American cryptologist Elizebeth Smith Friedman cracked codes during World War I, Prohibition, and World War II — but her accomplishments weren’t revealed until after her death.For decades, the United States had a secret weapon. During World War I, World War II, and Prohibition, the country frequently turned to a talented codebreaker named Elizebeth Smith Friedman to crack enemy ciphers and rumrunners’ secret codes alike. Gifted with the ability to notice patterns that others missed, Friedman became one of the first American codebreakers during World War I.

In 1613, Hasekura Tsunenaga set out from Japan on an expedition that would take him to California, Mexico, and most of Europe. Sendai City Museum, Miyagi, JapanSamurai Hasekura Tsunenaga traveled to Rome and became a Christian. A 17th-century samurai set off on a quest to earn riches and spiritual guidance for his emperor–and restore his family’s honor in the balance. He circumnavigated the globe, became part of the first Japanese group in Cuba, met the Pope, helped begin a branch of Japanese settlers in Spain (still thriving today), and even became a Roman citizen.

Also known as Bathynomus giganteus, the giant isopod is the biggest isopod in the world. Famous for feasting on dead whales, fish, and squids, it's one of the creepiest sea creatures on the ocean floor.Jesse Claggett/FlickrGiant isopods are the largest isopods on the planet. Lurking on the ocean floor in deep, dark waters lies the giant isopod. It’s a sea creature so ready to feast that it could eat an entire whale on its own — as long as the whale is no longer alive.

This prehistoric crocodile likely consumed the small ornithopod shortly before its own death at the hands of an even larger creature some 95 million years ago. Australian Age of DinosaursThe crocodile was dubbed “Confractosuchus sauroktonos,” meaning “broken dinosaur killer.” When paleontologists came across a 95-million-year-old crocodile skeleton in Queensland, Australia, they got more than they bargained for. Not only was the crocodile a previously unknown species, but it also had the remains of a dinosaur in its stomach.

In a harrowing ordeal that later inspired the film Captain Phillips, four Somali pirates hijacked the MV Maersk Alabama and kidnapped Captain Richard Phillips in April 2009.Darren McCollester/Getty ImagesRichard Phillips greeting his family after being rescued from Somali pirates by U.S. Navy SEALs. On Oct. 11, 2013, the Tom Hanks-led film Captain Phillips released to critical acclaim. It told the story of Captain Richard Phillips, whose ship, the MV Maersk Alabama, was taken captive by a group of Somali pirates before Phillips himself was held hostage on an enclosed lifeboat.