While floating on an offshoot of the River Thames, Charles Dodgson (A.K.A Lewis Carroll) came up with an improvised tale that would one day morph into the classic book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
Last of the Great Auks
It was an excellent swimmer, but rather clumsy on land, which made it easy prey for eagles, polar bears and humans.
Sickles' Leg
During the Battle of Gettysburg, a Confederate cannonball mangled the right leg of General Daniel Sickles. He would go on to lead an illustrious and controversial life.
The Lost Comet
In 1770, Lexell's Comet blazed a brilliant path across the evening sky. It is noted for being the comet that came closest to the earth.
Gulliver's Inferno
A nightclub fire in Port Chester, New York claimed 24 lives.
All-American Hero
One by one, three boys fell off the underwater cliff. None of them could swim, and neither could Joe Delaney.
Mianus
In 1983, a 100-foot section of the Mianus River Bridge collapsed and 4 vehicles plunged into the shallow water below.
The Captain
Bob Keeshan started his performing career in 1948 as the horn-honking Clarabell the Clown on the Howdy Doody Show. His landmark show, Captain Kangaroo, premiered in 1955 and would run for 30 years.
Radioactive Boy Scout
A hazmat crew rolled into the suburban address and carefully dismantled a workspace that had been used by a 17-year-old Eagle Scout to create a primitive nuclear reactor.
Martin and Mitchell
Two cryptographers working for the National Security Agency left the United States and never returned. William Martin and Bernon Mitchell defected to the Soviet Union.
Le Paradis Massacre
97 British troops were gunned down in cold blood after they surrendered to German forces.
Frog Invasion
A massive migration of frogs closed off a major Greek highway as "millions" of the amphibians massed on the roadway.
Squalus Goes Down
The sub plummeted 243 feet and slammed into the ocean floor.
Columbus and the Eclipse
Stranded in Jamaica and on the brink of starvation, Christopher Columbus hatched an ingenious plan.
The Flying Lawnmower Incident
A 40-pound airplane shaped like a lawnmower took off from the endzone and veered over the crowd.
Biggest Turtle
This amazingly large leatherback measured 9 feet from snout to tail and he weighed over 2000 pounds.
Death of a Bigot
George Lincoln Rockwell was the founder of the American Nazi Party. He believed that all blacks should be shipped back to Africa and that all the Jews should be sterilized.
Crazy Pat
A U.S. Postal worker named Patrick Sherrill shot and killed 14 of his fellow employees.
Hero Boiled Alive
Others warned him not to dive in, but he told them, "Like hell I won't!"
Outbreak
In 1976, Air Force veteran Ray Brennan became the first of 34 people to die from a mysterious illness at a Legionnaire's convention in Philadelphia.