Phineas P. Gage was an American railroad construction foreman remembered for his improbable survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain's left frontal lobe, and for that injury's reported effects on his personality and behavior over the remaining 12 years of his life—effects sufficiently profound that friends saw him (for a time at least) as "no longer Gage".
"Elephant Walk" is a novel penned by Robert Standish, published in 1948. Set against the backdrop of colonial Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), the novel unfolds a tale of love, power, and cultural clash amidst the lush landscapes of a tea plantation. The narrative centers around the arrival of Ruth Wiley, the young and spirited wife of plantation owner John Wiley, to the sprawling tea estate known as Elephant Walk. Ruth finds herself thrust into a world of opulence and privilege, yet also faces the challenges of navigating the complex social dynamics of colonial society. At the heart of the story lies the titular Elephant Walk, a majestic path carved through the jungle by elephants, symbolizing the enduring legacy of British colonialism in Ceylon. The Elephant Walk serves as a metaphor for the clash between tradition and modernity, as well as the tensions between the colonizers and the colonized.
Mike the Headless Chicken was a male Wyandotte chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off, surviving because most of his brain stem remained intact and it did not bleed to death due to a blood clot. After the loss of his head, Mike achieved national fame until his death in March 1947. In Fruita, Colorado, United States, an annual "Mike the Headless Chicken Day" is held in May.
Originally created by Cardinal Mazarin as his personal library in the 17th century, it today has one of the richest collections of rare books and manuscripts in France, and is the oldest public library in the country.
Devil's Island was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953, in the Salvation Islands of French Guiana. Opened in 1852, the Devil's Island system received convicts from the Prison of St-Laurent-du-Maroni, who had been deported from all parts of the Second French Empire. It was notorious both for the staff's harsh treatment of detainees and the tropical climate and diseases that contributed to high mortality. The prison system had a death rate of 75 percent at its worst and was finally closed down in 1953. Devil's Island was also notorious for being used for the exile of French political prisoners, with the most famous being Captain Alfred Dreyfus, who had been accused of spying for Germany.
Iceberg towing, a concept proposed in the mid-20th century, involves harnessing massive icebergs from polar regions and towing them to regions facing water shortages. The idea aims to utilize the abundant freshwater reserves locked within icebergs to alleviate drought conditions and provide freshwater resources to areas in need. While theoretically promising, iceberg towing has faced numerous challenges and setbacks, leading to skepticism about its feasibility and effectiveness. Proponents of iceberg towing argue that it offers a potential solution to water scarcity issues by tapping into a vast and renewable freshwater source. The process involves identifying suitable icebergs, towing them using specialized vessels, and allowing them to melt gradually, releasing freshwater into the surrounding environment. However, the practical implementation of iceberg towing has proven to be far more complex and challenging than initially envisioned. One of the main challenges of iceberg towing is the sheer scale and weight of the icebergs involved, which can weigh millions of tons and span several kilometers in length. Towing such massive structures across vast stretches of open ocean requires significant investments in equipment, manpower, and infrastructure. Additionally, there are risks of accidents, collisions, and environmental damage associated with towing icebergs through sensitive marine ecosystems.
Parbuckle salvage is the righting of a sunken vessel using rotational leverage. A common operation with smaller watercraft, parbuckling is also employed to right large vessels. In 1943, the USS Oklahoma was rotated nearly 180 degrees to upright after being sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia was successfully parbuckled off the west coast of Italy in September 2013, the largest salvage operation of that kind to date.
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein was an American self-taught artist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Over the course of fifty years, from the 1930s until his death in 1983, Von Bruenchenhein produced an expansive oeuvre of poetry, photography, painting, drawing and sculpture. His body of work includes over one thousand colorful, apocalyptic landscape paintings; hundreds of sculptures made from chicken bones, ceramic and cast cement; pin-up style photos of his wife, Marie; plus dozens of notebooks filled with poetic and scientific musings.
Stanley Tigerman was an American architect.
Spartathlon is a 246-kilometre (153 mi) ultramarathon race held annually in Greece since 1983, between Athens and Sparti, the modern town on the site of ancient Sparta. The Spartathlon is based on the run of Pheidippides, who ran from Athens to Sparta before the Battle of Marathon in a day and a half to seek aid against the Persians. Five Royal Air Force officers attempted the course in 1982 and the competition was started the next year. The race has 75 checkpoints where race officials disqualify runners who fail to meet time cutoffs or who are too tired to continue. In 2023, Camille Herron set a new women's course record of 22h 35min 31s, an improvement of 2h 12min 53s under the previous course record and the first woman under 24h.