“Blind Tom,” born a slave, at the age of 10 became the highest paid pianist of the 19th century
Alfama: the oldest neighborhood in Lisbon charms with its narrow cobbled streets and Fado melodies
The Erdapfel, the oldest surviving terrestrial globe, does not show the Americas but it does include the mythical Saint Brendan’s Island
Montserrat: The Pompeii of the Caribbean
Batman’s real name fused Scottish royalty with an American Revolutionary War hero
The mystery of the Vela Incident: some say it was a secret nuclear explosion
The Orphan Train Movement: a 19th century foster-home program that sent 200,000 homeless children from the East Coast to the Midwest
When a photographer bought a 1929 camera at second-hand store, he discovered 70-year-old film inside and was able to develop it
One of the most intriguing nautical mysteries: the Carroll A. Deering “ghost ship”
An artist established his own micro-nation of Ladonia in Sweden, including a flag, motto, and departments like Ministry of Procrastination
