Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in FYI.

Courage and Treason: Then and Now
On January 6th, 2021, the United States Capitol was assaulted by a violent mob. Thanks to the TV cameras and the foolhardy social media posts made the insurrectionist, the evidence of the crime was everywhere in plain sight. Even a few leaders of his own party agreed that the attempted insurrection was aided and abetted, among others, by the then President of the United States. On that fateful day and the days that followed, lost in the midst of all the frenzy, was the deliberate misappropriation by the insurrectionist and their allies in congress, of words and symbols connected to an important battle, that goes back some 2500 years.
By Suresh U. Kumar5 years ago in FYI
The Forgotten King
Before you read this piece, I believe it’s really important that I provide you with a disclaimer: I tried extremely hard not to get frustrated when writing this, but despite my best efforts, it’s proved to be a near impossible task. I’ve read, re-read, deleted, re-written only to delete again so many times that I’ve lost count. What you’re going to read from this point forward is the best I could do, so I sincerely apologize if my frustration still manages to poke its head through the words I am about to share.
By Gurp H.5 years ago in FYI
The Zombies of Our World
The blood sucking zombies that live within the pages of a book are also roaming our world, they free fall from the branches of an old oak tree and latch on to your skin feeding for untold hours. They survive off animal and human blood, they drain you and infect you. They are the silent killers that make nary a sound, drawn to you by the very carbon dioxide that you exhale with each breath. They silently stalk you; you have become their prey the death that they leave you to face will not be a swift one. Your organs will slowly become infected and shut down, your memory dissolves in a fit of pain as the darkness slowly closes in on you with every second that you struggle to stay alive. The battle is to the death, who will win in the end? You? Or the blood suckers. My money is on the blood suckers. I’ve watched the deaths and destruction that they wrought on the unwise population, ticking us off one by one by one. You may be the next victim, yet you will never know until it is far to late.
By Eirinn5 years ago in FYI
Disturbing Loopholes
What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “child bride” or “child marriage?” Do you think of a far-off, poor, desolate country, completely unlike yours and your community? The unfortunate reality is, child marriage happens in the majority of the world, and has historically and disproportionately been an issue which affects young girls.
By B. G. Rosa5 years ago in FYI
Sharks Had a Sixth Sense Before It Was Cool
Many myths and misconceptions surrounding sharks have been perpetuated throughout the last several decades. It seems something about their awe-inspiring and fascinating nature triggers the imagination, which then leads to stories, which eventually leads to fiction being intermingled with facts.
By Rochelle Gordon5 years ago in FYI
Koschei & His Secret Soul
In discussions and popular conversations on folklore and myth you rarely hear his name. Sidelined by Grimm tales and Greek Gods, not favored as well as the Norse, lie the Slavic folktales. Hiding in the shadows of the old world, in deep forests and decrepit castles, they are ancient monsters beings of unspeakable machinations. Forest spirits and mountain gods. The likes of Baba Yaga, Firebird, Leshy, and Chernobog come from these lands. While you may have heard those names, you are probably not as familiar with Koschei the Deathless.
By Lucy Richardson5 years ago in FYI
The Two Books That Eerily Predicted The Sinking of The Titanic
According to Statista, at least 6 out of 10 people find it hard to believe in psychic abilities and the unknown. Majority of the time, any strange or eerie occurrence is dismissed as coincidence and there’s still no scientific fact to corroborate phenomenons like ghosts or the ability to speak to them. Neither is there any non-falsified scientific evidence that can predict your future accurately. Nor is there any technology that can take you back in time. But the famous case of the Titanic is so peculiar, that it comes as close to the proof of clairvoyance and the ability to predict the future as we might ever get.
By Damilola5 years ago in FYI
How to Make a Myth: Captain Kirk Didn’t Invent the Mobile Phone, but Dick Tracy Did
‘Martin Cooper can recall the moment when he was at a break in his lab watching the episode of Star Trek when Kirk used his Communicator to call for help for an injured Spock, which later inspired him to invent the mobile phone.’ Forbes
By Miranda Weindling5 years ago in FYI
Did You Know?
A seahorse seems impossible. It seems unlikely to really be real. Like a unicorn, fairy or dragon, the seahorse has been so legendary, and throughout time in cultures across the globe, have inspired so many incredible medical remedies, art, literature and myths, that it seems too hard to believe that a seahorse lives, day in and day out, right alongside every other normal thing on the planet. Yet, although the seahorse seems like the embodiment of obscurity, magical and mysterious in its underwater existence, it is as real as you and I.
By Tess Celinalaha 5 years ago in FYI
Murder
The sky is covered with black specks flying in circles. Crows! Lots of them. Normally a large group of certain animals are named differently. A herd of cattle, a flock of sheep, but in this case, it is called a “murder of crows” or an “unkindness of crows”. Media, different cultures, and literature sometimes paint these creatures to symbolize death.
By Vinnie Quan5 years ago in FYI
That time a bear joined the Polish Army
Wars bring about loss, sadness, and chaos. During times of war, people naturally look for ways to lift their spirits—this was especially true during the dark days of World War II. A little-known Polish Army unit found hope in a comrade named Wojtek. This remarkable trooper made life-long connections with the soldiers he served alongside, and now his name carries so much fame, more than one movie has been made about his life. Wojtek, however, was unlike any other solider in the war: he was a 500-pound Syrian Black Bear.
By Ed Wilson5 years ago in FYI
Is color in the eye of the beholder?
If a tree falls in the forest and no one sees it, is it still brown and green? In principle, color is primarily determined by a property of light, wavelength, that has little to do with hikers passing by… Or has it? On the one hand, it is true that physical properties of light are independent of beholders (as long as we don’t go into the weird world of quantum physics) but, on the other, a wavelength is not a color. A wavelength only becomes a color once a creature with the right kit to detect it puts it in a mental box different from the mental box for some other detectable wavelength. That’s where things get interesting.
By Ines Anton-Mendez5 years ago in FYI