In 1965, 16-year-old Robin Lee Graham set out to sail from California. At the time, he said he just wanted “to be on my own and explore.” But he returned five years and 30,000 miles later, as the youngest person to ever sail around the world solo. His only companion was an ever-changing crew of cats.
History
The Witchfinder – Matthew Hopkins
Between 1644 and 1647, Matthew Hopkins traveled throughout England, examining suspected witches and various witnesses. He was successful in his own mind, finding more than 300 women guilty of associating with the devil and seeing them hanged because of it.
A Chimp Named Washoe
Washoe was a common chimpanzee and the first ever non-human to learn how to communicate with sign language, proving that chimps and humans could communicate in a common language. When her carer suffered a miscarriage, Washoe – who had lost her own babies -signed the word “cry” and asked for a hug.
Sir Christopher Lee & A Slice of Death
June 17, 1939 wasn’t an ordinary summer’s day for Parisians, nor for 17-year-old Englishman Chrisopher Lee. Decades before portraying French executioner Charles-Henri Sanson in 1989’s ‘La Revolution Francaise,’ Lee had his own close encounter with what the French called their ‘National Razor.’
‘Til Death Do Us Part
Jonathan Reed and his wife, Mary, were so passionately in love that when Mary died, Jonathan laid her to rest in a mausoleum in the Evergreens Cemetery, Brooklyn, and spent every last waking moment with her until his own death.
The Only Woman Medal of Honor Recipient – Dr. Mary Walker
Out of the nearly 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients, only one was a woman. Dr. Mary Walker was an American abolitionist, prohibitionist, prisoner of war, and surgeon.
The Incan Child Sacrifices
More than 500 years ago, three children climbed up the Llullaillaco volcano on the border of Argentina and Chile and never came back down. They were the probable victims of human sacrifice.
Befriending the KKK
Daryl Davis – an African American blues musician – has spent the last 35 years befriending members of the Ku Klux Klan in a bid to understand them and make them see the error of their ways.
The Scientist that Risked his Life to Prove his Hypothesis
In a bid to prove gastritis and gastric ulcers are caused by a simple bacterium, Dr. Barry Marshall risked his life and swallowed bacteria to make himself develop stomach ulcers before treating himself with an antibiotic.
Wojtek – The Polish Soldier Bear
Wojtek was an orphaned bear who was adopted by the Polish Second Corps during WWII. Wojtek accompanied the soldiers into battle and was even enlisted into the 22nd Artillery Transport Company and given the rank of private.