Mexico City sinks several inches annually

The city itself drops between 0.2 and 1.3 feet per year! Because Mexico City has one of the world's largest metropolitan areas, there is an extremely high demand for water. 

70% of this water comes from the groundwater beneath the city. But it is being extracted much faster than it can be naturally replaced. 

This drastic water deficit has severely weakened the ground upon which the city rests, causing the entire Mexican capital to sink. 

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The Fukang Meteorite

The Fukang meteorite is a meteorite that was found in the mountains near Fukang, China in 2000. It is a pallasite—a type of stony–iron meteorite with striking olivine crystals.

He removed from the main mass about twenty kilograms (forty-four pounds) and in February 2005 the meteorite was taken to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. There it was seen by Dante Lauretta of University of Arizona. Afterwards the mass was investigated by D.S. Lauretta, D. Hill, M. Killgore, D. Della-Giustina and Y. Goreva at Southwest Meteorite Center, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona in Tucson

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Lightning can strike you twice

They say lightning never strikes twice, but try telling that to Casey Wagner who says he survived being hit by two bolts in the same day.

Wagner was attending "Rednecks With Paychecks," an annual off-road event held in Saint Jo, Texas, over the weekend when storm clouds started rolling in. Wagner, 31, had taken shelter under a tree while waiting for a friend to return from the restroom when he saw sparks splintering off the tree trunk.

Lucky or not?

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The Skeleton Lake of Roopkund, India

The skeletons of Lake Roopkund in India were first discovered in the mountains by a guard in 1942, at a height of 5,000 meters (16,400 ft). Until that point, they had often remained frozen in a glacier, hidden from view. But the glacier thawed every year, and they were eventually found. As they were discovered during World War II, many believed that they belonged to Japanese invaders. But the skeletons were soon estimated to be at least 100 years old, so speculation then turned to an army from Kashmir that disappeared in the Himalayas in 1841. The dates and numbers added up, so theories such as landslides, attacks, illness, and mass suicide abounded, and people generally accepted that the mystery had been solved. Not only were they wrong, they weren’t even close.

In the 1960s, the skeletons were dated again, and this time were said to have come from around 500–800 years ago, throwing the Kashmir theory out the window and fueling speculation that it might have been a failed invasion from a Delhi Sultan in the 14th century. Damage to the bones seemed to indicate that some sort of struggle had taken place, so it seemed plausible, and the hype around the mystery died down once again. Still, for the next few decades, nobody was really sure of who had died there or how.

Then, in 2004, the National Geographic Channel sent a team to investigate for their documentary Roopkund: The Skeleton Lake, and they came up with much more conclusive results. First, DNA testing found that among the roughly 200 bodies discovered, there were two distinct groups of people. It was theorized that a group of pilgrims, most likely a family attempting to cross the mountain, had hired local Mongolian people to accompany them on the journey. Second, the skeletons were much older than previously thought, and were estimated to have died around 1,200 years ago.

Finally, they managed to rule out theories such as landslides, suicide, and violence by examining the nature of the victims’ injuries. The deceased had suffered numerous blunt traumas to their heads and shoulders, but there was a noticeable lack of injury elsewhere on the bodies, and no injuries consistent with stabbing or cutting that one would expect to find on a former battlefield. The people appeared to have succumbed to death after being pelted with large spheres, which is where local legend stepped in. Nearby people have a song about a group of travelers who made their way through the mountains, but did not respect the Goddess Nanda or her mountains, so she killed them with enormous hailstones and threw their bodies into the lake. The conclusion drawn by the National Geographic Channel and other scientists was that this “myth” was grounded in reality, and a freak storm of giant hailstones was indeed the cause of their demise.

Unfortunately, the site has not been properly excavated or protected, and when the ice melts every year, hundreds of tourists flock to see this macabre attraction, many of whom may nick a bone or skull for themselves. Although only 200 have been examined scientifically, scientists think that there may be as many as 600 skeletons hidden beneath the earth, ice, and snow of the surrounding areas.

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MYRTLE CORBIN

  This is not a costume. This girl's name is Josephene Myrtle Corbin, who suffered from Dipygus, which earned her the nickname "The Four-Legged Woman." 

She was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee in 1868. Rather than having a parasitic twin, Myrtle's extra legs resulted from an even rarer form of conjoined twinning known as Dipygus, which gave her two complete bodies from the waist down. She had two small pelves side-by-side, and each of her smaller inner legs was paired with one of her outer legs.

She could move the smaller legs but was unable to use them for walking. At the age of 19, she married a doctor named Clinton Bicknell and had four daughters and a son. It has been said that three of her children were born from one set of organs, two from the other. Myrtle died on May 6, 1928.

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Creepy photos of ventriloquists' dummies show the scary side of the vintage shows.

Ventriloquism is always meant to be slightly off-putting, as the voice of the dummy appears as if from thin air.

A recently-unveiled collection of photos of ventriloquists from the early 20th century shows how the mini-human dummies can be extremely terrifying as well.

The fear of ventriloquists' dummies is nothing new, as automatonophibia is it's official scientific name.

Creepy characters: Ventriloquists' dummies, like the five seen here, were quite off-putting up close

           

            Time gone by: Ventriloquism reached it's pinnacle of popularity in the late 1930s

Off-putting: The empty stares, ever-present smiles, and odd miniature features could easily frighten adults in the audience, let alone any children who thought the shows would be fun

The empty stares, ever-present smiles, and odd miniature features could easily frighten adults in the audience, let alone any children who thought the shows would be fun.

Perhaps earlier audiences were less frightful, as the art was most popular in the middle of the 20th century with The Great Lester, one of the most popular talents in that day.

Since the late 1930s when the form reached its heights, ventriloquism waned in popularity as technology advanced and the idea of an errant voice became less and less impressive.

Or, given the looks of these dummies that were found by Buzzfeed, maybe the audiences were scared off.

         

           Fright: The fear of ventriloquists' dummies is nothing new, as automatonophibia is it's official scientific name.

Real life: The art was most popular in the middle of the 20th century with The Great Lester, one of the most popular talents in that day, the ID of his dummy seen here.

Unusual: Apparently this man and his wife liked their dummy a lot.

         

Sharp dressers: Just because their dummies were creepy didn't mean that the performers would dress casually.

Equal opportunity: Though the most popular ventriloquists were men, women were also able to try their hand- or mouth- at the ar
t.

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1800s: The Invisible Mother

THE DARK MYSTERIOUS FIGURES BEHIND INFANTS

Nah, that's their mothers lamely hiding underneath blankets. Why? Since back in the 1800s, cameras were hard to operate and took longer to work, people had to wait and stand still for a long time while their pictures were taken.

Since infants tend to move around a lot, this required mothers to hold their child while hiding unsuccessfully behind a blanket, to ensure the child stays put.

I just don't get it why the mothers just joined in on the photo.

    

 

           

               

                

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