Some people have bad luck, and then there’s Roy Sullivan. This park ranger from Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, was struck by lightning seven separate times between 1942 and 1977 — and survived every single one to tell the tale. The park’s own superintendent documented each incident, and today Sullivan holds the Guinness World Record for … Read more
Some radio songs run longer than this flight. In Scotland’s Orkney Islands, there’s a scheduled commercial air route that lasts, on average, 90 seconds from gate to gate: the hop between the islands of Westray and Papa Westray, separated by just 2.7 kilometers (1.7 miles) of sea. It’s officially the world’s shortest scheduled flight, and … Read more
On Thursday, December 29, 2011, the people of Samoa went to bed like any other night. When they woke up, it was Saturday, December 31. Friday the 30th simply never happened: no birthdays fell on it, no invoices were dated that day, nothing. An entire country wiped 24 hours off its calendar, and it did … Read more
Around the year 1005, an English Benedictine monk climbed the tallest tower of Malmesbury Abbey, strapped a pair of wooden-and-cloth wings to his hands and feet, took a deep breath, and jumped. His name was Eilmer, and against all odds, it actually worked: he glided for more than 200 metres before crashing to the ground. … Read more
Some sitcom episodes run longer than this. On August 27, 1896, Britain and the Sultanate of Zanzibar fought what’s now recognized as the shortest war in recorded history: 38 minutes, start to finish, cannon fire included. By the time anyone back in London would have heard it had started, it was already over. And this … Read more
On January 15, 1919, a wave more than four meters tall tore through Boston’s North End at roughly 35 miles per hour. It wasn’t water. It wasn’t even a normal liquid. It was molasses. Over 2.3 million gallons of thick, dark syrup burst out of a ruptured storage tank and killed 21 people. Yes, you … Read more
In November 1932, the Australian army went to war against an enemy that carried no weapons, flew no flag, and technically had no idea it was even at war: roughly 20,000 emus. And the army lost. This isn’t an exaggerated internet legend — it’s a real chapter of Australian military history, remembered today, with a … Read more
