In ancient times, when people had conflicts in their business affairs or rivals in romance, they used to write curses on lead tablets, invoking the powers of the darkness to remove whatever obstacles stood in their way.

These tablets were then folded up and stashed in places believed to be gateways to the underworld, like graves, wells, or temples. So, it wasn't surprising to find one such tablet in a 15th century latrine in Rostock, Germany.

It had been discovered when Rostock's town hall was undergoing some excavation for renevations. They found the metal rolled up, and when they unfurled it, an inscription was written in Gothic script. It was a curse that invoked devils to presumably break up a couple.

Though about 1,500 curse tablets have been discovered so far, this is the first one to be found in Rostock, Germany. Moreover, despite the practice being abandoned in the 7th century in most parts of Europe, it seems that it continued on in Germany well into the Middle Ages.

(Image credit: The History Blog)

For three years, everybody had to stay at home and attend classes or work meetings from the comforts of their own room, which had its perks. But, as many have reported, doing meetings or classes over videoconferencing platforms like Zoom, Teams, Skype, or Webex, gets really tiring after a while, and that's why many simply do other things while the meeting is ongoing, unless you have to speak.

Although most of that is anecdotal, a new study has now provided supporting evidence that shows how our brain and our heart experiences fatigue when having an online meeting as opposed to attending the same in person.

The study was conducted by a team of researchers from the Graz University of Technology in Austria. They had 35 students attend an engineering lecture, and divided them into two groups, ones who attended online, and those who attended in person. After a week, they had the students switch and attend another lecture.

To measure the level of fatigue, the researchers monitored the students' brain and heart activity through EEG and ECG, respectively. Through these, they observed reduced alertness, a change in heart rhythm, and a change in mood for the participants attending online.

This doesn't mean that we have to do away with videoconferencing tools altogether, but it just goes to show that these tools can complement in-person meetings or lectures, but they can't be replacements for face-to-face interaction.

(Image credit: Chris Montgomery/Unsplash)

When you look at the photo above, you can't help but think it looks like one of those sliding puzzles wherein you have to rearrange the pieces to restore the image to its original order.

However, it's not a puzzle, but the ceiling art of Suwajinja shrine's worship hall. For almost 60 years, the pieces have stayed in disarray causing the chief priest, Shoko Koshiba, to constantly feel as though something is not right with it whenever she looked at it, but she just couldn't put her finger on what. Until a few researchers from the Institute of Technologists in Gyoda, Saitama Prefecture, visited the shrine to study the worship hall.

Given the perfect timing, Koshiba asked Shinichi Yokoyama, professor of historic architecture studies about the ceiling art. True enough, the fifteen pieces were all in the wrong place. Of course, the reason why it got like that was because of a storm that blew the roof off the shrine in 1966, when Koshiba's grandfather was still chief priest.

Having no reference photos or any witnesses to the original order of the tiles, Koshiba had no idea how to put them back. With some help from Yokoyama and his lab, they were able to solve the puzzle after six months, and even learned a bit of history about the tiles themselves.

Apparently, 9 of the 15 tiles had been donated by parishioners of the shrine in 1862, as a token of gratitude for being able to arrive safely at another shrine in Mie Prefecture.

(Image credit: Yokoyama Lab)

Here at Neatorama, we have read about several Guinness World Records being achieved this year such as Jovante Carter's gurning, Steve Kueny's pumpkin paddling, and Tami Manis' mullet, just to name a few. But, of course, as the holder of the largest database of records, the Guinness World Records is constantly in search of any and all kinds of records to bestow upon, not just people, but animals too.

On this list, curated by UPI, we have ten of the oddest records achieved in 2023. These include a tabby cat skipping rope as shown in the video above, a parrot skateboarding, a dog with the longest tongue, and Kimberly Winter, the woman with the loudest burp, which we have also reported here.

A couple of the records are also death-defying like the man who ran the longest distance while on fire and the magician who did the most magic tricks while underwater.

(Video credit: Guinness World Records)

Mary and Jake Jacobs' relationship is truly one that has stood the test of time. Jake, who was originally from Trinidad, had been serving in the US Air Force and was stationed in the UK during World War II when he met Mary. At the time, they were both attending the same technical college, and got to talking.

When Jake had to go back to Trinidad after the war, they kept in touch by exchanging letters. Four years later, in 1948, Jake returned to Britain and proposed to Mary. She was 19, he was 23.

However, not everybody approved of their relationship, as the thought of an interracial marriage was still frowned upon in the UK during those times. Mary's father, who was totally opposed to the idea, even threatened to banish her from his house, never to let her set foot in it again.

But, love conquers all as they say, and the two got wed at the civil registry office with no other kin celebrating with them. The couple struggled during the first few years, but in time, Jake found a job at the Post Office, and Mary became a deputy head teacher.

In 2019, they celebrated their 71st anniversary. Sadly, Mary already had Alzheimer's and later that year, Jake would pass away at 93. Mary would soon follow him, passing away in July 2020.

Still, their story endures as an inspiration that, with a lot of hard work and effort, relationships can withstand even the harshest criticisms and rejection from others.

(Image credit: The Homemade Home)

Talk about a unique gift! The Chernobyl Spirit Company is offering vodka dubbed ATOMIK, distilled from grains grown in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. The drink comes in essences of apples, pears, or plums, and it's not radioactive, or at least not any more radioactive than vodka produced elsewhere.

When the Chernobyl nuclear plant near Pripyat, Ukraine, suffered the world's worst nuclear meltdown in 1986, we thought that entire area would never be habitable again. You still can't live there, officially, but nature has displayed an amazing recovery in the almost forty years since the disaster. Trees and other plants grow, and wildlife has moved in to the places people used to live and work. The boar on ATOMIK bottles is an example of a thriving population in the Exclusion Zone. The grains used in ATOMIK show some radioactivity, but once they are distilled, that radioactivity is gone.  

The real story is the Chernobyl Spirit Company, whose goal is to show the area's recovery and to help support those affected by the meltdown and Ukrainians affected by the war. The company was founded by a group of unsalaried scientists. They designate 75% of their profits to such support, and have so far have donated more than $30,000. Read about ATOMIK and how it reveals the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone's recovery at Mental Floss. 

(Image credit: Chernobyl Spirit CIC)

(Image credit: Chad Doebelin)

Christmas trees are trees, decorated with Christmas lights. That's all they really have in common. Really, iy doesn't even have to be a tree, just vaguely tree-shaped. Some people go the extra mile to make their tree extra nice, or personalized, or they go with a theme, often something that's close to their heart. Surely you recognize the game Portal in Chad Doebelin's clever Christmas tree, but did you notice the TARDIS tree topper? I bet if we look closer, we'll see other pop culture references. And speaking of pop culture references, here's an excuse to put up two trees.

(Image credit: sabins253)

But you don't have to have a theme for your Christmas tree. Sometimes it just takes a little planning to achieve a stunning effect. This one is the result of seven hours spent decorating it.

(Image credit: Morana_Saracevic)

Those are just the tip of the iceberg. A bunch of people shared their awesome Christmas trees that are lovingly decorated, themed, or cleverly cobbled out of things they already had. You can see 50 examples of Christmas trees that might make you rethink yours at Bored Panda.

But if those trees truly make you feel inadequate, Bored Panda also has a gallery of images from those who selected "laziness" as their Christmas decorating theme.

When you get too many Christmas gifts, or gifts you just don't care for, what do you do? Some people just keep them or regift them, but 20 to 30% of all merchandise these days is returned for money or store credit. What happens to all that returned merchandise? It was once up to each individual retailer to deal with returns, but the retail industry has now developed a complicated and centralized infrastructure to receive, sort, classify, and dispose of unwanted goods. And that system ramps into high gear after Christmas.

Inmar Intelligence is one of the larger third-party logistics companies that deals with half a billion returned items every year. Amanda Mull of The Atlantic visited their returns-processing center in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, where each item is inspected by a materials handler who follows the standards set by the various companies they contract with. Returned items are inspected, judged, and then either repackaged for sale, sold to a resale company, donated, recycled, or destroyed. Find out how all this happens at The Atlantic. -via Nag on the Lake

Florence Hackman of Cincinnati, Ohio must have some secrets to her longevity and suggestions that we could incorporate into our own lifestyles. Her birthday plans provide immediate guidance.

19 News reports that Mrs. Hackman will celebrate her birthday with the boys at the Deerfield Township Fire Department watching pro football and drinking Fireball Cinnamon Whisky. Her beloved Cincinnati Bengals will presumable demolish the Minnesota Vikings.

-via Dave Barry | Photo: WXIX

Gmünd, Austria, has a church in two pieces, with a road between them. The minister preaches from the pulpit in one half of the church, while the congregation sits in the other half to listen. The two parts are open to the air, so that each party can see the other. It's called The Divided Church, for obvious reasons.

There's a story behind this church, although it's not a case of the government building a road and the church refusing to move, as you might expect. The road was there first, and it had a little roadside shrine where travelers could pray for safe travel over the mountain -or for mercy as they were led to execution. In 1748, the shrine was expanded into a chapel, with an open side so that the pastor could preach to people who gathered outside on the road. Eventually, the pastor arranged to have a room built for congregants to sit in out of the weather just across the street. Read how the shrine grew into a chapel and then a unique church, and see more pictures, at Amusing Planet.

(Image credit: Johann Jaritz)

On December 16, 1773, exactly 250 years ago today, protesters threw a shipment of tea into Boston Harbor. In elementary school, we learn that it was an illustration of the building frustration of the American colonists that eventually led to the American Revolution. That's where we learned the phrase "taxation without representation!" At the time, though, some of the man who became the Founding Fathers were horrified at such vandalism, and thought the perpetrators should be arrested or at least have to make restitution for the £10,000 in tea they destroyed.

The tax situation that led to the Boston Tea Party, as it later was called, was more complicated than just a tax on tea. It certainly wasn't the only protest, either, but it was more memorable and fun for elementary students than, say, the Boston Massacre. Colonists in New York and Philadelphia intercepted shipments of tea before they could reach land. In Boston, patriots surrounded ships in the harbor and prevented them from unloading for a couple of weeks before they seized the tea. On December 16, thousands of colonists witnessed the destruction, but told no one and left almost no written records, lest the British authorities find out who was responsible. Learn the real story of the Boston Tea Party, which was planned earlier and involved more people than you learned about in school, at Smithsonian. 

PS: They're doing it again tonight.

#LIVE Boston Tea Party 250th Anniversary 👀

Boston celebrates 250th anniversary of Tea Party with re-enactment of famous 1773 uprising against the British.

Live coverage over at: https://t.co/CBHJNC8gy9

Follow and keep updated. pic.twitter.com/wNkFqWo8O9

— HumanDilemma (@HumanDilemma_) December 17, 2023

Many rumors about Mars' M&Ms have been circulating throughout the decades. The green M&Ms were thought to be aphrodisiacs. If the last M&M was red, they tell you to make a wish and it will come true. If it was yellow, then you'll be sick. Orange M&Ms were for good luck, and brown M&Ms were bad luck.

The idea that green M&Ms were aphrodisiacs emerged from an urban legend in the 70s, when students were apparently giving them to their crushes or lovers. It is not exactly known why the green ones specifically were picked out, but some suggest it was because green was believed to represent healing and fertility.

Despite denying that these stories originated from them, Mars decided to take advantage of the rumors and released a few ads in 2001 titled "What is it about the green ones". Later, Mars made a Valentine's Day promotion in 2008, featuring bags of all-green M&Ms, along with the usual all-red and all-pink bags.

(Image credit: Snopes)

(Video credit: LittleKittyCheezPoof)

(Video credit: ClassicCommercials4U)

The infographic above summarizes the genealogy and history of several Middle Eastern and North African flags, and as we can see, several of these countries' flags have more than one thing in common.

First of all, their color schemes are generally the same which include red, green, black, and white. Secondly, some of the flags' elements include a crescent moon, stars, or both. The meaning behind these colors and elements have something to do with the nations' history and identity.

Some sources suggest that the four colors represented the different periods of Arab history: black for the Rashidun and Abbasid caliphates, white for the Umayyad dynasty, green for the Fatimids and Rashidun successors of the Prophet Mohammed and Islam, and red for the Hashemite dynasty.

On the other hand, another theory points to a 14th-century verse by Iraqi poet Safi al-Din al-Hilli which states that the white symbolizes their acts, black their battles, green their fields, and red their swords.

As for the star and the crescent, these were originally Turkish symbols, which had been used to represent Islam since the Ottoman Empire.

Of course, the Middle Eastern states are not the only ones having similar-looking designs on their flags, as Scandinavian countries all bore crosses on their flags, just in different color schemes; Central American countries also have similar patterns and colors on their flags; and countries in the Pacific, Australia and Oceania bear similar elements on their flags as well.

(Image credit: Aofen/Reddit)

Russian movies aren't as famous internationally as big blockbuster Hollywood films, although there have been some recent films coming from Russian cinema that have received international acclaim such as Hardcore Henry, Leviathan, Night Watch, and Brother. 

As such, not many people would probably realize that there were some Hollywood remakes based on famous Russian movies. RBTH gives us a list of 9 Hollywood remakes of famous Russian movies.

The most recent of which was the 2022 romantic comedy film About Fate, a remake of the 1976 Soviet television film The Irony of Fate. It's probably not surprising that the American remake was directed by Maryus Vaysberg, a Russian film director whose other film The Elder Son is also on the list.

The 1943 action war film Sahara, starring Humphrey Bogart, was based on the novel Patrol by Philip MacDonald, but also the Soviet 1936 film The Thirteen. Check out the full list on RBTH.

(Image credit: Planeta Bur/IMDb)

In response to a question in Quora asking which rock band had the most educated members, musicologist Alex Johnston answered with a fringe band that found success in the 1970s avant-garde scene. That band was called Henry Cow.

Of course, he prefaced his answer by saying that many people would probably say Queen, and who wouldn't?

Brian May, the lead guitarist of Queen, is a genius astrophysicist. Roger Taylor, the drummer, had studied to become a dentist, but shifted and attained a degree in biology instead. Their bassist, John Deacon has a degree in electronics. And Freddie Mercury studied graphic art and design, earning a diploma from Ealing Art College.

But Johnston argued, Henry Cow had the advantage of having more band members, most of whom obtained bachelor's and master's degrees, with one member, Georgina Born, even getting a PhD in anthropology.

The band was the subject of Cornell professor Benjamin Piekut's book, Henry Cow: The World is a Problem, wherein he explored how the experimental band challenged not just themselves but also the audience through their music. The band's members came from different musical backgrounds and interests, ranging from classical orchestra to free jazz, rock and electronic music.

From the time the band was formed in 1968 until their disbandment in 1978, they toured around Europe, was among the first groups to do free improvisation on stage and in the recording studio, and had collaborations in London's avant-garde scenes. They continued to work with one another in various musical projects even after they disbanded.

(Image credit: Alex Johnston/Quora)