Unique stories

  The man who died searching for the Lost City of Z 6 Minutes Read 1309 Words EN In 1925, explorer and surveyor Percy Fawcett disappeared in the Amazon basin looking for an ancient civilization. Although he was inspired by questionable sources, we now know if his search was in vain. Percy Fawcett poses in a 1911 photograph. Bridgeman/ACI By Jordi Canal-Soler Published June 13, 2024 When the Spanish first ventured into the Amazon Basin in the 1540s, they recorded Indigenous accounts of a lost city of fantastic wealth that they called El Dorado (“the golden”). Over the centuries, many vain attempts were made to locate a lost civilization in the Amazon rainforest. The last significant attempt to find such a culture was undertaken by British explorer Percy Fawcett. Between 1906 and 1924, Fawcett made seven expeditions across the Amazon Basin, concluding with his doomed quest to find the city he called Z. Fawcett was inspired by his extensive reading of historical sources, including a m...

  The murder mystery behind the last great pharaoh Ramesses III 7 Minutes Read 1511 Words EN The royal harem conspiracy was a real-life Game of Thrones —pitting two sons of Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses III against one another in a bid for power. Ramesses III was ancient Egypt's last great pharaoh. But mystery swirled for centuries around whether he had been really assassinated in a plot devised by one of his own wives. The discovery of mummy only yielded more mysteries—until modern technology stepped in to solve the ancient cold case. Photograph by Brugsch Pasha, The Royal Mummies, University of Chicago By Erin Blakemore Published August 2, 2024 Conspiring wives. Screaming mummies. Centuries of speculation. Questions about the so-called royal harem conspiracy—a plot to kill ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses III around 1155 B.C.—have persisted for over 3,000 years. TKTK The succession-driven plot sounds like a real-life Game of Thrones , but the mystery of how archaeologists unraveled ...

  How Ouija went from quirky parlor game to the most feared spirit board in history 4 Minutes Read 907 Words EN Once a beloved game that bridged the living and the dead, the Ouija board’s reputation has changed dramatically, from Victorian entertainment to a symbol of supernatural mystery. Once seen as a playful way to communicate with the unknown, the Ouija board has since gained a more sinister reputation—becoming a symbol of supernatural intrigue and fear. Photograph by Andy Dixon By Marci Vaughn Kolt Published September 19, 2024 To many, the Ouija board conjures stories of ghostly encounters and eerie warnings. Yet over a century ago, it was just a parlor game, offering lighthearted entertainment in Victorian homes. First introduced in 1890 by the Kennard Novelty Company as a “ wonderful talking board ,” the simple piece of cardboard is marked with letters, numbers, and the words “yes,” “no,” and “goodbye.” Players place their fingers on a triangular pointer, which appears to m...