In life, Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov was one of the most brilliant medical minds in human history, pioneering practices and procedures that are still used today. In death, he retained his legendary status as a medical genius, but he also gained attention for becoming the world’s oldest modern mummy.

Born in 1810, in Russia, Pirogov spent most of his life various kinds of surgical operations, developing his own technique of using plaster casts on broken bones, and he was the first to use ether anesthesia in a field hospital, saving thousands of lives in the process. He is widely regarded as one of Russia’s greatest physicians and a father of modern surgery. But, having been embalmed hours after his death, in 1881, Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov is also known as the oldest modern mummy in the world, as well as one of the best preserved ones.

Read More »

Scientists have long suspected that some species of birds can eat drink, mate and even sleep while flying, but even they were stunned when data showed that one such species could go up to 10 months without landing.

As its name suggests, the commons swift (Apus apus) is a common bird that lives all across Europe and much of Asia, but their flight time is anything but common. This medium-sized bird currently holds the record for the most time spent in the air per year, with data showing that some specimens can spend up to 10 months out of 12 without landing even once. They drink and eat in the air, feasting on any insects that they can capture in flight, they can mate in the air as well, and, like the much larger frigate birds, they can also sleep in the air by gliding on warm air currents known as “thermals”.

Read More »

Japanese men mastering the art of makeup and photo-manipulation to pose as girls seems to be a current trend in the land of the rising sun these days…

Puutan, whose real name is reportedly “Tatsuya”, is a Japanese 18-year-old boy who has been posing as a schoolgirl online and messing with people’s minds. You see, looking at Puutan’s Instagram profile, it’s virtually impossible to tell that he is a man. He genuinely looks like an Asian schoolgirl, and no matter how much you squint at the photos, you’re not going to spot any clues of his real gender. But click on his YouTube link and you’ll be shocked to find another person entirely. He still has girly clothes on as well as long hair , but you can sort of tell that he’s just a guy in drag.

Read More »

A young art teacher from China’s Shanxi Province was recently praised online for spending three months working on a detailed chalk rendition of a traditional masterpiece.

When Zhao Wenrui, an art teacher in Fanzhi County, decided to draw a chalk version of Along the River during the Qingming Festival he just wanted to do something interesting for his students, to surprise them when they cam e back from the coronavirus quarantine. He certainly didn’t set out to use eight chalkboards side by side, five buckets of chalk and work on it for no less than three months, but then he found himself unable to ignore any of the details depicted in the treasured panoramic artwork.

Read More »

A family of five from Russia’s Sverdlovsk region took social distancing recommendations to the extreme by self-isolating in a forest several kilometers away from the nearest human settlement.

On April 6th, Sverdlovsk police received a phone call from a woman in the village of Krasnogvardeisky who claimed that her brother had taken his wife and three children ages four, eight and ten years old into a nearby forest to escape the threat of coronavirus infection. The family had left the village a day before and hand’t been in touch since, so the woman was worried about their well-being, especially the young children. After organizing a search-party, police found the family living in the indicated forest, under the open sky.

Read More »

A luckless Chinese man who reportedly spent almost two months in his home after being quarantined three times in a row became a trending topic on Chinese social media this week.

Mr Xiong, from the city of Jining, in East China’s Shandong Province, spent almost the whole month of February and half of March cooped up in his home in an unlucky triple quarantine that the media hilariously dubbed “buy one, get two free”. The first time Xiong was confined to his apartment was when Jining went into lockdown on February 8th, two days after returning from the Philippines. He was forbidden from leaving his home for 14 days, which was tough, but not as tough as spending 50 days inside…

Read More »

If you’re looking to have some goofy fun while quarantined in your own home, how about investing in a high quality portrait of your pet as a pompous royal?

Enter Crown & Paw, a company dedicated to helping pet owners honor their bundles of joy by creating hilarious digital portraits of them as generals, princes, or ladies, whatever title the client desires. The company curates a collection of authentic 19th century portraits and rare Renaissance era oil paintings, and combine them with pet portraits to hilarious effect. Seriously, just look at the examples below.

Read More »

In March of 2018, an 11-year-old girl accidentally dropped an apple from the balcony of her family’s 24th floor apartment in Dongguan, China. This simple act ended up costing a toddler its future and the girl’s parents a fortune in compensation…

On March 9, 2018, the unnamed girl was reportedly trying to feed the family dog while holding an apple on the balcony of their apartment, when she accidentally dropped the fruit. At the same exact time, 3-month-old Tongtong was in the arms of her grandmother, taking a walk around that same apartment building in Dongguan. As fate would have it, the dropped apple plummeted down and landed straight on the toddler’s head, rendering her unconscious. She was rushed to the hospital, where doctors notified her family that she had suffered severe head trauma, skull fractures, ruptured blood vessels in the skull, and traumatic shock. Tongtong underwent surgery to stop the bleeding in her brain, but she remained in a coma.

Read More »

The Ukrainian city of Dnipro has so far registered only 13 coronavirus infections and no fatalities attributed to Covid-19, but the local authorities have already dug over 600 fresh graves, just to be sure.

Unwilling to risk the same kind of insubordination from his constituents, the mayor of Dnipro, a city of almost one million people, has gone to extreme lengths to make sure locals understand the dangers of ignoring social distancing measures. Last week, Mayor Borys Filatov wrote on Facebook that local authorities were preparing for the worst, adding that over 600 new graves have already been dug in in preparation for anticipated deaths.

Read More »

Even you’re not the kind of person who keeps their business cards in a bespoke holder, heck, even if you don’t have business cards, you’re going to fall in love with this awesome steampunk card holder.

Looking at this crazy contraption created by Japanese design company SMD Factory, you’re tempted to think it’s some kind of futuristic device from back in the 1930’s. It’s all metallic, but features decorative elements like a small osciloscope and an astrolab, as well as interconnected gears and latches. It’s as steampunk a device as you can imagine, but it’s really just a card holder, a really cool card holder.

Read More »

The Covid-19 pandemic is a problem that even Batman would have a tough time solving, but this Mexican version of the caped crusader is doing his best to help.

Authorities in the Mexican city of Monterrey have received assistance from a very unlikely source in their efforts to keep people in their homes as part of a social distancing plan to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. A real-life Batman wearing the iconic costume of DC’s superhero and driving a custom version of the Batmobile has been patrolling the city streets and asking people to stay at home. The unidentified man has been spending his days blasting a pre-recorded message from his Batmobile, encouraging people to minimize physical interaction.

Read More »

Four years ago, Rita Gaviola was a 13-year-old street beggar in the Filipino town of Lucban. Since then she has worked with some of the world’s hottest brands as a fashion model, starred on hit reality TV shows and gained over 100,000 Instagram followers. And it was all thanks to a random photo…

Rita Gaviola’s incredible ‘rags to riches’ story began in 2016. Back then, she was asking for alms on the streets of Lucban, to help her family make ends meet. Her father worked as a garbage collector and her mother stayed home to look after her and her five siblings. None of the children attended school at the time and the family barely managed to put food on the table, so Rita often went out to beg for change or food donations. That’s how she was spotted by Filipino photographer Topher Quinto Burgos, who happened to be attending the Pahiyas Festival in Lucban, in May 2016. He was attracted by her natural beauty and posted the photos of her on the internet, changing the girl’s life completely with a single click of the ‘upload’ button.

Read More »

A prominent South African politician who passed away last week was laid to rest in his Beloved Mercedes limousine instead of a regular casket, as per his last wish.

Tshekede Bufton Pitso, a former leader of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) in Eastern Cape, died last week, after collapsing in his driveway as he was making his way to his second-hand 1990s Mercedes E500 limousine. The former businessman had once had an entire fleet of luxurious Mercedes cars, but was forced to sell them in recent years, after falling on hard times. He did manage to buy a used E500, and even though it had broken down and couldn’t be driven, he still enjoyed spending time in it and listening to the car radio. It was his favorite thing in the world and he even told his family he wanted to be buried in it when his time came. Last weekend, they honored his wish.

Read More »

Twitter user Lalarstein (@silver_eel) recently stunned his followers with an insanely realistic 3D-printed mask of his own face, perfect right down to the tiniest detail.

Lalastein, a self-described “professional 3D scanning expert and professional camera man who has appeared in the credits roll of many Japanese films”, unveiled his insanely realistic 3D-printed on Twitter last month, and the photos went viral almost instantly. That’s not exactly surprising considering how incredibly realistic his creation turned out. As he is holding the mask next to his face, you can tell that it is nearly perfect, right down to the hairs on his eyebrows and the tiny moles on his cheeks.

Read More »

Le Le, a British Shorthair cat from Wuhan, China, has become a symbol of resistance during the current pandemic, showing us human that if she could survive by herself in a locked apartment for 40 days, then we can handle a bit of social distancing and isolation too.

This story of feline endurance and survival began in January of 2020, when the Covid-19 crisis in Wuhan was still in its infancy. One by one, Le Le’s human family had to be hospitalized after becoming infected with the coronavirus, and before the Chinese New Year (January 25) rolled up, the heavily pregnant cat had been left by herself. Her owners had decided not to hire someone look after her, or even check in on her from time to time, because they didn’t known whether their home was contaminated with the virus or not. So they just opened a bag of cat food and hoped for thee best.

Read More »