Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in FYI.

Beware of the elves
Home of the Elves. Picture from CTV News. Iceland. Rugged, isolated, otherworldly and perhaps one of the last living places where ethereal beings known as elves can still be found, unchanged and apparently thriving for hundreds of years. Well, according to recent studies, this is what at least 62% of the modern Icelandic population believes.
By E M5 years ago in FYI
Do you have Ophidiophobia???
I visited Hawaii back in the 1980's and I was told there were no snakes living there. This is something that I always kept in the back of my mind...because I am very much afraid of snakes. This is known as ophidiophobia. Actually, the human brain is programmed not to like snakes and I don’t find this surprising at all. But I really don’t like snakes at all and for some strange reason they always seem to end up on my porch. I live in Pennsylvania and there are different kinds of snakes, some even poisonous. Now I can't say I have done much research on the snakes in Pennsylvania other than how to keep them away from my porch. But where I live they are mainly Garter snakes although you can’t rule out other types being in the area. Can you believe there was actually a Copperhead snake at the entrance of a Dollar General store in a small neighboring town? Believe me that was the talk of the county! At least, Garter snakes are pretty much harmless. They do not really bother me, they slither away when they see me but I usually call for help to kill them so they don't return. My grandmother was not afraid of them at all and I will never forget her calmly chopping their heads off. Unfortunately, I did not inherit this talent from her!
By Margie Anderson 5 years ago in FYI
Were Nuclear Weapons Used In the Ancient Past?
Were nuclear weapons used in the ancient past? The detonations of the first ever atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which quickly led to the end of World War II, changed the world forever. Literally overnight, our world shifted from pre-nuclear age, into the nuclear age. Total destruction at the press of a button is now always a possibility.
By Ben Herd5 years ago in FYI
5 Potent Viking Concepts I Learned And Now Apply to Daily Life
Every one of us is born with a dream. Some are fortunate enough to have their dreams fulfilled early on, while others work tirelessly to make theirs come true.
By Rick Martinez5 years ago in FYI
Alexander Selkirk: The Original "Robinson Crusoe"
Alexander Selkirk is usually credited as being the original of the character of Robinson Crusoe in Daniel Defoe’s novel of 1719. Although Defoe’s book was fictional, and owed much to the author’s vivid imagination, it did contain elements of fact which relate to the life of Alexander Selkirk, as relayed by word of mouth and written accounts at the time of his rescue from having been marooned on a remote island for more than four years.
By John Welford5 years ago in FYI
The Real Cleopatra
When we hear the name 'Cleopatra', we immediately think of the dazzling and beautiful Woman who stole the hearts of many during her reign as Queen of the Nile; her beauty being the predominant reason for her success in Ancient times.
By Corrina Pelle 5 years ago in FYI
The Hells Angels ran the Olympic Torch.
The year was 1984 and the Summer Olympic Games were just around the corner. The Games were to be held in California, with a torch relay running from Greece to Los Angeles. But since the Games were held in the US during the cold war, there were bitter boycotts from communist countries, creating that much more tension between the United States and Soviet Union.
By Nick Bruff5 years ago in FYI
14 SLEEPLESS YEARS
If you have ever been interested in Indian Mythological stories, then I am quite sure, you must have heard about one of the greatest epic, Ramayana. A television series was also made on this epic which was re-telecasted in India during this pandemic which went on to break the viewership records in the world with 77 million viewers on an episode dated 16th April 2020. Shattering big viewership names such as Game of Thrones and Big Bang Theory. Quite intriguing, isn't it?
By Shubham Jain5 years ago in FYI
Hello, my name is...
What’s in a name, a reference, a social identification that influences the way you see yourself, how others see you, your destiny?
By M. Moore5 years ago in FYI
The Voynich Manuscript
The Voynich Manuscript is one of the stranger items held by the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscripts library of Yale University. Physically, it is a tiny notebook comprising pages of text and illustrations, mainly of plants, but also including astronomical and astrological charts, recipes, and pictures of naked women. However, the text is in a language that nobody has ever been able to translate or decipher, which means that the origin and purpose of the manuscript are still shrouded in mystery ever since it first came to public attention before World War I.
By John Welford5 years ago in FYI
Beavers, Hippos, and Capybaras, oh my!
As we may know, Catholics are not supposed to eat meat on Fridays during Lent (or other holy days). There were a variety of reasons to abstain from meat—meat was inaccessible to many poor worshippers, the flesh of beasts and birds is reminiscent of Jesus' flesh, et cetera. Fish is exempt from this meat-free fast because it was affordable to poor worshippers and does not remind one of Jesus' flesh.
By Melissa in the Blue5 years ago in FYI
Le Pétomane
If you enjoy fart humor, I mean seriously enjoy all the hilarity of a good anal rip, then you have likely heard of Le Pétomane, the French “flatulist” (artistic farter) who was the most popular and highest paid performer at the Moulin Rouge in the early 1890’s.
By L J Purves5 years ago in FYI