DAILY ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

While trying to recapture his runaway chickens in the 1960s, a Turkish homeowner stumbled through the wall, revealing an abandoned underground Turkish city, now known as Derinkuyu, Derinkuyu is the largest excavated underground city globally, burrowed more than 280 feet beneath the Central Anatolian region of Cappadocia. It is believed to connect to over 200 smaller underground cities discovered in recent decades.  Inside, researchers found 18 levels of tunnels containing various facilities like dwellings, food storage, stables, schools, wineries, and a chapel. The city also had a ventilation system to provide fresh air and water.  Its exact construction date is uncertain, but ancient writings dating back to 370 BC mention its existence. The city served as a storage place originally but later transformed into a secure bunker to escape from invaders, designed with narrow, low hallways and blocked door...

She trained with Jabez Wolffe, a male swimmer who had attempted the crossing 22 times but failed. During training, Wolffe tried to slow down Ederle's pace, believing she would tire herself out. Ederle was disqualified from her first attempt when Wolffe had her "rescued" from the water, though she claimed she was just resting. On August 6, 1926, at 20 years old, she made her successful second attempt with coach Bill Burgess. She completed the swim in a record-breaking time of 14 hours and 34 minutes, two hours faster than the previous record held by Enrique Tiraboschi. After her achievement, she received a parade in Manhattan, New York City, where over two million people gathered to celebrate. Later in life, she appeared in movies, toured with a vaudeville circuit, and taught swimming to deaf children. Ederle lived until the age of 98, passing away in 2003.

Wladyslaw Kozakiewicz was a Polish pole vaulter who competed during the 1970s and 1980s. His most famous moment came during the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. In the final, Kozakiewicz was competing against the heavily favored Soviet athlete, Konstantin Volkov, in front of a hostile home crowd. When Kozakiewicz cleared a height of 5.78 meters (18.9 ft), breaking the Olympic record, the Soviet crowd responded with boos and jeers. In response to the hostile atmosphere, Kozakiewicz raised his arm with a rude gesture known as the "Kozakiewicz gesture" towards the crowd. This gesture was seen as a defiant and bold response to the unsportsmanlike behavior of the crowd. His gesture further fueled the tension and made him even more of a hero in Poland, while at the same time making him a target for criticism from the Soviet media and officials. After the Olympics, the Soviet ambassador to Poland demanded that Kozakie...

In 1967, Bedford died of cardiorespiratory arrest after he battled kidney cancer that had metastasized to his lungs. In his will he had left $100,000 for cryonics research, and with this money, his body was frozen with two hours of his death. He is the first person to be cryogenically preserved, and waits to be revived in the future. He lies frozen inside a thermal sleeping bag immersed in liquid nitrogen in an aluminum pod he shares with three other preserved humans within a giant vacuum flask known as a dewar. James Bedford’s dewar is stacked vertically along with more than hundred other frozen people in the Alcor Life Extensions Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona. Cryonics companies believe that one could potentially live indefinitely as long as the body is cryogenically preserved immediately after death. In the picture below, technicians cover Bedford’s feet after placing him in the dewar.

Einstein had problems with his feet. In 1952, shoe store owner Peter Hulit got an urgent call from Einstein's housekeeper. She told him that Einstein was in pain and that he could not find a comfortable pair of shoes. When Hulit made the house call, he recalled, "This magnificent guy came down the stairs... smoking his pipe, and he whipped this folded piece of paper out of his pocket and said, 'Zis is ze problem, Mr. Hulit.'" Hulit opened the piece of paper (second photo), Einstein had made a sketch of the source of his problem. He was feeling pain on the outer edge of his feet and his big toe. He concluded that he needed a shoe that had more space around the top half of his feet with even distribution of pressure. Hulit bent down and examined Einstein's feet and noted that "they were tender like a child's, that skin texture; they were soft and easy." After a mo...

The fossil skulls of Pleistocene dwarf elephants scattered throughout the coastal caves in Italy and the Greek islands most likely inspired the one-eyed Cyclopes in ancient Greek mythology. During the Pleistocene ice age (2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago), land bridges emerged, allowing ancient elephants to move to emerging islands to escape predators and/or find new food sources. As sea levels rose around the Mediterranean, these ancient elephants became trapped and had to compete for limited food, leading to the island rule, where mammals tend to shrink or grow depending on resource availability in their environment. The isolated ancient elephants evolved into different species depending on the island they found themselves on. Those on Cyprus were approximately 6 feet tall, nearly double the size of the ones found on Sicily and Malta. Humans arrived on the islands around 11,000 years ago, leading to the over-hunting ...

This photograph paints a somber picture of a mother hiding her face out of shame after putting her children up for sale in Chicago in 1948. It is indeed a striking image that reflects the harsh realities faced by some families during that time. The years following World War II were marked by economic challenges and social upheaval. Many families struggled to make ends meet, and some found themselves in desperate situations. Poverty and difficult circumstances sometimes led parents to make heart-wrenching decisions to give up their children for adoption or seek alternative means of care. This photograph serves as a poignant reminder of the societal pressures and the emotional toll that such situations imposed on families. For the mother in the photograph, the shame she felt may have been a reflection of the prevailing societal norms and judgments surrounding parenting and poverty. It is important to note that during this period, adoption an...

Introducing Karl-Heinz Rosch, a German machine gunner who served during WW2. Despite a challenging upbringing, Karl displayed bravery and empathy. Following his graduation, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht Armed Forces, but fate had other plans in store for him. In October 1944, amidst Allied artillery fire on a farm, Karl noticed two children playing in the yard, seemingly unaware of the imminent danger. Without a moment's hesitation, he dashed to their aid, leaving his rifle behind, and safely escorted the children to the basement. Tragically, as he returned to retrieve his weapon, a grenade struck him, resulting in a devastating and grisly demise. Remarkably, for six decades, Karl's selfless act remained shrouded, concealed by his identity as an enemy soldier. Even his family remained unaware of the specifics of his sacrifice. It was only when the rescued children came forward with their testimoni...

In 1946, a group of Russian children from the Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization (a Soviet scouting group) presented a carved wooden replica of the Great Seal of the United States to Averell Harriman, the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union. The gift was meant as a gesture of friendship to the USSR's World War II ally and was hung in the ambassador's official residence at Spaso House in Moscow. For seven years, it adorned the study wall until a discovery was made by the State Department: the seal was more than a mere decoration; it was a bug. The Soviets had cleverly built a listening device, nicknamed "The Thing" by the U.S. intelligence community, into the replica seal. They had been eavesdropping on Harriman and his successors the entire time it was in the house. Diplomats and other Americans working in the USSR had already suspected the possibility of being monitored, and the device confirmed the...

Frank Sinatra, a prominent figure in the entertainment industry, demonstrated unwavering dedication to the civil rights movement and was an outspoken advocate against racism. He actively took part in promoting racial integration and equality during a time when such stances were not always well-received. Sinatra made a conscious decision to boycott hotels and clubs that practiced racial segregation, refusing to perform at venues that did not allow black individuals. Furthermore, he ensured that his band members, regardless of their race, received equal treatment and pay, setting a progressive example for the industry. One pivotal moment in Sinatra's efforts for integration occurred during the rise of Las Vegas as a popular entertainment hub. At that time, black performers were allowed to play in showrooms but were barred from staying in the hotels. Sinatra took it upon himself to confront the board of directors, who had questionable histories, and ur...