British cuisine was saved by South Asian immigrants who made Indian takeaway the national dish. In the past few years, though, katsu curry has emerged as the kingdom's hottest food craze, to the extent that McDonald's and Burger King have tried incorporating it into their menus, as well as long established restaurants. Katsu curry is a Japanese dish made of breaded and fried meat cutlets served with a curry sauce. The strange part of the story is that katsu curry was introduced to Japan in the late 19th century by the British navy! Really. The dish was promoted by the imperial Japanese government to bring more nutrition to its citizens by encouraging the consumption of red meat. "Curry" is just a name for a sauce that's flavored with Indian spices, and the exact ingredients vary widely. The curry sauce introduced to Japan hid the unfamiliar smell and flavor of beef, pork, or mutton, and became a popular dish in Japan. More than 100 years later, it has returned to Britain.

Still, those who know will tell you that while British katsu curry is pretty good, it is not the same as katsu curry in Japan, nor most curries in India. When foods make their way around the world (and back again, in this case), they are changed and adapted to local tastes. Read the story of katsu curry and how it became a favorite in the UK today. -via Metafiter

(Image credit: Andy Li)

We've heard (and reported) stories of people being buried alive, and even more so, the fear of being buried alive. We can assume that most of the cases in which a person was buried while not yet dead were never discovered. Some cases were discovered too late, and the burial caused their real death. Then there is the story of Essie Dunbar, who was pronounced dead after a seizure in 1915. Dunbar's funeral was delayed because her sister had to travel quite far, and even then she was too late to witness the burial when she finally arrived. The woman convinced the funeral party to exhume the coffin so she could see her sister one last time. Yes, Dunbar was found to be alive, but the discovery caused chaos instead of joy, as some of the funeral party thought she was now a ghost or zombie of some sort.

There is little documentation of Essie Dunbar's first burial, but it appears to have been an accepted account at the time in North Carolina. It's not the only story of premature burial, and there are others with both happy and gruesome endings in an article at History Defined. -via Nag on the Lake

(Image source: National Archives)

The lunar cycle is 29 days, and so is the average menstrual cycle, so somewhere along the way, people got the idea that the moon's phases controlled menstrual cycles. This is nonsense. If that were the case, there would be a run on menstrual products at the same time every month, papers would be written, and everyone would know about it. Besides, there is only one moon, but billions of women, with only an average cycle of 29 days. In reality, women vary in both cycle length and regularity.  

See, correlation is not necessarily causation. But scientific studies tell us that a different celestial body may actually have an effect on menstrual cycles. Whether this has any significance for women's health or fertility is another question entirely, but at least we get a glimpse into sea urchin gonads from the folks at SciShow. This video has a 50-second skippable ad at 2:22. -via Geeks Are Sexy

The villain in a fictional story is usually motivated by greed, for money or power or both. In horror films, they can be motivated by revenge or inhuman instincts. But with the rise of science fiction over the last 200 years, the addition of science to the mix created the character of the mad scientist. Not only does he have a thirst for power, he also has the education and the creativity to make it happen ...with science! Scientists with no moral inhibitions can produce horrors this world cannot imagine, which makes for a great story.

Dr. Frankenstein, Dr. Moreau, Dr. Caligari, Dr. No, Dr. Seth Brundle, Dr. John Hammond, they all wanted to "play God" in one way or another, with no regard for the consequences. What could be scarier? And is it any wonder that this archetype returns again and again? But over time, the projects these mad scientists carry out have become more and more plausible, in a reflection of what real scientists have developed. This only makes them scarier, as we can see how our world can fall victim of a highly intelligent yet unethical force. Atlas Obscura looks at the mad scientist and how the character has evolved over time.

We are used to fan conventions, where pop culture fans get together to share their favorite franchise, whether it's Star Trek, The Walking Dead, horror movies, or comic books in general. But what happens at a true crime convention? The seventh annual CrimeCon took place this summer in Nashville. There were authors at the con, signing their books. There were vendors catering to any desire a true crime fan might have. There were TV and podcast hosts that are popular among the community. But the most valuable tickets were for presentations and speeches from relatives of true crime victims or perpetrators. The parents and stepparents of Gabby Petito, who was murdered in 2021, were there. John Ramsey, father of JonBenét Ramsey, was there for this third con, despite being 80 years old. Kerri Rawson, whose father was the BTK killer, was there. Why would these people put themselves through this?

None of the crime relatives are paid to be at CrimeCon. They were already celebrities before the con was founded. While some have embraced their status, they share plenty of other reasons to attend. Some are victim's advocates. Some are selling books. Some go to network with others in the same situation. Some go hoping to keep an unsolved murder in the spotlight, or to spark interest in a case that has gone cold. Some go because telling their story is cathartic, even years later. But it still seems weird to have people clamoring for your autograph because a loved one was the victim of a horrific murder. Read about CrimeCon and its headline speakers at Slate. -via Damn Interesting

With the miracle of electricity, we set our clocks with the internet, or by someone nearby with a phone. But 140 years ago, this wasn't so easy. Sure, we had electricity, but it was new, scary, and people weren't really sure what could be done with it. It was in this historic time period that Paris figured out a centralized system to keep all its clocks synchronized without having to depend on someone to wind up each clock. And the clocks didn't even have to have their own power source!

The system required burying pipes under the city, which would carry a burst of air every 60 seconds, moving all the clocks forward one minute. That sounds like an awful lot of trouble, but they ran those pipes mostly through existing tunnels, like the subway and the sewer system. The main clock that synched all the others ran on weights, but the mechanics were designed so that the machine lifted its own weights when needed! All the clocks in Paris depended on this system, whether public or private, and it kept time within a minute, depending on how far you were from the central clock. This video has a 65-second skippable ad at 3:45. -via Nag on the Lake

I dare you to watch this video and try not think of the song "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?"

Remember the 1982 movie Poltergeist? Of course you do, it was written by Steven Spielberg and directed by Tobe Hopper and scared the pants off us. More than 40 years later, you have the opportunity to buy the house where it took place. The four-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom house in Simi Valley comes with 2,373 of interior space. It can be yours for just $1,174,999. The home has had the same owners since before the movie was made, and they haven't substantially changed the house. Now, if you recall anything about the film, you no doubt have a distinct memory of the house being completely destroyed, with not even a pile of rubble left.

Ah, memories. But that was just movie magic. The house is real, the destruction was not. And there are no bodies buried underneath. Still, imagine living here and playing the movie for family reunions and holiday celebrations. See 49 photos at the real estate listing. Television not included. -via Boing Boing

The pupils in our eyes adjust in size to let in more or less light to maximize our vision. That's a pretty handy ability to have, and it's automatic. Most animal species have eyes with adjustable pupils, too, but they vary an awful lot. House cats have vertical slits for pupils, while big cats like lions and tigers have round pupils. It's not just a matter of size, though, since bobcats have vertical slits and a Pallas's cat has round pupils, and they are about the same size. Strangely, some foxes also have vertical slits while dogs do not. The animal kingdom has developed a bunch of different pupil shapes, from the goat's horizontal boxes to the cuttlefish's "W" shaped pupils. All these shapes are there for a reason that has to do with the lifestyle of the animal. Except praying mantises. Their pupils are there just to freak us out. -via the Awesomer

In 1935, during the depths of the Great Depression, frustration was growing in the small towns and the large ranches of the Great Plains. The wildly-scattered populations of northern Wyoming, southern Montana, and western South Dakota all felt ignored by their state governments. They were only getting the dregs of New Deal money, and the lack of infrastructure made them feel quite neglected. So they began planning to secede. Not from the United States, but from their states, to form a new, 49th state of their own named Absaroka.

The reason you haven't heard of Absaroka is because the process for carving a new state out of existing states was too difficult, but the campaign got that area, centered around Sheridan, Wyoming, a lot of attention from their respective state capitals. And that's why the idea resurfaced again in 1939 (when a Sheridan city commissioner appointed himself governor of Absaroka), and then again in 1977. Of course, Alaska became the 49th state, and Hawaii the 50th. Read about Absaroka, the state that never was, at Smithsonian.

(Image source: Wikipedia)

Americans learn that the Battle of Gettysburg in July of 1863 was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Hundreds of thousands took part, and 50,000 soldiers died or were seriously injured over three days of fighting. We also learn that the site became a cemetery, and at its dedication, President Lincoln gave a speech that was short enough for students to memorize. But what was it like to be there during the fighting? To answer that question, Weird History brings us the stories of individual soldiers who fought and witnessed the carnage and the accounts of officers who kept track of the action, plus those of support teams, journalists, and the civilians who lived in the area, whether they hid from the battle or joined in to offer whatever help they could. They say that history is written by the victors; at Gettysburg there was a lot of history written by those who were lucky enough to survive.

When I was a kid, I always missed the first week of school because my elementary school started the same time summer school ended at the college where my dad worked. So we would take a week to go to the beach just before Labor Day. When I became a parent, I was aghast that school started the first full week of August! That always caused problems because that was the week of the local festival, as well. After decades of a useless three-day first week of school, they have changed the schedule locally (the school, not the festival -priorities, ya know).

Meanwhile, schools in New York City begin the school year after Labor Day, and continue until the second half of June. One percent of schools in the US start the year in July! Why is there so much variation in the American school year? In the United States, K-12 schools are under state and local control, so there's not a one-size-fits-all rule. While we are sure that part of the variation is because "that's the way it's always been done," there are real reasons for the regional school year start times. 

(Image credit: MassDOT)

Arrowhead Golf Club in Littleton, Colorado, is a picturesque course at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. David Townshend and his wife Lynn of David Lynn Photography were there on August 6th shooting video and still photos of a golf tournament. As they approached the 13th hole, they could see some animals on the fairway, and as they got closer, they recognized it was a family of bobcats!

Four bobcat kittens were playing with golf balls, as children do. The couple started shooting while they were far enough away to not disturb the family, and captured these adorable pictures of the kittens having a great time. The pictures were so good that they were featured on a local news report that you can see here. The mother cat was just barely in the rough, keeping a close eye on the action. She's not visible in the cropped Instagram photos, but you can see her at 1:42 in the video.

By the way, there is no penalty if your golf ball is removed from play by an animal. Bobcats don't follow rules, but they have no stake in the outcome, either. You just have to replace your ball.

We know that macaroni and cheese became popular in America because of Thomas Jefferson, but you might not know that Kraft got a real break on their boxed macaroni and cheese during World War II rationing. I would suspect the dish's popularity got another break when the government made surplus milk into processed commodity cheese and gave that away for a while. But it's not only the United States government that worked to promote certain foods among Americans. The dish we call Pad Thai is not an ancient recipe; it was created by the Thai government, right about the time it became the Thai government instead of the Siamese government.

You surely want to know about those stories, and you'll find the full versions, plus the government interference that boosted the popularity of risotto and Chinese restaurant food, at Cracked. Not that we really mind, because all those things are delicious.   

(Image credit: Andy Li)

Species that employ sexual reproduction have two basic schemes to ensure the survival of their genes. Some spread their gametes widely and indiscriminately to produce great numbers of offspring, like plants and many animals. Others produce fewer offspring, but take care of them to boost their chance of survival. Most sea stars use the former technique, but six-rayed sea stars (Leptasterias hexactis) are different. They are different because this sea star looks like a snowflake, with an extra "leg" that other sea stars lack, and it protects its offspring.  

Six-rayed sea stars don't have to feed their babies, because they've evolved to carry their nutrients with them, like birds with a yolk. But they grow temporary appendages to hang onto their mother until they are big enough to fend for themselves. On the sea floor, where it's eat or be eaten, this gives them a leg up, so to speak, on other sea creatures. Meet this sea star in a video from PBS's Deep Look series. -via Aeon

Every claw machine has that one prize that's really intriguing, but almost impossible to extract. One machine at Meadows Family Fun Mini Golf in Duncansville, Pennsylvania, had a groundhog inside. Not a plush groundhog, but an adorable young groundhog that wandered about among the pile of plushie toys up for grabs. The critter somehow made his way inside, probably through the retrieval bin, but couldn't figure out how to get out.

Employees of the business called the game warden's office, and State Game Warden Salvadore Zaffuto responded, but he couldn't get the critter out, either. They had to call in the vending machine company, who sent someone to unlock the machine and let the groundhog out. Meanwhile, they had time to take plenty of pictures, some of which which you can see at the state game commission's Facebook post. The groundhog was unharmed. It was released on its own recognizance. -via Boing Boing

(Image credit: Pennsylvania Game Commission-Southcentral Region)