There are more than 40 extremely specific words for “camel” in Arabic, including baloolley (she-camel without calf that will or will not give milk depending on her mood) and gulaal (male camel unable to project the gland in his mouth), but none of them describe a souvenir sold for far more than it’s worth to a tourist in the souk.

Discovering King Tut's Tomb - The Experience at Luxor, coming Fall 2022! Produced by Imagine Exhibitions.

The shadow of Christopher Nellerd was beloved in the town of Berk’s Falls, Minnesota as a civic leader, renaissance man, and all-around bon vivant. Nearly everyone in town attended his funeral: the mayor, whom he had saved from an orphanage fire as a child; four graduating classes of the school of international diplomacy he had founded; a half dozen of his successful heart transplant patients; and so many others. When the real Christopher Nellerd, car wash manager and divorcee living in West Plunkett 22 miles away, read the glowing eulogy of the shadow that had escaped him when he was 17 in exchange for the promise of a life free from the pressures of the spotlight, he spent a long, sad moment wondering how one could end up living in the shadow of a shadow.

By the time they reached the spot where the meteor had crashed, whatever had hatched from it was already long gone.

It’s possible Old Man Weckels had been in a war at some point. Nobody in town was sure which one, though, and there was widespread skepticism regarding his awards, such as the Order of the Grand Archduke’s Valet, the Legion of Honorable Mention, and the Discretionary Cross of Valor.

At the moment of her death, the elder shaman Mara’akame transferred her spirit into this necklace, allowing her to commune with the spirit of any who wear it. In this way, she has gained the wisdom of centuries to teach her tribe for generations to come.

Research and/or verification in process for this curiosity - check back soon!

This urn depicts the brothers Fu Li and Fu Dao, jealous twins who discovered a magic vessel in a cave said to contain a yaoguai that could grant immense power. The demon was bound to the vessel such that only one person could control it. The brothers fought over the vessel and dropped it, shattering the lid and releasing the yaoguai into the world to cause mischief forevermore.

The Great Arctic Basilisk is one of the earth’s natural cooling mechanisms from the days when giant beasts roamed. Beginning from a small egg, the creature grows to an improbable 3000 feet long, absorbing any heat from the environment around it. The basilisk makes its way into the ocean, where it supercools the water, suspending natural currents and halting atmospheric heat transfer. Eventually it lays a clutch of eggs, preserved in a frozen shell that preserves the next generation for millennia. According to fossil records, the creatures last thawed during the extreme warming event at the end of the Cenozoic period, dominating the northern pole and triggering the ice age lasting through the start of the Holocene period. They’re not due for another 6,000 years, but scientists report the timetable may need to be moved up.

Research and/or verification in process for this curiosity - check back soon!