The Witchfinder – Matthew Hopkins By Douglas MacGowan 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. Jun 20, 2019 • 4 min read
A Chimp Named Washoe By Emily Thompson 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. May 24, 2019 • 3 min read
Sir Christopher Lee & A Slice of Death By Robert Walsh 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.’ Apr 23, 2019 • 4 min read
‘Til Death Do Us Part By Emily Thompson 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. Apr 15, 2019 • 3 min read
The Only Woman Medal of Honor Recipient – Dr. Mary Walker By Emily Thompson 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. Mar 15, 2019 • 2 min read
The Incan Child Sacrifices By Emily Thompson 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. Mar 5, 2019 • 3 min read
Befriending the KKK By Emily Thompson 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. Jan 27, 2019 • 3 min read
The Scientist that Risked his Life to Prove his Hypothesis By Emily Thompson 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. Jan 1, 2019 • 4 min read
Wojtek – The Polish Soldier Bear By Emily Thompson 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. Oct 6, 2018 • 4 min read
The Hollywood Death of Peg Entwistle By Emily Thompson Feeling like a failure in the bright lights of Hollywood, Peg Entwistle threw herself from the "H" in the Hollywoodland sign. Feb 24, 2018 • 5 min read
