Free Republic

Holy ship. Captain James Cook’s famous lost ship Endeavour has been rediscovered off Rhode Island, closing the book on a maritime mystery that has endured for 250 years. The iconic vessel’s alleged final resting spot was detailed in a recent report by the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM), which had been searching for the lost ship since 1999. “This final report is the culmination of 25 years of detailed and meticulous archaeological study on this important vessel,” said museum director Daryl Karp of the document, which he described as the “definitive statement” on the project, Pen News reported. “It has...

Is it going to blow — or blow over? Seismic activity levels on Alaska’s Mount Spurr soared to March levels earlier this week, sparking fear that an eruption could be on the horizon. “Earthquake activity beneath Mount Spurr remains elevated,” the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) warned in a May 28 report. “Following a steady decline from late March through April, shallow earthquake activity has increased in the past two weeks to March levels of about 100 events per week.” And while the advisory assured that the “likelihood of an eruption continues to gradually decline,” the 11,000-foot volcano remains at an...

He deployed a gator “aid.” No can opener? No problem. A reveler is going viral after using a wild alligator’s jaws to open a beer in what viewers are dubbing “the most Florida thing” ever. The jaw-dropping clip was first posted to the X account Catch Up Bites but was recently shared by user Wall Street Silver, amassing more than 3.1 million views. In the jaw-some footage — its exact location and creator are unclear — an unidentified boater uses his hand to lure a small gator to his vessel. The reptile swims up to the boat with its jaws...

Scientists have identified what could potentially be the “deepest known blue hole” in the world, extending so far down that the bottom has not yet been reached. Researchers described how the underwater abyss’s extensive depths could harbor a “biodiversity to be explored” in a recent study published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science. Indeed, new measurements taken during a December scuba-diving expedition indicate that the Taam Ja’ Blue Hole (TJBH), located in Chetumal Bay off the Yucatan Peninsula, extends at least 1,380 feet (420 meters) below sea level — nearly the height of Trump Tower in Chicago. That’s 480...

A woman plummeted 1,000 feet to her death after slipping off the edge of a cliff while hiking on a mountain in Italy. “The news that arrived this evening of the tragic death of the young Maria Cristina Masocco, which took place in the afternoon in the mountains, strikes us in a truly profound way,” lamented Viviana Fusaro, the mayor of Feltre, Belluno, located in the region of Veneto, where the accident took place. The disaster occurred around 4 p.m. on Sunday while Masocco, who lived in Feltre, was hiking with three friends in the Dolomites, the highest peak in...

A UK paddleboarder redefined “life ring” after dropping her iPhone in the ocean, only for it to wash ashore in perfect working condition — an incredible 460 days later. ”I never thought I would have seen it again, or for it to be working,” Clare Atfield, 39, told SWNS. The miraculous saga occurred while she was paddleboarding — her standard morning routine — on August 4, 2021, off the coast of her hometown in Havant, Hampshire. Disaster struck after the Brit fell off her board, whereupon her device disappeared into the water. “I had been paddle boarding quite far out...

Less than a week after Canadian tourists were allegedly overcharged nearly $600 by Greece’s notorious DK Oyster, the restaurant is going viral for yet another incident of alleged epicurean extortion. This time, the Mykonos-based eatery allegedly charged a US couple a wallet-sapping $510 for a dozen oysters and four drinks. “My husband was like, ‘There’s got to be a mistake,'” New Jersey lawyer Theodora McCormick, 50, told the Sun of the alleged “weird experience,” which occurred last month while she and her husband were vacationing on the Mediterranean island. Unfortunately, their idyllic seaside getaway went south after they stopped by...

They’re slob goblins. With employees prepping to flock back to the office amid easing COVID restrictions, many are faced with the same dilemma — how to switch off “goblin mode” now that they’re around other people.

In a survival saga for the ages, a Colombian woman who had fallen off the grid two years ago was miraculously discovered alive at sea by flabbergasted fishermen. Video of her dramatic rescue has since gone viral online. “Thank God I was alive,” said Angelica Gaitan, 46, who was found Saturday by Roland Visbal while floating 1.2 miles off of Puerto Colombia. In the stunning footage shot by her rescuer, Visbal and a friend named Gustavo can be seen maneuvering their vessel toward the suspended woman, who appears unresponsive. In fact, they initially mistook Gaitan for a piece of driftwood...