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Wikipedia is often the target of purists who say it's unreliable because it's full of errors and that anyone can edit it. It may be true, but I believe in Wikipedia as a quick first-source. And I love real stories, for the fact that they really happened. Unlike fictional tales, these articles often leave me baffled, wondering what Napoleon was thinking when he was on a ship to St. Helena. And why Elizabeth Short was murdered. It's beyond me, and I can't help but wonder, as it really happened. That's what I find so extremely intriguing about them.
 The Zodiac Killer
My favourite. The Zodiac killer claimed to have killed 37 people, while taunting the police with letters and providing evidence in the process. He was never caught, although many believe it was Arthur Lee Allan, on which the police had many circumstantial evidence.
 Black Dahlia
Elizabeth Short wanted to become a star in Hollywood and that's why she came to Los Angeles. She auditioned for movies, but on January 15, 1947, a local resident found her mutilated body on the side of the pavement. Local press where all over the place, trampling evidence and withholding information, just to get scoops. The killer was never caught.
 Vasily Zaytsev
A Soviet sniper who is said to have killed 242 during the Second World War.
 Vincenzo Peruggia
In Italy, this guy is a hero. He is responsible for one of the biggest art thefts in history, as he stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911.
 War Plan Red
This is one of the most bizarre stories I came across on the internet and the most bizarre part is that it's true. The United States planned to attack Canada and the United Kingdom shortly after WWI. The plans where abandoned when WWII started.
 Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Exclusion Zone
Also called 'The Zone of Alienation', is an abandoned area where the Chernobyl disaster unfolded in 1986. It remains radio active today and will be for at least another 200 years.
The eruption of Mount Tamboro, Indonesia, in 1815 heavily influenced the weather world wide. The year 1816 is known as the 'Year Without a Summer', as there where exceptional circumstances, like heavy snowfall in the middle of the summer in North Europe and North America, with massive crop failures and famine as a result.
 Tool use by animals
I found this a very entertaining article, mostly because it shows that animals use tools as well (though a little less advanced). They use it for collecting food and even grooming.
 Sallie Gardner at a Gallop
A great story that led to the invention of the motion picture.
 Führerbunker
The epicentre of the Nazi regime in early 1945, until the fall of the German Reich later that year. Today this historical site is a residential area.
 Guerrillero Heroico
This is about the iconic photo of Che Guevara, not Che himself. It was taken by Alberto Korda on March 5, 1960. Whilst it was copied all over the world, Korda never received any royalties for it.
 Stanislav Petrov
On September 26, 1983, during the cold war, a missile attack warning went off. Had Lieutenant Colonel Petrov alarted Moscow, a full-scale nuclear war would probably have been the result. However, he correctly identified it as a false alarm. He was fired for it, but he might have prevented thousands of casualties, if not millions.
 Mojave phone booth
In the middle of the Mojave desert, was a phone booth, 13 kilometers from the nearest paved road. It was removed in 2000 but it remains a great story.
 Thich Quang Duc
This Vietnamese monk set himself on fire at a road intersection on June 11, 1963, as an act of protest against the persecution of Buddhists in South Vietnam.
 Turritopsis nutricula
This jellyfish is practially immortal, but only in the biological sense, since it is (after reaching adulthood) capable of rejuvenating itself. It can still die of wounds and all that, but not from age.
 True Cross
It's perhaps the most famous story in the world, the story of Jesus Christ. It is said that there are still physical remnants of the cross on which he was crucified on.
 Benjaman Kyle
The story of Benjaman Kyle, a man who was found behind a Burger King in 2004, who has amnysia and thus doesn't know who he is.
 Raymond Robinson
The sad story about a severely disfigured man who was made into an urban legend.
 View from the Window at Le Gras
An article about the the first successful permanent photograph, created by Nicéphore Niépce in 1826 at Saint-Loup-de-Varennes, France.
 Roy Sullivan
A U.S. park ranger from Virginia, USA, who was hit by lightning a staggering 7 times.
 Michael Fagan incident
Fagan entered Elizabeth II's bedroom in the early hours of 9 July 1982 and then spoke with her for about ten minutes.
 Prometheus
This tree was the oldest living organism on earth, until it was cut down in 1964 by a graduate student and U.S. Forest Service personnel for research purposes. It was at least 4862 years old.
 As Slow As Possible
When John Cage wrote this piece in 1987, he omitted the detail of saying 'exactly how slow the piece had to be played'. In Halberstadt, Germany, they play his piece by hanging sandbags on the organ and it's scheduled to have a duration of 639 years, ending in 2640.
 Dancing Plague of 1518
One of the weirdest raves I suppose, that happened in 1518 in Strasbourg, France.
 Pompeii
This city disappeared from the map in the year 79 and was lost for nearly 1700 when it was accidentally rediscovered in 1749. Because of the lava most buildings and even bodies where all intact.
 Muphry's law
A funny adage and intentional misspelling on Murphey's law.
 List of common misconceptions
A pretty long list of false held ideas around the world.
 Marree Man
The worlds largest geoglyph is found in South Australia, close to the town of Marree. The figure is 4.2km tall and is probably made around 1998, but it's origin remains a mystery.
 Cardrona Bra Fence
A controversial tourist attraction in New Zealand, made out of bras. Unfortunately it was removed in 2006.
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Year Without a Summer
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