Cheryl Eddy

The True Crime That Inspired Looking for Mr. Goodbar 

Today marks the 42nd anniversary of the “swinging singles” murder that inspired Lacey Fosburgh’s book Closing Time: The True Story of the “Goodbar” Murder, which in turn inspired a novel and movie called Looking for Mr. Goodbar. Why did this crime inspire so many popular stories? Judith Rossner’s best-selling novel was adapted into a notorious…

Admire These Adorable Animals Carved From Fruits and Vegetables

British artist Alex Matthews carves absolutely delightful creatures from fruits and vegetables, like this potato-hippo (above) and this parsnip-giraffe “paraffe” (below)! AND THIS WALRUS CARVED FROM A SWEET POTATO! Omg and this sloth carved from a sultana. Hanging from a tree, even! All photos via Al Mode Art’s Facebook page. Follow Matthews on Instagram here.…

Monarch Butterflies May Soon Be an Endangered Species

A sharp decline in North America’s monarch butterfly population (90 percent in the last 20 years!) means the species may soon be headed for protected status. On December 29, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced it’s “launching a scientific review to determine whether the monarch butterfly should be protected by law under the Endangered…

The Only Movie You Need To Watch Tonight

So you spent all of Christmas in a slasher-movie frenzy. Why not continue the streak with 1980’s deliciously trashy, punk-inflected Golan-Globus production New Year’s Evil? “I’m going to commit murder at mid-e-night!” “CALL ME EEEEVIL!”

Gaze In Awe At These Stunning Photographs Of World Libraries

Here’s one for the book lovers (i.e., probably everyone reading this). Photographer Franck Bohbot’s stunning architecture photos have captured grand movie theaters and glowing city signs, among other subjects. His latest work in progress is “House of Books,” a lush tribute to the libraries of the world. The artist, whose shot of the Bibliothèque Nationale…

What Happened to These Notorious Crime Scenes?

Some buildings that bear witness to heinous crimes are transformed into tourist attractions (you can spend the night in Lizzie Borden’s house!) Others get a change of address, or are completely torn down. Here’s the current state of five famous crime scenes. Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment building At the time of his 1991 capture, cannibal killer…

This World War I Soldier’s Bedroom Hasn’t Changed Since 1918

Here’s one for the history buffs: the Washington Post has some gorgeous, poignant, frozen-in-time photos of a room last occupied in 1918, by a 22-year-old soldier who died in World War I. The grieving parents of Dragoons officer Hubert Rochereau decided to keep his room in small Bélâbre, France exactly as he’d left it. When…

The Weirdest of the Weird News in 2014 

“When the going gets weird,” Hunter S. Thompson once wrote, “the weird turn pro.” As we cast our gazes back at 2014, we can all agree the year had more than its share of utterly odd moments. Needless to say, we’re all pros now. Weirdest Giant Hole Remember that 260-foot crater that yawned open in…

Your late-night karaoke skillz have some competition. As part of a study using birdsong to help better understand human speech, scientists at the Oregon Health and Science University gave spiked juice to zebra finches. Shocker: “Once the birds were sloshed, they started to slur their songs.”

John Carpenter’s Secret to Making Terrifying Soundtracks

The horror movie master himself, John Carpenter, is about to release his debut solo album, Lost Themes. Remember the ultra-creepy synth music in the movie Halloween? Yeah, that was him. The weird part is that he started out wanting to make westerns. Carpenter was a recent guest on NPR’s All Things Considered (download it or…

Get Lost In This Hypnotic Maze of Iconic Science Fiction Corridors

Well, this is rather cool. Artist Serafín Álvarez’s ongoing project “Case Study: Sci-Fi Corridor” takes a close look at corridors from science fiction movies, including blockbusters like Gravity and Independence Day, classics like The Day the Earth Stood Still and Metropolis,and cult classics like Lifeforce and Starcrash. Top image from Starcrash, via Scificorridorarchive.com. Corridors —…

The Walking Dead May Soon Be Banned In China

A recent crackdown on file-sharing sites in China mean that fans of American TV shows — including the addictive likes of The Walking Dead and House of Cards — may soon be unable to get their fix. CNN reports that late last month, “many found their entertainment lifeline cut off as authorities shut down two…

The Horrifying True Story of the 1982 Chicago Tylenol Murders

In 1982, six adults and one 12-year-old girl died of cyanide poisoning in Chicago after taking capsules of Extra Strength Tylenol. The person responsible has never been found. Here’s how this terrifying crime changed the pharmaceutical industry. I opened them up and looked inside. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. However, as I was pouring…

Megalodon Molar Discovered in Santa Cruz Mountains

The Santa Cruz Mountains seem like an unlikely spot to stumble upon a 10 million year old tooth from a 60-foot shark that lived during the Cenozoic Era … but that’s exactly what happened to scientist Giancarlo Thomae this week. “I was ecstatic when I found it,” Thomae — who works for a whale watching…

Can “Facial Coding” Really Predict A Pro Athlete’s Performance?

The new owners of the Milwaukee Bucks have deep pockets and big ambitions — a combination that’s led them to one-up the Moneyball teambuilding strategy and hire “a facial coding expert who reads the faces of college prospects and NBA players to determine if they have the right emotional attributes to help the Bucks.” Reports…

Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings has been banned in Egypt and Morocco, “after the country’s head of censorship objected to a number of ‘historical inaccuracies’ in the epic Biblical tale,” Deadline reports. Egypt also banned Darren Aronofsky’s Noah earlier this year, at the behest of religious authorities.

Stop What You’re Doing And Watch This Insane Fireworks Display

The 2014 Bamboo Rocket Festival in Thailand (one of many such traditional events held annually prior to the rainy season) yielded the absolutely jaw-dropping fireworks display below. No more words even necessary, really … watch and prepare to have your face melted clean off by sheer force of awesome. Image via 9news.

The 10 Most Notorious Paranormal Hoaxes in History

Some might argue that everything that passes for “paranormal” is a hoax. (There’s no fun in that, but insist if you must.) But even the biggest unexplained-phenomenon junkies have to admit when a fraud’s a fraud … as the 10 cases below will attest. 1) The Amityville Horror The big daddy of paranormal hoaxes, Jay…

Rogue White Cobra Finds New Home

Even if you have a snake phobia (like we do), you gotta admit that this venomous white cobra is a marvel to behold. The reptile was captured in September in Thousand Oaks, Calif. after apparently escaping from its never-located owner … not suprising, since it’s illegal to own a cobra without a permit in California.…

The 10 Most Bone-Chillingly Inappropriate Christmas Movies

Yeah, there’s a soft spot in our coal-black hearts for the uplifting likes of A Christmas Story and It’s A Wonderful Life. But sometimes, the holidays call for a little more darkness. A little more mayhem. A little more murder. Inappropriate? Maybe. But that’s the way we like it. 1) Black Christmas (1974) No list…