcement pull. Today, it’s largely ceremonial, with current Sheriff Jackie Morris (who now holds the position for a second time, having also been the predecessor to last year’s sheriff, Mohammed Saghir) trading in the historic hunt for Merry Men for important stuff like supporting the city’s tourism strategy, encouraging residents to utilize all Nottingham has to offer, and “hosting welcome receptions in order to promote the city.”

2. THE QUEEN OF SHEBA

Nobody has been able to definitively prove who the Queen of Sheba actually was, but the legendary royal appears in the sacred religious texts and traditions of Christians, Jews, and Muslims, so scholars are pretty sure she must have been based on somebody (though the stuff about her having a goat hoof for a foot is probably less likely). Clues from her various cultural appearances suggest she came from a place rich with gemstones, spices, and incense, which would hint at roots in modern day Ethiopia, Yemen, or Somalia, and her interactions with King Solomon narrow down her lifespan to a few different periods people have assigned to the historic king. While Yemen and other regions still see the Queen of Sheba as their own legend, in Ethiopia she is credited with having a son with the biblical King Solomon named Menelik, who was said to have brought the Ark of the Covenant (yep, the same one Indiana Jones was after) back to their country. Sheba giving birth to Menelik was also believed to have been the start of the Solomonic dynasty, the Ethiopian emperors who ruled the country as recently as the 1970s.

3. THE EARL OF SANDWICH

The greatest thing since sliced bread was clearly the sandwich since it put bread to an even more delicious use—and the real-life man behind everyone’s favorite lunch staple was the Earl of Sandwich, a title that’s lived on for centuries in the quaint English community that shares its name. It was, in fact, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu, who developed the edible namesake in the 18th century, apparently so he could keep snacking while he played cards (although people had eaten bread with fillings long before Montagu came along). But generations later, members of the Montagu family continue to use their inventive relative to their personal advantage: The 11th Earl of Sandwich (also named John Montagu) teamed up with Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl in 2004 to launch a restaurant chain named after the family title. And the same Montagu’s son Luke, the heir to the earldom, is married to Julie Montagu, an American yoga instructor who joined the cast of Bravo’s Real Housewives offshoot Ladies of London in 2014; on it, she often mentions her efforts to modernize and promote the family estate, Mapperton, and has told the story of her husband’s ancestor and his favorite snack. The town of Sandwich celebrated the 250th anniversary of its most famous food in 2012.

4. THE KING OF SIAM

When the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic The King and I returned to Broadway for its 2015 revival, director Bartlett Sher was careful to pay homage to the real people whose lives inspired the musical: Indian-English governess Anna Leonowens and King Mongkut of 19th century Thailand, then known as Siam. Leonowens’s 1870 memoir about her years as a governess at the Siamese court was the work former Christian missionary Margaret Landon based her 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam on. Landon’s book sparked an Oscar-winning movie and the iconic stage production, which led to another Oscar-winning movie, starring Yul Brynner as the king. The real Mongkut’s descendant, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, sat on the Thai throne for 70 years as the world’s longest-reigning living monarch until his death in October 2016 (his son was then crowned in December of that year). As far as we know, no musicals are being penned about Bhumibol—though even if they were, they’d probably be banned in his country, much like the play that made Siam’s king so famous in the first place.

5. LADY GRANTHAM (A.K.A. LADY ALMINA)

Even after Downton Abbey closed its TV doors in 2015, the proper lords and ladies who reside in the real Downton—southern England’s Highclere Castle—aren’t going anywhere. The estate where the popular drama was shot has been home to the aristocratic Carnarvon family for generations, and Downton creator Julian Fellowes has said he finds the real Highclere “very intriguing.” Currently, the 8th Earl and Countess of Carnarvon live part-time on the grounds, but in the early decades of the 20th century when the fictional action of Downton was unfolding, the lady of the manor was Lady Almina, the wife of the estate’s 5th Earl. Almina shared many qualities with the TV show’s Lady Grantham: She was a wealthy American heiress, she turned the house into a makeshift hospital during World War I, and she modernized the property by adding electricity and a telephone line.

6. THE MARQUIS DE SADE

The world has long had mixed feelings about the guy who inspired the word sadism. Born in Paris in 1740, the infamous Marquis de Sade got an understandably bad rep for both his seriously scandalous writings (think violent orgies, prostitution, murder, and more) and his own troubling behavior (he died in an insane asylum). For generations after the marquis’s death, the de Sade family chose to pretend their rebellious relative hadn’t existed at all. It wasn’t until the late 1940s that de Sade descendants started owning their famous forebear. Today, current marquis Elzéar de Sade and his brothers, Hugues and Thibault, have embraced their ancestor and hope others will too via exhibits of family artifacts and, of course, branded merchandise (Marquis de Sade wine, anyone?).

7. THE SOUP NAZI

His title was bestowed by contemporary sitcom writers, not ancient officials, but the so-called Soup Nazi was based on a very real New York soup-slinger with very little patience for those unable to adhere to his strict ordering rules. Initially, Al Yeganeh wasn’t crazy about the classic Seinfeld episode based on his restaurant (and was pretty vocal about it), but in the 20-plus years since the show first aired, Yeganeh and his Original Soupman brand have used the unexpected fame (and the actor who played the Yeganeh-inspired character on the show) to promote their soups and franchises.

8. THE PRINCE OF WALACHIA

You probably know him as Count Dracula. Author Bram Stoker’s fictional, bloodthirsty noble went down in horror history when the eponymous novel was published in 1897. The original Dracula, otherwise known as Vlad III (and better known still as Vlad the Impaler), ruled the southern region of what is now Romania centuries earlier. Stoker likely looked to the 15th-century prince and his legendary brutality as a partial model when he penned his famous book—and there was plenty of reported cruelty to scour, such as Vlad’s proclivity for leaving his enemies on spikes (thus giving him his posthumous nickname) and the legend of his dipping his bread in their blood. Subsequent Romanian royals were a lot more humane. The kingdom of Walachia was dissolved in 1859, and today it’s the president and prime minister that hold the real power in the region, though Britain’s Prince Charles did claim to be a descendent of Vlad a few years back (prompting some to speculate he might take over the Romanian throne) and 95-year-old former monarch King Michael I, who abdicated in 1947, is still known as the king.