It seems ridiculous now, but even the smallest of grievances in the 19th century could lead to someone yelling “guns at dawn!” It even happened to Abraham Lincoln.

Did you forget to buy your mom flowers yesterday? Good! It’s what the founder of Mother’s Day would’ve wanted.

Italians have called Poveglia everything from “The Island of Madness” to, simply “Hell.” And not without cause—the 17-acre island south of Venice just might be the spookiest place on Earth.

In case you missed them, here are two of the biggest bathroom-related stories in the news.

• The Mt. Tabor Reservoir in Portland, Oregon, isn’t covered, and it also sits in the middle of a public park. That’s a recipe for trouble.

The president fled the country, and part of the country was annexed by another country. It’s surely been a tough year in the Ukraine…but it’s also been a weird one.

Nothing like a dose of irony to keep your day-to-day problems in perspective: Ironic Revenue Service & Irony TV.

The Bathroom Readers’ Institute is located across town from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, probably the best Bard-based theater outside of England, so it always feels like Shakespeare’s birthday around these parts. Here are some facts about ol’ Bill on his 450th birthday.

When you see a trench coat, you probably don’t think of World War I, the war known for its bloody, muddy “trench warfare.” But long before Humphrey Bogart and other classic movie stars made them the unofficial clothing of detectives and mystery men, the trench coat really did originate during World War I.

Not everyone celebrates with chocolate bunnies and hiding eggs. Here are a few Easter traditions from around the world.

“The Harvard Library has books bound in human skin” is one of those well-known fun facts that pop up a lot of place…including Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader. But we’re the trivia hounds who dig deeper. We wanted to know: what are those books?

Back in the early 2000s, a French man named Dynn Eadel toured parts of Egypt’s immense Sinai Peninsula. He fell in love with the desert’s rugged beauty but felt it was missing something: an outdoor movie theater.

Breaking into One World Trade Center is a bad idea. Sneaking all the way up to the roof is an even worse idea. Nevertheless, several daredevils recently engaged in both of these activities (and managed to evade the skyscraper’s round-the-clock security team in the process).

Hey, parents of college students: Your kids are using that tuition money you gave them to take a March trip to Florida. (Hey, college students: Your secret is safe with us!) Here’s a little bit about the history of Spring Break.

A monkey mess from Uncle John’s bottomless “dustbin of history” files. It was the year 1935. A collector of rare, and what were then considered exotic, animals named Frank Buck ran a 40-acre “jungle camp” on Long Island, New York. Once common, these animal enclosures were small roadside zoos.

From the outside, it doesn’t seem like there’s much of a difference between a bank and a credit union. You probably can’t tell much of a difference as a customer, either, as both offer checking accounts, savings programs, teller windows, multiple branches, ATMs, car loans, and mortgages.