#cleverman72

[blondebrainpowered]

Known as "the world's colored champion" in "death-defying feats of courage and skill," Bill Pickett was one of the first black cowboys to make a name for himself as a rodeo sensation. 

[blondebrainpowered]

Spanish surrealist artist, Salvador Dali, walks a giant anteater through Paris in 1969.

[blondebrainpowered]

Henry “Box” Brown (1816 – June 15, 1897) was an enslaved man from Virginia who escaped to freedom at the age of 33 by arranging to have himself mailed in a wooden crate in 1849 to abolitionists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

With the help of James C. A. Smith, a free black man, and a sympathetic white shoemaker named Samuel A. Smith (no relation), Brown devised a plan to have himself shipped in a box to a free state by the Adams Express Company, known for its confidentiality and efficiency. Brown paid $86 (equivalent to $3,150 today) (out of his savings of $166) to Samuel Smith.

During the trip, which began on March 29, 1849, Brown's box was transported by wagon, railroad, steamboat, wagon again, railroad, ferry, railroad, and finally delivery wagon, being completed in 27 hours. Despite the instructions on the box of "handle with care" and "this side up," several times carriers placed the box upside-down or handled it roughly. Brown remained still and avoided detection. Brown was delivered to the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society.

Later documenting the life events in his autobiography Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown.

[blondebrainpowered]

Jim Sanborn created a sculpture called "Kryptos" that was placed outside the CIA headquarters in 1990.

The statue contains 4 passages, only 3 of which have been deciphered by various intelligence agencies and other cryptanalysts. After erecting the statue, Sanborn claimed that the first 3 passages contained clues to the fourth passage. After it remained unsolved for over a decade, Sanborn gave interviews where he said that William H. Webster, the director of the CIA, had the final solution.

A few years later, however, he corrected the message by saying that Webster did not have the entire solution either. Sanborn did confirm that the second part of the encrypted message reads: “Who knows the exact location? Only WW” where “WW” refers to William Webster.

To this day, the remaining 97 characters of the fourth passage remain unsolved.

The Greek translation of "Kryptos" is "hidden." A fitting title for this mysterious monument.

For more info, read the full article here: The Mysterious Kryptos Sculpture: A CIA Puzzle Unsolved for Decades

Source: Link to reddit user Cleverman72

[blondebrainpowered]

In 1956, Venice witnessed an extraordinary event: for the first time in centuries, its famous canals were drained and cleaned.