Unsung Evils - Famous Villains in History and Literature
This Shakespeare villain — Othello's own standard-bearer — schemed his way to the top by planting a handkerchief and a whole lot of jealousy.
Who is Iago?
In 1215, rebellious English barons strong-armed their king into putting his seal on a document at Runnymede that dared to say even royalty must follow the law — a radical idea with serious upside for freedom.
What is the Magna Carta?
When rare rainfall hit the hyperarid core of this South American desert in 2015 and 2017, the sudden influx of water actually devastated the local microbes that had spent millions of years adapting to near-zero moisture.
What is the Atacama Desert?
Kiwi and Genevieve are 'Man's best friend'
What is dog?
June 26, 1963, JFK called himself a "..." in an iconic speech.
Jelly Doughnut / 'Berliner'
Disney's Aquatic Kingdom has a treacherous (and large) underbelly...
Who is Ursula?
This pandemic has an ominous name.
What is the Black Death?
This aptly named weather station in California's lowest valley holds the official world record for highest air temperature ever recorded, set in July 1913.
What is Furnace Creek (Death Valley)?
MGMT lyrical mention that can generate shocks of up to 600 volts.
What is the electric eel?
This Lower East Side Manhattan institution, open since 1888, became internationally famous for it's Pastrami.
What is Katz's Delicatessen?
A Siberian peasant turned self-styled holy man, he wriggled his way into the Romanov court by appearing to ease the suffering of the hemophiliac heir to the throne.
Who is Rasputin?
Exiled from Florence for his political activities, this Italian poet wrote an epic in which the Roman poet Virgil guides him through nine circles of Hell.
Who is Dante Alighieri?
With an average annual rainfall topping 11,800 mm, this village in India's Meghalaya state edges out its neighbor Cherrapunji for the Guinness record as Earth's wettest place.
What is Mawsynram?
This microscopic eight-legged creature — nicknamed the 'water bear' — can survive near absolute zero, the vacuum of space, and radiation doses 1,000 times lethal to humans.
What is a tardigrade?
This Massachusetts dish is famous worldwide - best served warm or cold.
Lobster Roll - warm.
This Ken Kesey creation — a former Army nurse who ruled a psychiatric ward through electroshock, medication, and shame — has become literature's most chilling symbol of institutional control.
Who is Nurse Ratched?
Despite its name, this 230-foot medieval masterpiece is technically an embroidery rather than a woven work, and many scholars believe it was made in England, not the northern French city that gets all the credit.
What is the Bayeux Tapestry?
Home to roughly 300,000 residents and sitting on continuous permafrost, this Siberian capital logs average winter temperatures around -40°C — making it the coldest major city on Earth, yet its July highs rival London's.
What is Yakutsk?
This Australian bird's courtship strategy involves belting out flawless impressions of car alarms, camera shutters, and even chainsaws — all to woo a mate.
What is the lyrebird?
The Bear's head chief trained here - the most famous place on his CV and known for its 3-start title...
What is The French Laundry?
A violent, imperialist royal - known for his greedy pursuit of natural resources and hands.
Who is Kind Leopold II (Belgium)?
This 12th-century Benedictine abbess from the Rhine Valley has more surviving sacred chants attributed to her than any other composer from her era, making her the earliest named female composer in Western classical music.
Who is Hildegard of Bingen?
While global oceans warm, this nickname is given to a large patch in the North Atlantic south of Greenland that is actually cooling.
What is the Cold Blob?
Fixed in one place on the ocean floor, a lifestyle term is their name.
Sea Sponge
Anthony Bourdain declared this Smithfield-district London restaurant's roasted veal bones with parsley salad his 'death-row meal,' and its chef's nose-to-tail philosophy still win over hearts.
What is St. John?