Factinate

Being a Tsar in Russia is a bloody business—just ask the Romanovs. But even though that Imperial family has gone down in infamy, their ancestor, Emperor Peter III of Russia, met an even crueler fate. Born into immense privilege and then suffering an un…

Tatum O’Neal made cinematic history with her staggering performance in the 1973 film Paper Moon. Many remember her as a shy 10-year-old girl—smiling widely and grasping her golden Oscar. But Tatum O’Neal’s story is far more nuanced than her one day of …

There are certain things in life that just defy all logic. No, I’m not talking about how people can eat pineapple on pizza. Over the years, we may have experiences that are so eerie and terrifying that they haunt us for years and can’t be explained. Th…

As much as humans love to try and make sense of the world, not everything in life can be explained. From supernatural encounters to circumstances that just seem completely impossible, there are all kinds of phenomena out there that we have yet to figur…

Royal. Hero. Nun. Princess Alice of Battenberg may have been born into privilege and position, but she lived one tumultuous existence. Surviving through conflicts, poverty, and involuntary institutionalization, Alice came out the other side a changed a…

Singers come and go all the time, but few leave as great a mark as Bessie Smith did. Then again, few people had her brilliant, tragic life. As one of the first Blues stars, Smith changed the course of American culture forever—but in the end, her fame c…

Alexandra of Denmark was a rags-to-riches royal and the unlikeliest fashion icon of all time. Through bizarre circumstances, the Danish-born Queen consort of the United Kingdom even caused a limping pandemic in London! But as her fortunes—and outfits—c…

In movies, books, and TV shows, there are hardly any jobs that seem cooler than detective. From hunting down bad guys to uncovering earth-shattering secrets, it’s never a dull moment with these sleuths. But what is it like to actually have that job in …

What is it like trying to convince somebody to believe something that they never ordinarily would? And what kind of story does it take to put someone into that situation? To shed some light on these questions, here are 50 stories about people’s true ex…

Sunken treasure, beautiful seascapes, and exotic aquatic life. These are just some of the wonders that await deep-sea divers on the ocean floor. But those brave enough to plunge a hundred feet beneath the waves are sure to come up with more than just a…