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Weird and Unusual History Facts

1. In 1952 Albert Einstein was offered no less than the chance to become Israel's second president, although he didn't have Israeli citizenship. Although he was touched by the offer, the famous scientist refused. 2. The shortest war in history was fought on August 27th 1896 between the Zanzibar Sultanate and the United Kingdom. It lasted for a...

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What You Didn't Know About George R.R. Martin

1. Born George Raymond Martin, he would add the name Richard when he was 13 years old, after his confirmation (he was raised Catholic). So in the end we had George R.R. Martin. Even if some say it was thought as a tribute to J.R.R. Tolkien the reason behind the double "R" is officially the one above. 2. He is a collector and reader...

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The Secrets of the King

1. So far Stephen King has been the recipient of several prestigious literary awards, ranging from the Bram Stoker Award (which he has received no less than 15 times), the British Fantasy Award, Hugo Award, Horror Guild, World Fantasy Award, and the list goes on and on. Quite an impressive resume even if you haven't read any of his books so far....

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Who Was Whistler's Mother?

One of the most famous and celebrated works of art from the 19th century, Whistler's Mother is considered to be the painter's masterpiece. Completed in 1871 it was a huge success for James McNeill Whistler, becoming over time a true symbol of the American nation and was even named the "Mona Lisa" of it's time. Of course, nowadays it was...

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The Secrets of Harry Potter

1. Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling share the same birthday - July 31st. 2. J.K. Rowling herself was offered a chance of playing Harry Potter's mother in the movies, yet she turned it down. It would have been interesting. 3. During the eight movies that put the Harry Potter saga on the big screen Daniel Radcliffe, the main character, wore...

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Five of the World's Most Wanted Awards

1. Nobel Prize Established by Swedish chemist, inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel (1833-1896), this is the most coveted distinction in the world. It was in Nobel's will that the inventor of dynamite (besides the other 334 patents that he registered) announced that his vast fortune would be bequethed to a foundation that every year would give...

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Laughing with Famous Artists

The fortunate ones who came to visit Pablo Picasso in his studio were at first impressed by the modest surroundings. It was a small house in southern France, and nothing could convince you that it was a place worthy of a genius. But Picasso loved it and worked even better and more when he was here. But on the walls of his place one could never find a...

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Unusual Museums Around the World

The Pinball Museum, Las Vegas, USA When video games are becoming more and more realistic, is there any fun in playing on an old, classical pinball machine? Collectors and fans would surely say so, as there is a large portion of the public which, both due to amusement and the nostalgia would never abandon the oldschool pinball machine. And in the...

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Paul Cezanne

He came from a rather wealthy family, one main difference from other young painters, but his father was not very enthusiastic about the idea of his son becoming a painter. Rather he wanted Paul Cezanne to be a lawyer, and was prepared to pay for his studies. Cezanne enrolled at the Aix University and from 1858 to 1861 he trained to be a lawyer, at...

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Arts and Crafts. In the Beginning

One of the most important and influential modern art movements, Arts and Crafts began in the British Isles in about 1880 and quickly gained a lot of popularity and success, being enthusiastically adopted both in the US and in Asia. And despite the fact that over the next decades this enthusiams gradually declined (as it always happens) the echoes of...

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Nine Things About Goosebumps and R.L. Stine

1. Robert Lawrence Stine was born on October 8th 1943 in Columbus, Ohio. He began writing when he was just nine years old, on an old typewriter that he had found in the attic of his house. Fortunatelly, it still worked (for a new typewriter was rather expensive) and at first he wrote jokes, funny stories and used to give them to his classmates....

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Strange Museums Around The World

1. The National Museum of Spectacles, Amsterdam, Holland Seven centuries of history in a single museum, that is something that any such institution should be proud. Only this unusual and small Dutch museum has one of the largest collection of ... spectacles. Eye-glasses. Call them whatever you want, but surely it is a lot. Ranging from ancient...

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Van Gogh's Yellow House

It was a yellow building, at No 2, Place Lamartine, in Arles, France, where at the beginning of May 1888 Vincent van Gogh managed to rent four rooms, in no small part due to the continued help of his brother Theo, maybe the only one who believed in Vincent's talent and dedication. At the ground floor the painter had his atelier and a kitchen (not...

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Delacroix's Painting Enigma

Eugene Delacroix, George Sand, Frederic Chopin. A great painter, one of the very first women who enjoyed literary success, a genius musician. And an art story and a painting which united the three at one point in time, and still raises a lot of questions. It was in 1838 when Eugene Delacroix was already considered an influential and talented...

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Moments in Art History

1. Paul Gauguin, the famous French painter, had a biography which matches for sure his beautiful and haunting works. During his early years, in dire need of cash, he was one of the workers at the Panama Canal. The harsh working conditions nearly killed the artist, who would forever regard the time spent there as a true nightmare. Still, Gauguin was...

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Seven Great Unfinished Books

1. Vladimir Nabokov - The Original of Laura Nabokov didn't want to publish and even to finish this book, and even asked for it to be destroyed. Was he unhappy with it? Did he feel that it wasn't all it could have been? Was he afraid that his readers would be disapointed by it? No matter what his true reasons were, one of his final wishes...

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Borsec. How It All Began

One of the best known Romanian brands, with a history which goes back hundreds of years, and a mineral water which has gained it's popularity over time due to it's natural qualities and inteligent marketing campaigns, even before it was customary to do so. Not so much of a surprise as Borsec is still the number one mineral water in this country....

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Great Directors Reject Great Scripts

Steven Spielberg : he could have directed Spider-Man, and not just one movie, but the whole saga even. And it wasn't even the most succesful of the scripts that the director of E.T. or Indiana Jones passed upon. Shocking or not, Spielberg didn't want to get involved in the huge Harry Potter series of movies, although he was sure is was...

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Five of the Most Prolific Actors

1. Donald Sutherland: he seems to enjoy every little role he ever played, and gives his very best every time, even if he is already near the 200 landmark. He played in dramas and box-office failures or hits, he was Paul Gauguin or used his charisma and stage presence in horror and action movies, television series and forgottend almost cult-movies,...

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Brian May and His Red Special

Born on July 19th 1947, Queen's guitar player is also (as strange as it may seem) a respected astrophysicist with a Phd, although his music has made him abandon the idea of a scientific carrer for more than three decades. Best known for his curly hair, early passion for clogs and one of the most distinctive and superb guitar sounds in the history of...

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The Story of the Lizard King

Born on December 8th 1943 in Florida, in a traditional and rather uptight family (his father was in the army), he was the least likely candidate for being a world famous rock star. Jim Morrison was actually a quiet child, with good and the remarcable school results, and later his IQ was measured to be around 146. In his highschool and college years...

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Famous Writers, Unknown Passions

Balzac was not only one of the greatest writers who ever lived, but he was also a great coffee-drinker. He wrote at night, only black strong coffee, and until morning it wasn't unusual for him to have drunk 10 or 20 cups. According to researcher, working for his neverending cycle of novels and stories, he could have drunk over 50.000 cups of coffee....

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Welcome to the World of Stanley Kubrick

1. Born on July 26th 1928 in Bronx, New York, and coming from a respectable family, the future director could have had a conventional and uneventful life, maybe working for a small firm, or having his own business. Who knows, maybe a little shop in the Bronx. Yet little Stanley, as his parents lovingly called him, will prove to be a mediocre student...

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Iconic Roles Turned Down by Famous Actors

Al Pacino - Han Solo What would the original Star Wars trilogy have been with Al Pacino as Han Solo instead of Harrison Ford? It would have been another character, of that we can be sure, but somehow Pacino missed this opportunity, considering the science fiction plot and universe not very interesting and certainly not a box-office hit. Not...

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Facts About Depeche Mode

The band was founded in 1980 by Vince Clarke, Andrew Fletcher, Martin Lee Gore and David Gahan. Before Gahan (who at the time was a huge David Bowie fan) joined them, they played by the name Composition of Sound. The unusual name of Depeche Mode was chosen by Gore after the title of a French fashion magazine. It would roughly mean fashion...

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Life and Times of John Lennon

By the age of five the future musician was abandoned by his mother, Julia, and was raised by his aunt and uncle, who became substitute parents and a new family for Lennon. Although he would later have a good relationship with his mother, until her untimely death when John Lennon was just 17, her absence would forever scar him and would serve as a...

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Stories About Led Zeppelin

What if they would have been called the New Yardbirds. It was a close call, and we like to believe that success has nothing to do with the name, and even as the New Yardbirds they would have created the same songs and albums. It was important for Jimmy Page as well. Legend has it that the one "guilty" for the now legendary name was none...

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Little Known Facts about Roald Dahl

The famous British author, who created the world of Willy Wonka, Matilda, the Big Friendly Giant or The Twits , as well as his influential and admired Tales of the Unexpected, was actual of Norwegian descent. He was born in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales, on September 13th 1916. His parents were Harald Dahl and Sofie Magdalene Dahl (Hesselberg by...

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What You Didn't Know About Queen

1. Before Queen the four members played in various bands - Smile, Sour Milk Sea, Ibex, Wreckage, 1984, The Opposition, Left Handed Marriage. It would be Freddie Mercury who chose the name Queen, for it sounded "royal" and was easy to remember. The charismatic singer will also be the one to design the now-famous Queen crest, bringing...

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The Wooden Houses of Maramures

The old, traditional wooden houses of Maramures, Romania, are among the most interesting and beautiful tourist attractions you can find in this country, and each year more and more travellers from all over the world come here to discover, amazed at the unique architecture of these structures. Nestled together in wonderful and quiet villages,...

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