Tenth place: Demon Helmet. The Demon Helmet is one of the strangest artifacts of King Henry's time. This strange helmet was actually part of a full set of armor made by the Austrian blacksmith Conrad Susan Hofer. The armor was lighter than most of the armor of the time, and the details in bronze and gold were complex and silver. It was such a precious treasure that the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I gave it to Henry as a gift in 1514. Henry VIII was considered a ruthless ruler, and in search of an heir to his chaotic love life, he also did unimaginable things, breaking the relationship between England and the Roman Catholic Church. When the Pope refused the request of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, to give him a cleric, he broke with the Church and became the supreme leader of the Church of England. Divorced, married to Amber, but it was all another matter.
King Henry VII was also notoriously large-minded, most likely suffering from diabetes, ulcers on the uninfected legs of gout, and a lot of weight gain. As he grew older, the young Henry VII was loved and handsome by the people, but as time passed, his closest friends questioned his mental health, and many lost their lives. Some historians say that the sugar content in his diet was probably the highest of all in the 16th century. When King Henry died in 1547 at the age of 55, he weighed just over 300 pounds. Very sick. His body had to be soaked in perfume before the funeral because it was so smelly. During his years as a warrior, Henry wanted to be called a brave warrior king, fond of new inventions and innovations in armor. He liked this particular armor so much that he began to wear this disturbing helmet with curly devil horns at court meetings. King Henry even had his personal blacksmith install reading glasses on his helmet so he could read documents without having to take down bulky things.
After Henry's death, the helmet was kept by his favorite gesture, and he later gave the helmet to Leeds for display, which he still has to this day. An Irish bookstore in Galway,
Ninth place: Nine coins in the book of prayer. There is a strange and unexpected discovery in a very old prayer book. Sarah Gallagher, the bookstore's archivist, was sorting through a catalog of a newly purchased parish library when she stumbled upon two mysterious gold coins hidden in the spine. Surprisingly, the coins came from Mexico and were made of pure gold. The coins dated between 1821 and 1947. This is strange, especially since these newly bought books have little monetary value. Sarah opened the lid and the coin fell out, it was just a coincidence that the mystery began. We don't know why these mysterious gold coins are hidden in prayer books. Even more confusing is how they got all the way from Mexico to Ireland. Thomas Kenny, the store's owner, believes the coins may belong to a Catholic priest in Mexico who had to flee quickly in the early 20th century. But for some reason, the coin got stuck in the book, disappeared in the church collection, and then the collection was sold.
8th place: Blood-red sky. In May 2022, mainland citizens went outside and found that the sky was the color of blood. The sky was blood red, and the confused villagers looked at the sky in amazement. It turned the ordinary night sky into a biblical horror movie. The incident happened in the eastern Chinese city of Joshan, and while it must have frightened residents walking down the street, their eyes turned to the sky, wondering if it was really a big deal. The blood-red sky has a perfect explanation.
According to meteorologists, fog and clouds on that particularly wet night the week before Friday the 13th caused the red. Experts believe that there is a fishing boat in the city port with a very strong red light on it. Red light shines into the fog, the clouds become exaggerated by rain, and a prism effect is created due to all the aerosols in the atmosphere. They scattered the light emitted by the fishing boats across the sky, dyeing the sky red. It wasn't a harbinger of the end of the world, just a strange optical illusion that really scared everyone.
Seventh place: Medieval Bookcase, a very rare French Gothic bookcase dating back to the 1400s. It was only recently discovered. This very rare box is 600 years old and is used to hold books. It was a medieval bookcase where people could pack their favorite books, button them up, and carry them with them. It was basically a really heavy cabinet, but a long time ago, and without the need to recharge, this mysterious safe had just been boldly acquired by the Oxford Library. The library has a large collection of medieval manuscripts, and if it is the first such box in the library's collection, its source is not entirely clear,
But it seems to have originated in Paris after 1491. The box is wooden, covered with a layer of soft leather, and has a metal lock and accessories. Everything was protected by a red canvas lining, and it was almost intact. For easy portability, it even has leather straps on both sides. Inside the lid, there is a wood carved of God, Father and Majesty. This illustration comes from a literary book printed in 1491, from which we also obtained the original date of the safe. This illustration may have been intended to provide spiritual protection to the owner of the safe, but also for the books and other documents they put in the box. Christina Tondi, a professor at The University of Oxford who studies the heritage of early European books, said it was really remarkable to be able to study something like this. This safe dates back to medieval and modern times, where art of craftsmanship and art of machines intersect.
Sixth: Ancient Bows and Arrows, according to a new study just published in the journal Science Advances, the earliest human inhabitants of the Asian rainforest carried some severe heat. The 130 arrows, dating back 48,000 years, were found in a very unexpected place. These arrows were found in a cave in Sri Lanka and are made of solid bones. This makes them the oldest projectiles found outside of Africa, suggesting that the Sri Lankans were the first outside of Africa to invent long-range weapons for hunting and warfare. Even more surprising, the researchers found other advanced tools. In addition to bone arrows, they also found primitive tools for making costumes, showing the advanced and complex civilization here nearly 50,000 years ago. They may live in caves, but at least they can make their own clothes and shoot each other with arrows.
Finally, the researchers believe that these projectiles were primarily used to hunt monkeys, but they also found that some projectiles increased in length over time, suggesting that later hunters began hunting larger prey, such as pigs and deer.
Fifth place: Historic log cabin in Scott County, Kentucky. A pair of homeowners demolished a house that was more than two centuries old. According to Scott County historian Anne Bolton Bevin, the house may have been built around 1787, most likely by a man named Isle Grant. He was one of the first to settle in Kentucky, marrying the sister of legendary Daniel Boone. But over time, as the housing market boomed in 2022, the owner of the residence sold it. This led them to have to demolish the entire house.
But when they demolished the house, they had a shocking discovery, hidden in the walls of the house, with the remains of an even older log cabin. Someone built this cabin 235 years ago and then integrated it into a real house, and when they decided to upgrade at that time, you could more or less plant a flag on the ground, claim to own the land, and then build your house with nearby trees. That's what's happening here. While you might think that such a structure would collapse, it is not. The original log cabins remained hidden and unspoiled, maintaining the structural integrity of the houses since the founding of the United States. In order to preserve what they found, workers have begun the deconstruction process, where they will sort each artifact and put it in a safe warehouse until they find a new place to read them.
Fourth place: Tudor Gun Shield. In the 16th century, King Henry wasn't the only one with super cool weapons. Those who defended the king also possessed fairly advanced military techniques to protect the monarch. They had gun shields, huge metal shields, the size of trash cans, and a hole in the middle for arquebusiers. It is a weapon that combines a real shield and a gun. Henry VIII's personal bodyguards would wield these shields, which was a very important form of protection while also giving them plenty of room to aim at their targets. After the king's death, the Royal Armoury kept 35 such gun shields, and while we don't know how many have survived, to this day at least 3 are on display in the famous Tower of London and another at Windsor Castle. Just recently, one of the shields was auctioned off. It sells for about $50,000 and is the first piece found on the market since the 1970s.
Third place: Strange giraffes, scientists have wondered for decades why the world's giraffes have such an unusually long neck. Now, thanks to a recently discovered fossil of an ancient giraffe, we may have an answer. Scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have just discovered fossils of an ancient cousin of a modern giraffe. This thing wandered the earth seventeen million years ago, and it had a very long neck. To understand why giraffes have long necks that are so confusing, we have to look at evolutionary science. Some scientists have long believed that giraffes have long necks just to be able to feed on trees. Giraffes with long necks can eat more food and may pass on genes to their children. It's all about improving the chances of survival, but other scientists believe it's more related to reproductive success.
They believe that longer necks are more attractive to female giraffes, so these giraffes have more reproductive opportunities. Longer necks also make them better fighters, so they can beat their competitors with their heads. Thanks to the new fossil, the researchers believe it comes down to the fighting. By looking at the bones of this prehistoric giraffe, scientists discovered that it had a very thick poly-bone bone that was used in fierce battles with other giant giraffes. These guys really hit each other with their heads. So, while the long neck may help to pick the delicious leaves of the tree, the real purpose of the long neck may have always been for the second battle,
Second place: Pendant. A unique amulet has just been discovered in the UK and declared a national treasure by an archaeologist. The amulet was found in the UK and was originally discovered by a woman named Wendy Thompson with a metal detector during Christmas 2020. When Wendy was looking for any possible hiding place near a small farm, she found that one. It dates back to a certain period between the AD and the Roman Empire's occupation of Britain. It has been lying in the dirt of an arbitrary area for about 2,000 years, and its date has been verified by the British, proving that it is 100% legal.
Here's one thing that makes it so special. It depends on the shape of the male reproductive organs. About a few inches long, it features surprising detail. As early as two thousand years ago, someone warned that this thing on their neck symbolized their value. Researchers still don't know why, but the Romans were absolutely fascinated by this kind of stuff. To date, more than 450 similar objects have been found in Roman Britain, not counting the number found on the European continent. The Romans had an unhurried fascination with this particular organ, so much so that they hung it around their necks as a lucky charm to drive away evil spirits.
First place: Messages in a bottle in April, April 2022, a terrorist village in North Carolina launched a message in a bottle. Philip Wise came to the area from Virginia, and he spent the whole morning trying to get the message from the bottle into the sea with his son, but the Atlantic kept throwing it back to shore. Eventually they had to go to the docks and throw it into the sea. But to be honest, they never thought anyone would see the message, and unfortunately it was discovered the next day by another beach tourist. But they added their own message, resealed the bottle, and sent it back to sea.
A few months later, in June, the message in a bottle was found 700 miles away from where the signal was originally sent. Its journey was washed away to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It was discovered by a symbol on Taknuk Island called Samuel Southworth. He saw the first two messages, realized what was happening, and added his own message. He drew a picture of a small whale, folded it up, put the message back in the bottle, and threw it into the sea. Only time will tell if anyone else found the information in the bottle. Given the recent vagaries of the weather, no one can say for sure where in the world this kind of thing will end next. So please pay attention. What messages will you leave in the bottle? Let me know in the comments section below, if you haven't seen it yet, please follow me. See you next time.