A lost city with two names, Thonis-Heracleion was discovered about 6.5 km off the coast of Alexandria in 2000 by underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio. Called Thonis by the Egyptians and Heracleion by the Greeks, this important port city was founded in the 8th century BC, and sank to the bottom of the Mediterranean by the 8th cetury AD. To put that in context, Alexandria wasn't founded until 331 BC.

Goddio has been doing extensive excavations on the site, bringing up statues that I don't feel bashful calling marvelous. Check out Goddio's website here.

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Owner and operator of a drug store at this intersection, Dr. H. H. Holmes bought the adjacent lot and proceeded to construct a mammoth building. The three-story building had a 162' x 50' footprint, and was dubbed "The Castle" in the neighborhood. Holmes named it "The World's Fair Hotel", and it served as a hotel during the World's Columbian Exposition (aka The Chicago World's Fair) in 1893.

Holmes constructed a variety of rooms with the intent of killing his boarders, and carried out numerous murders in "The Murder Castle." He sold the skeletons of his victims to medical schools, while stealing the belongings of the deceased.

The "Murder Castle" was burned from the inside by arsonists in 1895, but the building survived and remained in use until it was torn down in 1938.

The story was retold in Erik Larsen's book The Devil and the White City, and an adaption of this work by Martin Scorsese with Leonardo DiCaprio is in production.

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Passenger pigeons were at one time the most abundant birds in North America. Estimates of their population in the United States at the time of European arrival were between 3-5 billion. On September 1, 1914, the last passenger pigeon (named Martha) died at the Cincinnati Zoo.

According to a 2014 study by Taiwanese biologist Chih-Ming Hung, the primary reasons for their extinction were commercial exploitation of pigeon meat on a massive scale and loss of habitat.

The methods for hunting the bird read like an adaption of medieval torture methods: cut down trees with nests, set the tree on fire, poison the fire with sulfur to intoxicate them, etc.

The dead pigeons were then stacked onto rail cars, shipped across the country, and sold by the dozen. The meat was a cheap source of protein for the poor and slaves, and it was even used to fatten pigs.

Thanks for the meal, pigeons!

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The first cave to be classified as a national park, Wind Cave was established in 1903 by Teddy Roosevelt. The Lakota Sioux believed in their creation myth that the cave is where they emerged with the creation of the world.

In Salamandar Cave, another cave in the park, the oldest fossil of the now extinct Dire Wolf (Canis dirus) was found. The fossil dates to 252,000 years ago.

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In February of 1962, Jim Jones moved with his family to the city of Belo Horizonte in Brazil. Originally staying at the first-class Hotel Financial, the family soon settled onto the street of Rua Maraba, surrounded by doctors, lawyers and other professionals.

The mysteries surrounding Jones's work during this time is a matter of debate. It was during this period that Jones first visited British Guiana.

The family moved back to Indianapolis in December of 1963.

Source 1, Source 2

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