Ben Gazur

Joined: Jul 7, 2020

Ben Gazur is a former biochemist who gave up the lab for the glitz and glamour of being a freelance writer. He has written for The Guardian, All About History, and Fortean Times. Specializes in history, science, and anything else that makes you go "Hmmm." You can follow him on Twitter @BenTheEpicure.

A scrimshaw jagging wheel/pie crimper made from a sperm whale tooth—just one example of an unusual love token from the days of yore.

People had some interesting ideas about eels (top) and lamprey (bottom).

The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius destroyed Herculaneum—but may have preserved a lost library of Epicurus's writings.

Some believed the Virgil's poetry could be used to predict future events.

The Greek youth Antinous drowned in the Nile—but he would go on to have one of the most remarkable afterlives in history.

Nicola White discovered this antique gold and sapphire ring while mudlarking on the River Thames.

London's mudlarks hunt for treasures in the River Thames's tidal sands, finding everything from Roman pottery to human bones.

Some of these predictions came true in such eerie detail that you have to wonder though whether fiction is as fictitious as it claims.

Ben Gazur

Joined: Jul 7, 2020

10 Unusual Love Tokens from History

Putting a Skirt on a Herring, and Other Fishy Folklore From the British Isles

The Lost Library of Herculaneum: Unravelling the Scrolls That Mount Vesuvius Almost Destroyed

7 People Who Used Virgil's Poetry to Predict the Future

Sex Symbol: How Antinous Became a Gay Code Word in the Victorian Era

Extreme Mudlarking: How London Fortune Hunters Unearth Thames Treasures

9 Books That Predicted the Future