The War of the Pacific (Spanish: Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War (Spanish: Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Chilean claims on coastal…

There are both etymological and practical links between bees and bombs. The words Bombus, bomb and boom share the same origin ... and bee bombs have been widely used during warfare.

The Cuban dictator had a dairy cow, and no, it's not just any cow.

worker who pushes people onto the train at a railway station during the morning and evening rush hours

The Civil Rights Act of 1875, sometimes called the Enforcement Act or the Force Act, was a United States federal law enacted during the Reconstruction era in response to civil rights violations against African Americans. The bill was passed by the 43rd United…

public holiday in Japan

<p>Before Roald Dahl conjured Willy Wonka, Matilda and the BFG, he developed a groundbreaking shunt which saved the lives of nearly 3,000 children across the world.  Between serving as a fighter pilot in the Second World War – where he single-handedly took…

Boffins eat your hearts out: the world record holder for the number of university degrees is a cheery but truculent 70-year old Italian.

In terms of deaths due to disease, the Mexican War (1846-48) was the deadliest of all American wars. Nearly 13% of the entire U.S. force perished from disease. Of the total 12,535 war deaths, 10,986 (88%) were due to infectious diseases (overwhelmingly dysentery…

On April 18, 1981, two minor league teams met for an early season game of no real consequence. It would go down in history as one of the most extraordinary games ever.

In a home game against the Kansas City Royals on Aug. 31, 1990, Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. both jogged to the outfield, as the first father and son duo to appear in the same lineup.

Evidence from a whole range of sources shows that only a few thousand years ago, the climate of the whole Sahara region was very different from now. Animal

religious order of Franciscan friars

An eerie white face appears so fast that your eye might not register it in "The Exorcist." Here's what you should know.

measure of earthquake size, in terms of the energy released

Francium is a chemical element with the symbol Fr and atomic number 87. It is extremely radioactive; its most stable isotope, francium-223 (originally called actinium K after the natural decay chain it appears in), has a half-life of only 22 minutes. It is…

American actor (born 1951)

Personal trainer Tom Mansfield died after miscalculating the amount of caffeine powder in drink.

meteorological optical phenomena