Fact: L. Frank Baum’s first book was all about raising chickens The Book of the Hamburgs: A Brief Treatise upon the Mating, Rearing, and Management of the Different Varieties of Hamburgs. This insanely long book title was all about chickens—scintillating. It came out in 1886, and was written by none other than L. Frank Baum—the famed author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Baum was thirty years old and at the time, the raising of fancy poultry was all the rage....

Q: If a smoker goes in to a coma for long enough, do they wake up without a craving to smoke? A: It takes around 8 days for nicotine to completely leave the bloodstream, taking with it the physical craving. If a person is in a coma for longer, they would not have cravings for nicotine when they wake up, though they may still feel the effects of the habitual nature of smoking....

There’s nothing wrong with eating horse meat: it’s disgusting, sure, but it’s also a very lean and nutritious meat. But if you were to buy something that advertised itself as “beef” and found that you were actually eating scabby ground-up Romanian horses and donkeys—you’d probably flip your lid. Which is exactly what people in England did when they found out that local supermarkets had been inadvertently stocking products in which horse meat had been used as a substitute for beef....

A much more sinister type of human vampire struck Sweden in the spring of 1932. Known since that time as the “Atlas Vampire,” this blood-drinker was never caught. This case remains one of the strangest, most bizarre cold cases in the history of Northern Europe, and these ten facts may convince you to sleep with the lights on. 10 The Crime Scene The case of the Atlas Vampire became a national sensation on May 4, 1932....

10 84-Year-Old Inventor George Weiss doesn’t know what it means to give up. The 84-year-old has been in love with inventing and tinkering with things for his whole life. For the last 50 years it was a hobby, albeit one he spent a lot of free time on. He worked as a wallpaper hanger until his retirement at the age of 75. His inventions haven’t gotten much further than his basement, where over 80 inventions are stored....

But make no mistake: there are some issues in our modern world that disproportionately affect men, and our male-dominated media is almost strangely silent on them. I’m talking things like: 10Violence It’s no secret that men lead more violent lives than women. We’re more likely to be murdered, more likely to be both the perpetrators and victims of violent crime, more likely to join gangs and more likely to get our asses thrown in jail....

Despite all this, there are many things people don’t know about this near-mythic character. The original novels are full of interesting and bizarre details that have seldom made it to other media. So with the new The Legend of Tarzan releasing in July 2016, we thought it would be a good time to look back at Tarzan as he appeared in the original novels. 10 The Origin Of Tarzan’s Name In the world of Edgar Rice Burroughs (pictured above), the great apes have their own unique language....

Six ancient Romans wrote about Caligula’s life, and every one of them agreed that he was completely off his rocker. They left stories about him that are so ridiculous that some people now insist that these events couldn’t possibly have happened. But that’s not because we have any evidence against them. Caligula’s life was just too crazy to be believed. 10 He Invited His Horse To Drink Wine At His Dinner Table Caligula probably never made his horse a consul, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t treat the animal like a human being....

Some hoaxers go to enormous trouble, time and money to really sell their hoax to their unsuspecting target. Unfortunately, when, inevitably perhaps, the joke is rumbled, the targets do not always appreciate the amount of effort that was put in. Here are 10 hoaxes that were perpetrated, just for the fun of it. See Also: 10 Viral Photos That Were Proven To Be Hoaxes 10 Martin Marty and Franz Bibfeldt Franz Bibfeldt was, supposedly, a German theologian who had written extensively about the Year Zero, that in-between year when the old BC calendar ended, and the new AD calendar began....

When one thinks of the past, it’s generally assumed that linen burial shrouds and simple robes were the norm. On the contrary, dressing the dead has been a huge part of human history. There are even some modern death-positive trends which are bringing corpse fashion back in vogue around the world. 10 Wedding Dresses Most people in the 1800s could not afford to get a lot of clothes made by a tailor, unless they were rich....

Most countries need to update their books soon because there is an extra continent right underneath the island nation of New Zealand. They will also need to add another continent when Africa splits into two. And they would have added an extra one if North America had successfully split into two continents and stayed that way. 10 Africa Is Splitting In Two Africa sits on two tectonic plates. Most African nations sit on the African Plate, which is often called the Nubian Plate to avoid confusion....

Note: Interracial marriage can convey a relationship between a Black and an Asian, a White and an Asian, a Hispanic and an Asian, a White and a Hispanic, etc. In this particular list I have included only black and white relationships. Pearl Mae Bailey was a famous actress and singer and Louie Bellson was a famous jazz drummer, composer and bandleader. Bellson was Duke Ellington’s first white musician and met Bailey after being introduced by a trombone player....

10Kukri The kukri is the symbol of the Nepalese nation, as well as the Gurkha regiments that made it famous. Relying on their famed knives for close-quarters combat, Nepalese fighters, the Gurkha, allied with the British to maintain control over India during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The Gurkhas’ fighting prowess gained them a reputation as fearsome soldiers, and their support of England landed them their own regiments within the British forces....

But before we go wildly into the big unknown, you should know a little about the effects of space on a human meat sack . . . I mean body. It’s not going to be as simple as hopping a flight to your favorite vacation destination. 10 Space Adaptation Syndrome Without Earth’s gravity weighing down the human body, you can get space sickness, also known as space adaptation syndrome. It’s like motion sickness but coupled with headaches, disorientation, intense discomfort, and possibly vomiting and vertigo....

And then came James Monroe. There’s no denying Monroe was an important president. Under his administration, the US initiated the Monroe Doctrine, bought Florida from Spain, and passed the Missouri Compromise. Still, Monroe wasn’t exactly as interesting as his predecessors. Or was he? The last Founding Father to become president, Monroe was actually a pretty fascinating man. While he’s overshadowed by the Big Four, the man was an incredibly colorful character and, believe it or not, a real-life action hero....

Gonorrhea causes pain when urinating, discharge, sore throat, fever, and achiness. Some of its symptoms are ignored because they’re associated with other illnesses, and some cases of gonorrhea are asymptomatic. Nevertheless, gonorrhea can be quickly and easily spread. Adding insult to this already painful infection, gonorrhea’s street name, “the clap,” can be traced back to clapier, which is an old French term for “brothel.” “If you’ve spread the clap, give us a round of applause” is another old saying that suggests that giving the clap is some kind of accomplishment....

While their intentions may have been about self-preservation in the beginning, their outward hatred toward anyone in the US who was not like them corrupted them into what they have become today—a hate group bent on destroying the freedoms and liberties of the American people. 10 The Klan Begins To Flourish In 1920, newspapers across the US were abuzz with news on the growth of a new Ku Klux Klan....

He was right. Even today, when terrorist attacks and mass shootings have become so common that they barely even come as a surprise, there are still helpers. Through every dark tragedy that’s hit our world, there have been people who have risked their own lives to help others. The helpers still outnumber the killers. And today, as in Fred Rogers’s time, there are still so many caring people in this world....

10Map-Making Early map-making was far from an exact science. Some of the earliest maps we have provide an interesting look into just what we thought about unexplored lands. The earliest map we have of the entire continent of Africa was done by Sebastian Munster—a German scholar and Hebrew professor—around 1554. He got his information from interviewing German scholars and immigrants, collecting and compiling different maps they carried into one. Before dying of the Black Plague, he was one of the most influential mapmakers of the day, and what his map of Africa included gives us an interesting look into just what people told him the continent was like....

10The Last Stand Of The Pharaoh Around 3,600 years ago, a pharaoh handled his horse skillfully as he led his soldiers on an expedition far from home. He had spent most of his life on horseback, permanently altering the muscles of his femur and pelvis. This was a break with tradition—horses had only recently been introduced to Egypt and were still uncommon in warfare along the Nile. But Pharaoh Senebkay needed every advantage he could get....