Christopher Columbus was certain he had discovered a short route between Spain and India in 1492. This is his letter to the King and Queen of Spain upon returning to Europe, in which he tells of all the marvels he has found in the "Indian islands."

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Countess Elizabeth Bathory is the first documented female serial killer, with a penchant for horrific homemade youth serums.

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UFOs and supernatural phenomena in three accounts, from the 10th century to the 17th!

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When Great Britain industrialized, its population boomed--as did cases of disease and piles of garbage. Several commissions had to be arranged to assess the filth of the nation and figure out how to deal with it.

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The Heaven's Gate cult members referred to themselves as The Class, and believed that following their deaths, their souls would be transported to a spaceship following the Hale-Bopp comet in 1997. This is one of the public "Earth Exit Statements" published by a member of the Class just prior to the group's mass suicide.

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It all started with the fundamental Buddhist belief in minimalism and meditation. After 10 years of eating wood, Zhang Liuquan mummified himself in salt to become a rare Living Buddha.

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As a child, this Austrian archduchess bore little resemblance to her elder self; it took a team of 2 French stylists and 1 persistent tutor to transform her into a princess "worthy" of the French court.

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Painted in 1434 by the famous Jan Van Eyke, the Arnolfini Portrait is both extremely strange and extremely cryptic. Just who were the people in the double portrait, and what was the biggest secret concealed in Van Eyke's brush strokes?

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All hail the almighty and ancient Cat! Did you realize that Egyptians were not actually the first people to welcome kitties into their homes? Welcome to a very special episode of History Obscura!

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Tea pouring sound from Cori Samuel

Purring from Jim Mowatt and Mike Koenig

Meowing by our very own Dorian Grey

You've probably heard of his famous theorem, but did you know Pythagoras had his own vegetarian cult?

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