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Ella Harper bravely turned her unique legs into a moneymaker—but life continued to serve up horrible sorrows until she finally met her tragic end.

Socialite-turned-princess Hope Cooke is a unique figure in American history—but hers was a fairy tale with a serious dark side.

Gypsy Rose Lee was one of the most mesmerizing burlesque dancers in history—but though she bared all, her darkest truths remained hidden.

Winning a medal at the Olympics is the pinnacle of sport, but what happened when these athletes had their medals stripped from them?

L.M. Montgomery was just as optimistic and hopeful as Anne Shirley—but as the years wore on, life dealt her a series of heartbreaking blows.

Treachery is always painful. Religions, families, friends, countries—they’ve all felt the sting of betrayal, and can suffer from it for decades and even centuries.

These days the world's most innovative scientists don't really get as much attention as they should. That's because real, profound genius often comes hand-in-hand with being absolutely bonkers. From making their employees sample soup to test their loyalty to forbidding followers from eating beans, find out which famous scientists were certified crazy, and what they did to gain that reputation.

Catherine of Braganza and Charles II’s relationship went from fear to hatred to love—which makes their tragic ending all the more heartbreaking.

The story of Empress Elisabeth proves that all the beauty and privilege in the world can’t prevent a life of heartbreak and tragedy.

Anthony Bourdain has thrilled readers and viewers with stories about the foods of the world, the people who grow, produce, and cook it, and the culture and circumstances that shape it. Bourdain’s unique perspective on food was heavily influenced by his decades-long tenure as a restaurant chef.

Though they may not be as known as the men they ruled or fought alongside, history is full of strong, tough women whose brilliance, courage, and cunning left an indelible mark, forever changing the world.

As you can imagine, this line of rulers has been involved their fair share of bizarre occurrences—so let’s go back to the beginning and look at the weirdest parts of each monarch’s reign.