Mata Hari
Mata Hari was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was executed by firing squad for espionage during World War I.
Iron pillar of Delhi
The iron pillar of Delhi, India is a 7 meter high pillar in the Qutb complex which is notable for the composition of the metals used in its construction. The pillar is 98% pure wrought iron, and is a testament to the high level of skill achieved by ancient Indian ironsmiths. It has attracted the attention of both archaeologists and metallurgists, as it has withstood corrosion for over 1,600 years in the open air.
White Mischief
With much of the rest of the world at war, a number of bored British aristocrats live dissolute and hedonistic lives in a region of the Kenya Colony known as Happy Valley, drinking, drugging and indulging in decadent sexual affairs to pass the time. This is a dramatization of their story.
Westvleteren Brewery
Westvleteren, a Belgium brewery founded by Trappist monks. The infamous Westvleteren 12 beer comes from here.
Dyatlov Pass incident
The Dyatlov Pass incident refers to an event that resulted in the deaths of nine ski hikers in the northern Ural mountains on the night of February 2, 1959. The lack of eyewitnesses and subsequent investigations into the hikers' deaths have inspired much speculation. Investigators at the time determined that the hikers tore open their tent from within, departing barefoot in heavy snow. Though the corpses showed no signs of struggle, two victims had fractured skulls, two had broken ribs, and one was missing her tongue. According to sources, four of the victims' clothing contained substantial levels of radiation. There is no mention of this in contemporary documentation; it only appears in later documents. Soviet investigators determined only that "a compelling unknown force" had caused the deaths.
Piri Reis map
The Piri Reis map is a famous pre-modern world map compiled in 1513 from military intelligence by the Ottoman-Turkish admiral and cartographer Piri Reis.
S. A. Andrée’s Arctic balloon expedition of 1897
S. A. Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897 was an ill-fated effort to reach the North Pole in which all three expedition members perished. S. A. Andrée the first Swedish balloonist, proposed a voyage by hydrogen balloon from Svalbard to either Russia or Canada, which was to pass, with luck, straight over the North Pole on the way.
Gerald and Sara Murphy
Gerald and Sara Murphywere wealthy, expatriate Americans who moved to the French Riviera in the early 20th century and who, with their generous hospitality and flair for parties, created a vibrant social circle, particularly in the 1920s, that included a great number of artists and writers of the Lost Generation.
Travelling menagerie
These days a travelling menagerie is so far removed from the reality of our daily lives that it barely seems possible such a thing existed at all. But in the 18th and 19th centuries the only chance people who lived in villages and most towns ever had of seeing live wild animals was when a travelling menagerie visited their area. An event that invariably caused great excitement.
AtomAge magazine
AtomAge magazine was a fetish magazine published in Britain by the clothes designer John Sutcliffe.