The Black Prince's Ruby is a 170-carat gemstone in the British Imperial State Crown. Despite its name, it is a red spinel from Badakhshan, not a ruby. Its bloody legend involves 14th-century Spain, Don Pedro the Cruel, and Edward the Black Prince. Beyond this famous stone, modern gemology uses advanced tools like spectroscopy and mass spectrometry to distinguish rubies from spinels, detect synthetic treatments, and trace a gemstone's geographic origin.

Gravelord Nito, the "First of the Dead," is a Dark Souls deity who claimed the Death Soul at the dawn of the Age of Fire. Ruling the Tomb of the Giants, he administers death and commands the Gravelord covenant. After allying with Lord Gwyn to defeat the ancient dragons, Nito's power waned, partly because the necromancer Pinwheel stole his Rite of Kindling. Ultimately, players must defeat Nito to claim his powerful Lord Soul.

In 1966, two Brazilian technicians were discovered dead on Vintém Hill in Rio de Janeiro. They wore formal suits, raincoats, and crude lead eye masks. A nearby notebook contained cryptic instructions about ingesting capsules and awaiting a "mask signal". Due to delayed autopsies, their cause of death was never determined. This bizarre, unsolved mystery has sparked enduring theories involving UFO cults, accidental drug overdoses, and foul play.

In the Dark Souls universe, Everlasting Dragons are immortal, mineral-based beings that ruled the primordial world before the advent of life, death, light, and dark. They derived their immortality from their stone scales. The emergence of the First Flame brought disparity, empowering the Lords to nearly exterminate them with the help of Seath the Scaleless. Today, only their corrupted descendants and enduring legacy remain.

Mokele-mbembe is a legendary dinosaur-like cryptid rumored to inhabit the Congo River Basin. Rooted in local folklore, it is described as a massive, long-necked aquatic herbivore. This myth has inspired numerous expeditions searching for a surviving sauropod, though scientists attribute sightings to myth or misidentified animals. Beyond cryptids, the Congo Basin is celebrated for its vast, genuine biodiversity and the ongoing discovery of real new species.

The mythology of Dark Souls centers on the shift from the Age of Ancients—a formless world ruled by immortal dragons—to the Age of Fire, sparked by the First Flame. This flame introduced disparity like life and death, empowering Lords to conquer the dragons. The universe explores existentialist philosophy, reflecting humanity's struggle against inevitable decay. The narrative is conveyed through environmental storytelling and music.

The 1975 Travis Walton incident is a fiercely debated UFO abduction claim. After a logging crew reported seeing Walton struck by a beam from a spacecraft in Arizona, he vanished for five days. His reappearance sparked intense controversy. Supporters cite passed polygraph tests as proof of alien contact. Conversely, skeptics argue the event was an elaborate hoax driven by forestry contract financial troubles, prior UFO obsession, and media attention.

The Dark Souls franchise is set in a cyclical fantasy universe shaped by the First Flame, a primordial fire that introduced life, death, light, and dark. Gods harnessed its power to defeat ancient dragons and establish the Age of Fire. As this flame inevitably fades, an undead curse plagues humanity. The narrative follows a champion tasked with either sacrificing themselves to rekindle the fire or letting it fade into darkness.

The 1892 hatchet murders of Andrew and Abby Borden in Massachusetts remain an infamous unsolved mystery. Andrew's daughter, Lizzie, was acquitted of the brutal crimes, a verdict aided by Victorian gender stereotypes. Today, the case's grim legacy endures. The original Borden home now operates as a bed-and-breakfast and museum, drawing visitors globally who are eager to experience its dark history and reputed paranormal activity.

James Dean's 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder, nicknamed "Little Bastard," is infamous for the fatal crash that claimed the actor's life on September 30, 1955. Following his death, a "curse" surrounded the car, with rumors claiming its salvaged parts caused fires, injuries, and deaths. Today, historians recognize this lore as a hoax fabricated by auto customizer George Barris to capitalize on the tragedy.