People

London children as young as 4-years-old forced to squeeze through miles of pitch-black, claustrophobic, suffocating 7-inch chimney flues (1800’s).

// March 12th, 2019 // No Comments » // People in Unusual Circumstances

The child had no choice. Sold as cheap labor by poverty-stricken parents with too many mouths to feed, they were between 4 and 8 years of age, too young to defend themselves or flee their owner and live on their own. Unfortunately, they were just the right size to squeeze into narrow, pitch black, claustrophobic, […]

That time a sewer worker discovered a drainage pipe leading into a vault full of gold

// March 11th, 2019 // No Comments » // People in Unusual Circumstances

About 1836, Randolph Gentry was directed to make a repair to a drain in east London. Gentry scooted through the tunnel dragging his pole behind him until the tunnel ended at a brick wall and an attached ladder. He climbed the ladder, heaved a plate aside and poked his head through the hole. To his […]

The many times Ernest Hemingway almost died from bizarre accidents (before taking his life by his own hand).

// April 17th, 2018 // No Comments » // People in Unusual Circumstances

Ernest Hemingway in a hospital bed after one of his many accidents thumb

From the mid 1920’s through the mid 1950’s, Ernest Miller Hemmingway produced some of the world’s greatest literary works. His books are considered American classics for which he was awarded a Nobel Prize. Ultimately Hemmingway died by his own hand, and odd ending to a life plagued with bizarre, horrific accidents, many of which nearly […]

The Waiting for Death photo – photographer captures memorable dying child scene, then kills himself

// May 4th, 2016 // No Comments » // People in Unusual Circumstances

The Waiting for Death photo - starving Sudanse child awaits death while a vulture sits nearby thumb

The graphic picture shows a starving Sudanese child collapsed on the ground, kneeling, waiting for death as a wide-eyed vulture waits patiently in the background for its next meal. When the picture was published in the New York Times on March 26, 1993, the international community was horrified – and awakened – while the toll […]

Mother and six children held in underground room for 24 years see outside world for first time- the Fritzl case

// March 8th, 2016 // No Comments » // People in Unusual Circumstances

When the public found that Josef Fritzl had held a woman and three children captive in a basement dungeon for 24 years, the act seemed unspeakable. The trail of Josef exposed a web of horror, a series of events that surpassed the worst snuff film or penny dreadful, events that would cause permanent physical and […]

Bangladesh Tree Man – rare disease causes tree-like branches to grow from his body

// March 1st, 2016 // No Comments » // Sideshow Anomalies

In Bangladesh, Abul Bajandra is known as the “Tree Man” because of an extremely rare genetic condition known as Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis, or “Tree Man” disease, which causes large bark-like tentacles, resembling tree branches, to grow from his body.

Niccolo Paganini – the virtuoso violinist that people believed sold his soul to the devil

// February 1st, 2016 // No Comments » // Strange Persons

Niccolo Paganini on the cover of a program advertising his concert thumb

Born in 1782, Niccolo Paganini was an expert Italian violinist, guitarist, and composer. The most celebrated virtuoso violinist of his time, his technique and abilities were thought to be “beyond a human’s capabilities”. His concerts left attendees entranced and wondering, “Did Paganini make a deal with the devil, or had Satan taken a human form?”

That time President Roosevelt was shot in the chest but went ahead, took the stage, and made his speech anyway

// January 20th, 2016 // No Comments » // People in Unusual Circumstances

Any presidential assassination attempt is highly unusual but the attempt to assassinate President Theodore Roosevelt stands head and shoulders above any other. Roosevelt was shot in the chest just before making a speech, but with blood seeping through his shirt and a bullet lodged in his chest, he took the stage anyway and made his […]

That time in World War II when Japan used a hot air balloon to bomb Oregon and kill six people

// January 19th, 2016 // No Comments » // People in Unusual Circumstances

It may surprise you to find that there were actually six civilian casualties in the 48 states during World War II. The incident occurred in 1945 when a Japanese balloon bomb floated into the United States where it killed six people in rural eastern Oregon. They are the only World War II U.S. combat casualties […]

“Bionic girl”, incapable of tiring, feeling hunger, pain, nor fear – has no sense of danger

// January 19th, 2016 // No Comments » // Sideshow Anomalies

Doctors have dubbed 7-year-old Olivia Farnsworth the “bionic girl” because a rare chromosome condition (chromosome 6 deletion) renders her incapable of feeling pain, hunger, exhaustion, or fear. Geneticists have said they have never come across the disorder before and it is believed Olivia is the only person in the world with these unusual characteristics.

Interesting official testimony from survivors of the Titanic (Long)

// November 6th, 2015 // No Comments » // People in Unusual Circumstances

During the United States Senate Inquiry into the sinking of the “unsinkable” Titanic on April 15, 1912, many survivors provided testimony describing their last moments on the ship. Below is a sampling of those testimonies.

14-year-old George Stinney – youngest person ever executed in the U.S. – required a booster seat in the electric chair

// October 20th, 2015 // No Comments » // People in Unusual Circumstances

At only 14 years of age, George Junius Stinney, Jr. was the youngest person executed in the United States. Weighing only 90 lbs., Stinney was so small, he required a booster seat to reach the headpiece of the electric chair that took his last breath. With no physical evidence in the case, the all-white jury […]

In eerie coincidence, hi-speed photo of airshow plane crash captures the very moment wing walker Jane Wicker died

// September 4th, 2015 // No Comments » // People in Unusual Circumstances

It’s a common thought – what happens at the precise moment we pass from this life to the next. However, it’s an extremely rare event when that moment is captured in a photograph. Such was the case on June 22, 2013 at the Vectren Dayton Air Show in Dayton, Ohio when an eagle-eye noticed that […]

10-year-old boy says he is reincarnated Hollywood actor – backed by startling detailed facts

// March 25th, 2015 // No Comments » // Strange Persons

At four years of age, Ryan began waking in the middle of the night, tortured by nightmares. His dreams were detailed, vivid visions in which he was always in the body of another man. His mother explained: “His stories were so detailed and they were so extensive, that it just wasn’t like a child could […]

23-year-old man stuck in mind-numbing deja vu loop – relives each moment over and over again for 8 years

// January 22nd, 2015 // No Comments » // People in Unusual Circumstances

It’s a fairly rare occurrence but something all of us experience from time to time. That unusually strong sensation that you’ve been there before or already experienced what you’re doing (or reading) in the present time – it’s called déjà vu. For most people, the feeling passes quickly leaving us slightly frightened and more often, […]