Source: Oglethorpe University Tucked away in northwest Ethiopia, along a line roughly stretching from Lake Tana to the border of Eritrea, lies the land of Beta Israel. This ancient region was once home to over 150,000 observant Jews, though only around 4,000 remain in the area today, most residents having relocated to Israel in the 1980s and ’90s. That such a large Jewish community should exist in Ethiopia, of all places, took the outside world by surprise.

See the all-powerful Ulfberht swords and discover how their makers might have been able to build a blade so strong that it still baffles experts.Dominic Zschokke/Wikimedia CommonsA digital reproduction of an Ulfberht sword. When you think of medieval warfare, we think of swords. In the age before gunpowder, the best way to kill your enemy was usually just to stab him with a big hunk of steel. But if you think that everyone was using swords, you might be a little off-base.

Simón Bolívar freed South America's slaves — but he was also a wealthy descendent of Spaniards who believed in the interests of the state over the interests of the people.Wikimedia CommonsSimón Bolívar was a Venezuelan general who led the South American rebellion for independence. Known across South America as El Libertador, or the Liberator, Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military general who led South America’s fight for independence against Spanish rule in the early 19th century.

The Black Swallower shouldn't be judged by its size: it can swallow fish over twice its size in a single bite. Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesA Black Swallower. The Black Swallower isn’t a mythical creature or an urban legend relic. The Black Swallower is a real deep sea fish that really has a way of eating. Standing (or rather swimming) at an average of 10cm in length, the Black swallower’s claim to fame: eating fish bigger than itself.

The culprits are allegedly not customers but are instead en route to a nearby drug testing facility.First Coast NewsBP gas station and convenience store owner Parul Patel has instituted a strange ban with their microwave. Weird news in Florida is certainly “heating up” as one Jacksonville gas station owner is “sick and tired” of locals using his microwave to warm their urine. BP gas and convenience store owner, Parul Patel, claims “random people keep walking in every day” to warm containers of their urine in his microwave.