Stories from Mike Dash
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The Unsolved Mystery of the Tunnels at Baiae
Did ancient priests fool visitors to a sulfurous subterranean stream that they had crossed the River Styx and entered Hades?
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The Blazing Career and Mysterious Death of the ‘Swedish Meteor’
Can modern science determine who shot this 18th-century Swedish king?
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The Neverending Hunt for Utopia
Through centuries of human suffering, one vision has sustained: a belief in a terrestrial arcadia
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The Demonization of Empress Wu
“She killed her sister, butchered her elder brothers, murdered the ruler, poisoned her mother,” the chronicles say. But is the empress unfairly maligned?
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Quite Likely the Worst Job Ever
A British journalist provides us with a window into the lives of the men who made their living from combing for treasures in London’s sewers
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In 1912, a family of six was murdered by ax in the little town of Villisca, Iowa. Might these killings be linked to nine other similar crimes?
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According to legend, Queen Victoria, informed of an early president’s angry insult to her ambassador, struck Bolivia off the map. But is it true?
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Pass it on: The Secret that Preceded the Indian Rebellion of 1857
British officials were alarmed at the rapid distribution of mysterious Indian breads across much of the Raj
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During the First World War, Allied birds outperformed their rivals and saved thousands of lives–all thanks to the efforts of one London pigeon fancier
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The Dalai Lama is one of the world’s most revered religious leaders, but that didn’t prevent four holders of the office from mysteriously dying
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It is tempting to think of the German hyperinflation of 1923 as a uniquely awful event, but it pales in comparison to what happened in the 17th century
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The Ottoman Empire’s Life-or-Death Race
Custom in the Ottoman Empire mandated that a condemned grand vizier could save his neck if he won a sprint against his executioner
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On Heroic Self-Sacrifice: a London Park Devoted to Those Most Worth Remembering
In 1887, a painter was inspired by an idea: commemorate the everyday heroism of men, women and children who had lost their lives trying to save another’s
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Colonel Parker Managed Elvis’ Career, but Was He a Killer on the Lam?
The man who brought The King to global fame kept his own past secret. But what exactly was Tom Parker hiding?
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The Mysterious Mr. Zedzed: The Wickedest Man in the World
Sir Basil Zaharoff was the archetypal “merchant of death”—an arms salesman who made a career out of selling to both sides in a conflict
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