Topic

Biography & Personal Stories

A collection of 192 issues

Tippi of Africa: The True Story of the Girl Who Grew Up in the Wild

Tippi Degré, daughter of wildlife photographers, spent her first decade in Namibia forming extraordinary bonds with wild animals. Dubbed the 'real-life Mowgli,' her unique childhood, from befriending elephants to learning from Bushmen, challenges our view of the human-animal connection.

From 500 Pens to a Global Empire: The Only Loan IKEA Ever Took

In 1937, a teenage Ingvar Kamprad used a 500 krona loan to import pens, launching what would become IKEA. This single act of financing was the only external capital the company would take in its first 82 years, embedding a legendary culture of frugality and self-reliance into its DNA.

The 68-Year Hiccup: The Unbelievable True Story of Charles Osborne

Charles Osborne holds the Guinness World Record for the longest hiccup attack, lasting an astonishing 68 years from 1922 to 1990. After an estimated 430 million hiccups, they mysteriously stopped just a year before his death, leaving a legacy of incredible human endurance.

Beyond Chandler Bing: Matthew Perry's Staggering 6,000-Meeting Journey to Sobriety

In his 2022 memoir, Matthew Perry revealed a stunning statistic: he had attended an estimated 6,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. This number offers a profound glimpse into the lifelong commitment and immense struggle behind his public battle with addiction and his ultimate legacy of advocacy.

The Nurse Who Died to Prove a Theory: Clara Maass and the Tragic Yellow Fever Experiments

In 1901, US Army experiments to prove yellow fever's mosquito transmission used human volunteers in Cuba. Nurse Clara Maass, the only American woman, volunteered twice. Her tragic death confirmed the theory, ended the tests, and helped conquer a deadly disease.

The Man Who Ran for 3.5 Days Straight: Dean Karnazes' Unbelievable 350-Mile Odyssey

In 2005, ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes did the impossible, running 350 miles (560 km) in 80 hours and 44 minutes without a single moment of sleep. This feat of endurance pushed the known limits of human potential and sparked a global conversation about what the body can achieve.

The Phantom of the Parliament: How a Notorious War Criminal Held His Seat After Vanishing in a War Zone

Infamous WWII war criminal Masanobu Tsuji evaded justice to become a Japanese politician. He vanished in the Laotian jungle in 1961 but, because he was legally just "missing," he astonishingly kept his parliamentary seat until 1965, creating one of history's oddest political ghosts.

Beyond the Makeup: The Unspeakable Tragedies in Vinnie Vincent's Life

Former KISS guitarist Vinnie Vincent is known for his shredding solos, but his personal life is marked by immense tragedy. His two ex-wives both died young under horrific circumstances—one was murdered in an unsolved case, and the other succumbed to alcoholism after a tumultuous relationship.