Curiosities

The sailing stones of Death Valley leave trails but no footprints. See what it took scientists 99 years to finally prove.

A single acacia stood alone in the Sahara for 300 years, the loneliest tree on record. Here’s how it survived — and how it met its end.

Discover how the 38-minute war between Britain and Zanzibar in 1896 became the shortest armed conflict ever recorded in history.

In 1932, the Australian army waged the Emu War with machine guns against thousands of birds — and lost the fight, badly.

Centralia burns underground since 1962: here’s how a coal mine fire reduced this Pennsylvania town to just four remaining houses.

Bir Tawil is a desert between Egypt and Sudan that neither country claims, since taking it means giving up a far richer zone.

Inside Begich Towers, 80-90% of Whittier, Alaska’s residents live under one roof — store, school, clinic and police included.

Historians now believe the 1518 dancing plague was a case of mass hysteria, not a curse. Here’s the science behind it.

A molasses wave swept through Boston in 1919 and killed 21 people. Discover the surprising physics that made it so deadly.

Winston Churchill approved a real ice aircraft carrier during World War II. Discover why the ambitious project never set sail.