World War II was a cataclysmic clash that reshaped the globe, and while many of its grand narratives dominate textbooks, countless lesser‑known episodes still shine with astonishing bravery and intrigue. Below are 10 amazing untold WWII stories that bring fresh perspective to the epic conflict.

10 Amazing Untold Stories From World War II

10 The Soham Railway Explosion

On the morning of June 2, 1944 – just days before the historic D‑Day landings – driver Benjamin Gimbert and fireman James Nightall were tasked with hauling a freight train loaded with bombs destined for the United States Air Force depot at White Colne, Essex. As they neared the village of Soham in Cambridgeshire, Gimbert spotted a terrifying sight: the wagon directly behind the locomotive was ablaze. A fire on a train packed with high‑explosive ordnance was a recipe for disaster.

Thinking quickly, Gimbert halted the train while Nightall leapt from the footplate to uncouple the burning wagon. Only about 128 metres (420 ft) from Soham station they tried to steer the wagon into open ground, hoping to give it distance before any explosion. Their plan failed, and seven minutes after Gimbert first saw the flames, the wagon detonated with a force that flattened the station building, damaged roughly 600 surrounding structures, hurled Gimbert nearly 200 m (about 600 ft) into the air, and claimed the lives of two other railway workers who had stayed behind to halt an oncoming train.

Despite the crater six metres (20 ft) deep, engineers managed to restore the tracks by that very evening. Both Gimbert and Nightall were later awarded the George Cross – the highest civilian bravery honour in the British and Commonwealth forces. Their heroic deeds are commemorated by two separate plaques in Soham, ensuring their legacy endures.

9 Made British Resistance

After the calamitous defeat in France in 1940, the British Expeditionary Force and Free French forces found themselves stripped of vehicles, ammunition, and essential gear. While the Home Guard rose to the surface as a visible militia, Winston Churchill also commissioned a covert, underground army known simply as the Auxiliary Units. These secret cells remained hidden from public knowledge until the early 1990s.

Roughly 3,500 volunteers, drawn largely from ordinary civilians, were recruited and trained in stealth killing, explosives handling, hand‑to‑hand combat, and sabotage. To preserve secrecy, they were attached to local Home Guard units. Despite material shortages, they received some of the finest weapons available – Thompson sub‑machine guns, PIAT anti‑tank rockets, silenced pistols and rifles, sticky bombs, and single‑shot steel‑piercing cartridges capable of breaching armor at nearly 100 m (over 300 ft). Their underground bases, dug 4.5 m (15 ft) below the surface, housed six to eight men each, along with a full cache of equipment and weeks of supplies.

Should an invasion have materialised, these units were slated to strike German communication lines, railways, airfields, fuel depots, and even senior officers. Their orders even included the grim task of eliminating any British collaborators. The Germans never anticipated such a coordinated, underground resistance so early in an occupation, which would have made any invasion far bloodier. Fortunately, the Auxiliary Units never saw combat, though many members later joined other wartime services.

8 Operation Jericho

On 18 February 1944, a daring squadron of 18 Mosquito fighter‑bombers – drawn from the Royal Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force – set out to bomb the walls of Amiens Prison in northern France. Their objective: free roughly 700 French Resistance fighters held inside. The weather was miserable; one RNZAF pilot later recalled thinking the mission was either a prank or a rehearsal.

Undeterred, the pilots flew low – just 15 m (50 ft) above the Channel – though five aircraft turned back due to engine trouble and radio failures, leaving 13 to press on. Led by Group Captain Charles Pickard, the raid commenced at 12:01 PM. Mosquitos shattered the prison’s outer walls, creating a breach for prisoners to escape, and simultaneously struck the adjacent train station to distract German guards. Only two aircraft were lost, including Pickard’s own. The operation enabled 258 inmates to flee, while 102 were killed and another 155 recaptured. The exact impetus behind the raid remains a mystery, but the skill and audacity displayed were unmistakable.

7 Hermann Goering’s Anti‑Nazi Brother

Albert Goering, the younger brother of infamous Nazi leader Hermann Goering, chose a markedly different path. While Hermann orchestrated the Luftwaffe’s ruthless campaigns, Albert opposed the regime, using his position to rescue countless victims of Nazi persecution. After the Nazis seized power, Albert relocated to Austria, where he vocally denounced the party. When Germany annexed Austria in 1938, Hermann’s influence kept the Gestapo at bay, allowing Albert to continue his humanitarian work.

When German forces entered Vienna, Albert sprang into action, handing out exit visas to Jewish residents and confronting soldiers who forced elderly Jews into degrading tasks such as street cleaning. His daring interventions saved hundreds of Jews and political dissidents. He even managed to persuade his brother to order the release of several concentration‑camp prisoners, branding them “good Jews.” Although arrested multiple times, Albert’s family connections repeatedly secured his freedom, even after a death warrant was issued in 1944. Later, he managed a Skoda factory in Czechoslovakia, where he earned the gratitude of his workers by encouraging passive resistance.

Ironically, after the war Albert was imprisoned for two years due to his famous surname. Released into a society that shunned him, he struggled to find work and died penniless, though those he saved cared for him in his final days. Recent years have finally begun to acknowledge Albert’s courageous defiance.

6 Bomber Plane Captures U‑Boat

On 27 August 1941, the German submarine U‑570, under Kapitänleutnant Hans‑Joachim Rahmlow, surfaced off Iceland’s coast. Almost instantly, James Thompson, leading a British anti‑submarine squadron, spotted the U‑boat. Rahmlow ordered a crash dive, but Thompson’s Hudson bomber released four depth charges, one of which crippled the submarine’s lighting system.

Panicked and inexperienced, Rahmlow ordered the vessel to surface again, fearing the release of lethal chlorine gas. As crew members scrambled onto the deck, Thompson opened fire with the plane’s machine guns. Realising they could not fend off the aircraft in turbulent seas, the Germans surrendered. Thompson circled for a closer look before radioing for naval support.

While waiting for a Royal Navy armed trawler, the German crew destroyed their codebooks and Enigma machines. U‑570 was towed ashore, beached, and later repaired. The British commissioned the submarine as HMS Graph. This episode remains the sole instance of a submarine surrendering to an aircraft.

5 Westerplatte

The Free City of Danzig (now Gdańsk) was a flashpoint of German‑Polish tension. On 1 September 1939, the German battleship Schleswig‑Holstein, on a ceremonial visit, opened fire at 4:45 AM on the tiny Polish outpost of Westerplatte, defended by just 88 men. Within minutes, elite German commandos and marines launched an assault, only to be repelled with heavy casualties.

Two days later, 60 Luftwaffe dive‑bombers hammered the peninsula, leaving the Germans convinced the defenders were wiped out; yet only five Polish soldiers perished. Subsequent attacks, including two fire‑train assaults, also failed. Despite being vastly outnumbered, the Polish garrison held out, becoming a symbol of defiance as the broader Polish army fell back.

By 7 September, with wounds festering and supplies exhausted, the remaining Polish troops surrendered. Though they lost the battle, they earned the respect of their German adversaries, who allowed Major Sucharski to keep his sword and reportedly saluted the defenders as they withdrew. Polish casualties numbered between 15‑20, while German losses were estimated at 200‑400.

4 Hobart’s Funnies

In the months leading up to D‑Day, Allied planners confronted the formidable Atlantic Wall – a chain of German fortifications stretching from Norway to Spain. To breach these defenses, Major‑General Sir Percy Hobart, once forced into retirement after the 1940 French campaign, was tasked with creating specialised armoured vehicles. Though sometimes dismissed as “funnies,” these machines proved pivotal.

Most of the adaptations were built on the sturdy Churchill tank chassis, whose low centre of gravity and spacious interior made it ideal for modification. The most iconic variant was the flame‑throwing “Crocodile,” whose terrifying jet of fire often forced German troops to surrender. Other inventions included bridge‑carrying turrets, portable mats that prevented tanks from sinking into soft sand, and a Sherman‑based “Duplex Drive” tank capable of swimming across water before unfolding a waterproof screen to fight normally. A mine‑clearing flail tank also saw extensive use.

These “funnies” saved countless lives during the assaults on British and Canadian beaches. General Eisenhower later remarked that without them, the invasion might have failed. Many of Hobart’s innovations have endured, influencing modern specialist armoured vehicles well into the 21st century.

3 The Night Witches

The Soviet 588th Night Bomber Regiment, composed entirely of women, flew antiquated biplanes made of wood and canvas, lacking radios or radar. Their low‑tech aircraft, with bombs strapped to the wings by wire, could glide beneath enemy detection and strike under the cover of darkness. The Germans dubbed them “Nachthexen” – the Night Witches – a moniker that captured their eerie, nocturnal raids.

Each pilot typically flew 15‑18 sorties per night, often returning with their aircraft riddled with bullets. One such aviator, Nadia Popova, joined at 19 after her brother’s death, her home’s destruction, and the German occupation of her town. The women wore oversized men’s uniforms and even stuffed bedding into their boots to achieve a fit.

From June 1942 to October 1945, the regiment completed roughly 23,672 combat missions, dropping over 3,000 tons of bombs and 26,000 incendiary shells. Their targets included river crossings, railways, warehouses, fuel depots, armored cars, firing positions, and searchlights. They also delivered 155 supply drops of food and ammunition to Soviet forces.

2 The St. Nazaire Raid

After the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck in 1941, its sister ship Tirpitz remained a looming threat. To neutralise this danger, the British devised a daring plan to destroy the only Atlantic‑coast dry dock capable of servicing the Tirpitz – the facility at St. Nazaire, France.

The operation hinged on the aging US destroyer HMS Campbeltown, which was stripped of all superfluous equipment and packed with explosives. Two of her four funnels were removed to mimic a German frigate, and extra steel plating was added to shield the commandos aboard. On 26 March 1942, a flotilla comprising two destroyers, 16 motor launches, and Campbeltown set sail from Falmouth. Reaching the river on 28 March, the ship hoisted a German naval ensign, accelerated toward the dock gates, and, after a brief pause to raise the Royal Navy flag, rammed the gates.

While the commandos on the motor launches suffered heavy losses – of the 265 who landed, only five returned to England – the explosion at 10:35 AM on 29 March obliterated the dock, killing roughly 250 Germans and rendering the facility unusable for six years. Five Victoria Crosses were awarded for the raid, which remains hailed as one of the greatest commando operations in history.

1 The Man Who Won 2 Victoria Crosses

The Victoria Cross stands as the most prestigious award for gallantry in the British and Commonwealth forces, having been bestowed 1,357 times since its creation. Only three individuals have ever earned it twice, and Captain Charles Upham of New Zealand is the sole World II double recipient.

Upham enlisted in 1939, receiving his commission the following year. His first VC came in May 1941 during the German invasion of Crete, where he led a daring assault on heavily defended positions 2.7 km away. He destroyed two machine‑gun nests and an anti‑aircraft gun with grenades, rescued a wounded comrade, and helped a surrounded New Zealand company. On 30 May, he spearheaded a flank attack that eliminated 22 German soldiers with a Bren gun.

The second VC was awarded in July 1942 at the First Battle of El Alamein. While defending Ruweisat Ridge, Upham braved intense machine‑gun fire to lob a grenade into a German‑filled truck, then commandeered a Jeep equipped with a captured German machine gun, driving it through enemy lines. Despite being wounded – a shattered elbow and broken arm – he continued fighting until he could no longer move. After the war, Upham shunned publicity, living a modest life until his death in November 1994 at age 86.

Milk may seem like a simple, everyday staple, but there’s a whole world of bizarre and untold stories hidden behind that white swirl. Below are 10 weird untold facts that will change the way you look at the glass in your fridge.

10 Weird Untold Milk Facts Overview

10 Cownnibalism

Here’s an icky question. If you saw a cow eating another cow, would you drink its milk? The next time you go to the grocery store, you might want to mull that over for a bit because that milk you’re about to buy probably came from a cannibal.

Dairy farmers need cheap ways to keep cows healthy, happy, and squirting out milk. To fill up those jugs, bovines need a lot of energy. That’s where rendered fat enters the equation. Rendering plants take dead animals and turn those corpses into tallow. Around half of that fat is added into animal feed. So when Bessie starts chowing on her daily dose of grain, she’s probably eating her cousin.

This sounds like something out of a futuristic horror movie, but cow cannibalism isn’t really that big a deal. It is if you’re feeding them ground‑up protein, which can cause mad cow disease, but rendered fat is totally fine. In fact, it’s a lot better than most vegetarian options. Tallow is easier on a cow’s digestive tract than foods like sunflower seeds, increases fertility, and helps cows take milk production up a notch. And if you were to replace animal fat with grain, you’d need three million acres of corn to make up the difference. That would surely affect grocery bills.

So while cows eating cows is a pretty odd thought, perhaps we should just relax and enjoy a nice glass of cannibal milk.

9 Cows Enjoy Listening To Slow Jams (Maybe)

The next time you buy a jug of milk, you might want to thank Lou Reed. According to a 2001 study by researchers at the University of Leicester, the Lou Reed song “Perfect Day” puts cows in the mood to make milk.

Songs with less than 100 beats per minute can increase milk production by 3 percent. Scientists think these magic melodies relax the animals, letting them produce milk in higher quantities.

Other slow tunes that seem to work are “Bridge over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel, “What a Difference a Day Makes” by Aretha Franklin, and “Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M. However, this all depends on whom you ask. While the people at Leicester stand by their study, the folks at Canada’s Department of Agriculture and Agri‑Food are skeptical.

According to the Canadians, no one has repeated these experiments since 2001, which is a bit troubling. Also, if the music actually has an effect, it probably has nothing to do with the songs themselves. Instead, the music likely drowns out all the disconcerting sounds coming from those milking machines.

But hey, if you’ve got a couple of cows, it probably wouldn’t hurt to play “Moon River” by Danny Williams, just in case.

8 Skim Milk And Creamy Fabric

Once upon a time, nobody drank skim milk. A byproduct of the butter‑making process, skim milk was treated like garbage and dumped into rivers along with buttermilk and whey. In the 1920s, Wisconsin dairy plants were pouring over 18,000 kilograms (40,000 lb) of these untreated milk products into the state’s waterways annually, and things were getting smelly.

Facing pressure to stop stinking up the countryside (and stop being wasteful to boot), dairy companies started coming up with new uses for skim milk. In the 1940s, they sold it dried to the Allies, and in the 1950s, companies claimed skim milk could help you lose weight. Suddenly, it was a supermarket staple. But perhaps the most interesting use for skim milk had to do with the protein casein.

In the 1930s, scientists in Italy and America extracted casein from skim milk, turned it into fiber, and used it in all sorts of projects. Need to upholster car seats? Casein can do that. Want to make a fake fur hat? Casein to the rescue! In fact, people thought casein was going to be the next big thing in fashion, but interest in creamy clothing began to wane in the late 1940s.

However, in the last few years, casein has become fashionable again thanks to German designer Anke Domaske. Founder of fashion label Mademoiselle Chi Chi, Domaske has taken skim milk clothing to the next level. In 2011, she invented a new fiber called QMilch, or QMilk. QMilch is far more eco‑friendly than the casein products of the 1930s and ‘40s. It’s made of milk unfit for human consumption, and Domaske’s process excludes the dangerous chemicals normally associated with textile production.

The casein is taken from dried milk, and then it’s set inside a machine that chops it. Next, it’s heated and then spun into thin yarn. Once the fiber is finished, it’s ready for Domaske to use in her new designs. And don’t worry. You can totally wash it, and it won’t go sour. It’s also easy on the skin, which is good news for people who are allergic to cotton.

7 Boys And Girls Get Different Milk

You’ve probably noticed by now, but men and women are different, biologically. Our bone structure is pretty distinct, the plumbing is all different, and unless gynecologists get their hands on some Arnold Schwarzenegger science, men won’t be giving birth anytime soon. And that’s not all. Women live longer than men, guys are better at handling sleep deprivation, and ladies are pretty amazing when it comes to spotting colors.

We also get different milk as babies.

In a study done on rhesus macaques, a mother’s milk changed depending on whether she gave birth to a male or female. If Momma Macaque had a boy, her milk would contain 35 percent more fat than if she’d had a girl, and it would be loaded down with proteins. That’s probably because young male monkeys are more active and need that extra energy. But if Momma Macaque had a daughter, her milk would be high in calcium to give that girl strong bones. In addition to the extra minerals, female monkeys drink higher quantities of milk than males, and over time, their fat intake eventually equals their brothers’.

Animals besides macaques make different milk. Cows, gray seals, and red deer do it, too—and so do humans. Scientists from Michigan State University ran tests on 72 Kenyan women and found that they produce fattier milk for boys than for girls. Other differences are even weirder. For example, they found that poor mothers produce creamy milk for their girls, but well‑to‑do mothers from Massachusetts produce milk with more energy for boys. So not only is human milk different for boys and girls, it also seems to change based on social circumstances.

While multiple theories explain why mothers produce different kinds of milk, scientists have yet to figure it all out. Many researchers think this discovery should influence the way companies produce milk formula for infants. Those early days of milk‑drinking have a lasting effect on the way kids develop, and scientists suggest that businesses should adapt their products to suit different sexes.

6 Most People Can’t Digest Milk

Pour yourself a bowl of cereal, and take a couple of bites. If you can eat the whole thing without coming down with diarrhea, congratulations! You’re a mutant.

While many of us take milk‑drinking for granted, 60 percent of adults on Earth just can’t handle the white stuff. When most humans stop drinking their mother’s milk, they stop producing lactase, the enzyme that digests the key sugar in milk. Without a steady supply of lactase, you become lactose intolerant, and if you take a gulp of milk, you’ll end up with cramps, bloating, or nausea.

The other 40 percent, many of whom come from Europe, Africa, and India, are genetic anomalies. Thanks to an ancient mutation, their bodies still produce lactase, and that’s why they can drink milk after babyhood. Scientists believe this milk mutation popped up around 10,000 B.C., near present‑day Turkey.

No one is sure why this milk‑friendly gene showed up or how it spread so quickly through Europe. For a while, researchers thought ancient Europeans lacked sunlight and adapted new ways of processing vitamin D. Others think the gene showed up as a way of supplementing European diets, so people could drink milk when crops died. Others suggest it was a way of making women fatter and thus more fertile.

Scientists have a better idea of how Africans developed their milk‑drinking mutant powers. While only about 25 percent of people of African descent can digest lactose, scientists think this ability has to do with the problem of drinking water. Originally, African farmers had to drink out of ponds or rivers, and that was incredibly risky thanks to germs. So Africans eventually developed the ability to process milk and thus avoid horrible diseases.

5 The Weird World Of Online Breast Milk

While the US government has strict policies on fluids like blood and semen, breast milk is treated as a food. That means you can sell it to whomever you want, however you want. A lot of mothers donate their extra milk to nonprofit banks that pasteurize it and sell it to hospitals for $130 per liter ($4 an ounce). However, more and more mothers are turning their back on FDA‑approved facilities. Instead, they’re going online and selling their milk on sites like Only the Breast.

Founded by California couple Glenn and Chelly Snow, Only the Breast lets mothers sell their surplus milk to women who can’t make enough of their own… and to the occasional man who wants a few ounces for one reason or another. Sellers hawk their wares with catchy titles like “Fresh and Fatty!” and sales pitches like “mostly organic‑raised breast milk.” There are sections on the site for specialized milk, so if you need a few bags specifically for two‑month‑olds or only want milk that’s bafflingly labeled “gluten‑free” or “dairy‑free,” Only the Breast has you covered.

The popular site has branched out across Europe. Women sell their milk from anywhere from $1 to $2.50 per ounce, so if a mother sells about 1 liter (30 oz) a day (the standard amount needed by a six‑month‑old infant) for $2 an ounce, she could easily clear $20,000 in a year. However, some women aren’t interested in the money. Mothers who want to help other women for free can join online groups like Eats on Feets, an organization that provides free milk for needy mothers.

The government isn’t exactly crazy about this new online movement. Unlike professional milk banks, Only the Breast and Eat on Feets aren’t required to screen donors or pasteurize milk. The FDA issued a warning in 2010, stating that it’s dangerous to let your baby drink someone else’s milk. A study from Stanford University found that 3.3 percent of 1,091 potential milk donors were suffering from sicknesses like syphilis, hepatitis B, and HIV.

4 The Wonders Of Bird Milk

Mammals aren’t the only ones who make milk. A few birds can, too.

Take pigeons. These city‑dwelling “rats of the sky” produce a thick, milk‑like substance for their babies, and it’s a crucial part of a young squab’s diet. Pigeon milk is generated inside the crop, a storage area in the esophagus. The crop works like an internal pantry, and lactating cells in the crop walls release a thick fluid that baby birds find delicious.

Both mothers and fathers produce this milk a few days before the chicks hatch. When the chicks are hungry, the parents open their beaks and upchuck all that creamy goodness. If young wild pigeons don’t get their crop milk, they die. Scientists have also found that chickens grow 38 percent faster when they’re fed a diet of pigeon vomit. That’s probably because the fluid is rich in antioxidants, protein, and fat. In fact, crop milk has more protein than human milk (or cow milk, for that matter).

Pigeons aren’t the only birds that have mastered milk‑making. Flamingoes keep their babies happy with a special substance produced in their digestive tracts. And if Mom doesn’t make it back in time from her fishing trip, Daddy Emperor Penguin can cough up some crop milk for his newly hatched chick as well.

3 Why Is Milk In The Back Of The Store?

You wake up one morning, and you’re getting ready to eat some cereal when you realize you’re out of milk. You angrily slip on a pair of shoes, drive to the local grocery store, and trudge toward the dairy section. But it’s all the way behind the chips and the soda and the items we can safely call “non‑essential.” In many countries, milk is a huge part of the daily diet, so what’s it doing in the back?

There are two reasons. The first has to do with a little trick called “building the basket.” If you walk to the back of the store, you’ll pass frozen dinners, mountains of junk food, and all sorts of products just begging to be bought. Store owners hope you’ll notice all these goodies on your long march to the milk, and if their subliminal scheme works, you’ll go home with a basket full of food.

The second reason is far less nefarious and has to do with another supermarket expression: the cold chain. Once a cow is milked, the liquid has to stay nice and frosty. Otherwise, it quickly spoils. So the milk is loaded in a temperature‑controlled truck, driven down the highway, and dropped off at the back of the store, where it’s quickly off‑loaded into a cold room. The dairy section is close to this cold room. This makes the process easy, fast, and keeps the milk tasting great.

So milk’s location is one part convenience and one part conspiracy. Plus, it helps burn off all that fat you get from drinking whole milk.

2 The Mystery Of Witch’s Milk

Most people assume that only females can breastfeed, but men are perfectly capable of producing milk. All they need is a lot of prolactin. That’s the hormone in charge of making milk, and it’s already in the body. Men just need to boost it up a bit.

There are a couple of ways men can increase their prolactin levels, but most aren’t very pleasant. They can suffer from a pituitary gland tumor, screw up their liver by starvation, or take drugs to alter the body chemistry. Or they could start massaging their nipples. Seriously—by stimulating the nipples, guys can get a spike of prolactin that causes the alveoli in their breasts to start making milk.

This peculiar phenomenon isn’t exclusive to humans. Scientists have observed male lactation in dayak fruit bats, goats, and guinea pigs.

Human babies can also make milk on occasion. It’s called “Witch’s Milk,” and it generally occurs three days after the infant is born. The baby’s breasts swell up, and the newborn nipples leak milky white fluid.

While the fetus develops, the mother’s body produces a lot of estrogen, which enlarges her breasts. That estrogen also courses through the baby’s bloodstream, and on occasion, these hormones enlarge the newborn’s breasts and cause infants to make milk. It’s nothing to worry about. The swelling usually goes away after two weeks—but people didn’t always know that.

Back in the Middle Ages, people feared witchcraft. They thought witches used babies to provide milk for familiars, spirits who took the shape of animals like toads. So if your baby started lactating, look out. There were demons about. In fact, some parents were so afraid of familiars creeping into their newborn’s crib that they made baby‑sized rag dolls to trick the spirits into sucking a puppet.

1 The Man Who Wants To Milk A Pig

When it comes to milk, most Americans rely on the good old cud‑chewing cow. On occasion, they’ll pick up a carton of goat’s milk or buy a block of cheese courtesy of Mary’s little lamb. But that’s as far as it goes for dairy diversity in the US.

But the rest of the planet is far more willing to experiment. Camel milkshakes are all the rage in Abu Dhabi, and in Campania, Italy, cheese‑makers use water buffaloes to make mozzarella di bufala. Folks in central Asia enjoy a beverage called kumis, which is fermented horse milk, and in various countries across the globe, people drink the milk of yaks, reindeer, and elk.

But there’s one mammal nobody seems all that interested in milking. We’re talking about Sus scrofa domesticus, more commonly known as the domestic pig. We aren’t spreading pig butter on our biscuits or drinking chocolate pig’s milk because swine aren’t the most touchy‑feely creatures in the world. Grab one of these animals, and you’ll have a fight on your hands.

Assuming you can hold one down, you’re going to have a tough time with those teats. Pigs have 14 tiny nipples that are incredibly difficult to squeeze. Making things worse, pig milk doesn’t coagulate easily, so it’s difficult to turn into cheese. But that doesn’t stop Chef Edward Lee from trying.

Owner of the 610 Magnolia in Louisville, Lee has appeared on shows like Top Chef and Iron Chef America, and he’s kind of obsessed with pigs. Describing pig milk as “viscous” and “tart,” Lee has been trying to make pig cheese for quite some time. It’s been difficult. While he did whip up a batch of pig ricotta, that required sneaking up on pigs while they were sleeping, quickly pulling their teats, and taking off when the sows woke up.

Figuring there was a better way, Lee came up with a new game plan earlier in 2014. In March, Lee announced that he was going to spend weeks living in barns with momma pigs, gaining their trust. He was going to smear his clothes in pig feces, hang out with the hogs, and become their best bud. Lee figures that if he can win their friendship, they might let him have a go at their teats.

If Lee’s plan goes well, his restaurant might become one of the first places to serve pig cheese. Want to give it a shot yourself, and beat him to it?

When most people picture ancient Egypt, Tutankhamun steals the limelight. Yet a handful of other preserved bodies conceal astonishing narratives that rival any royal saga. From a boy masquerading as a hawk to a priest whose diet would make a modern nutritionist cringe, these top 10 mummies reveal mysteries, murders, and marvels that have long been buried in silence.

Top 10 Mummies Revealed

10 The Hidden Baby

In 1679, the eminent bishop Peder Winstrup was laid to rest within the hallowed walls of Lund Cathedral in Sweden. Though already celebrated for his ecclesiastical influence, his post‑mortem fame rose when researchers, while closely examining his remarkably intact 17th‑century corpse, discovered a tiny infant concealed behind his legs.

Interring infants alongside adults was not an unheard‑of practice in that era, but the lingering question was why this particular bishop shared his tomb with a newborn boy. Initial examinations confirmed the child was stillborn, yet the motive for this intimate burial remained a puzzle.

DNA testing carried out in 2021 showed the two shared roughly 25 percent of their genetic material. Delving into Winstrup’s genealogical records revealed that the child could not be a nephew, cousin, or half‑brother. The bishop did have a son, and while no descendants of that son were documented, a grandchild emerged as the only plausible link. This familial connection likely explains the joint interment.

9 The Mummified Nests

A fiery blaze in 1875 ripped through Panama City’s historic Catedral Basílica Santa María la Antigua. During the subsequent restoration, artisans applied gold leaf to the altarpiece, inadvertently sealing several bee nests within the structure.

Fast forward 150 years, a new restoration crew uncovered the now‑mummified nests, finding the bees astonishingly preserved. This rare circumstance offered scientists a glimpse into the shy species Eufriesea surinamensis, famed for its iridescent, rainbow‑tinged faces and exceptionally concealed colonies.

The preserved insects also contained pollen from 48 distinct plant species, even revealing the presence of a tea mangrove that no longer thrives near modern Panama City, thereby painting a vivid picture of the ancient ecosystem.

8 Alex Wasn’t On Keto

Roughly 2,200 years ago, an unnamed Egyptian man met his end, his identity lost to time but his occupation preserved on his coffin: he was a priest. Modern researchers at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem nicknamed the specimen “Alex” and subjected him to high‑resolution scanning.

The scans painted a picture of a sedentary lifestyle: a carbohydrate‑heavy diet, prolonged periods of inactivity, and a chronic avoidance of sunlight. While today we blame such habits for modern health woes, Alex proved that ancient peoples could be couch‑potatoes too.

This lifestyle took a severe toll. Alex suffered from advanced heart disease and crippling osteoporosis that compressed his stature to a mere 1.5 metres (about five feet). He died in his early thirties to early forties—a surprisingly young age for someone of high status in antiquity.

7 Mysterious Age Progression

Between the first and third centuries AD, Egyptian embalmers sometimes added a personalized portrait to the exterior of a mummy, positioning it where the head would sit. Scholars have long debated whether these portraits were faithful likenesses or artistic flourishes.

In 2020, a team selected one such portrait mummy for a digital facial reconstruction. The remains belonged to a toddler, likely three or four years old, who probably succumbed to pneumonia. Using sophisticated software, researchers recreated his facial features from the skull.

When the digital reconstruction was compared to the ancient portrait, the two aligned closely—except the artist had rendered the child looking considerably older. Whether this was a cultural convention, a family request, or simply the painter’s imagination remains a mystery, as this was the first time a portrait mummy underwent such analysis.

6 The Hawk That Was Something Else

In 2018, the Maidstone Museum in England scanned one of its human mummies. While the scanner hummed, an impulsive idea sparked: why not also scan the museum’s collection of mummified animals?

One specimen, long thought to be a cherished hawk, was selected. The bird’s outer casing was adorned with intricate hawk motifs, reinforcing the assumption. However, the CT scan revealed a startling truth: the skeletal structure did not belong to a bird at all. Initially resembling a monkey’s bones, the remains were ultimately identified as those of a malformed human infant.

The child suffered from anencephaly, a severe condition that likely caused death at birth. The disorder left him with an almost absent brain, a largely missing skull, an unclosed spine, and a cleft palate and lip. In ancient Egypt, such infants were typically placed in small pots, yet this boy received a unique, carefully crafted burial—a testament to the value placed upon him, though the exact reasons for deviating from tradition remain unknown.

5 Takabuti’s Death Solved

The first Egyptian mummy to set foot in Ireland, Takabuti arrived in 1834. Hieroglyphs on her sarcophagus identified her as a priest’s daughter, married, and in her twenties at the time of death around 660 BC. Yet the cause of her premature demise remained a mystery.

Modern DNA testing and CT scanning shed light on her story. Genetic analysis revealed unexpected ties to European ancestry rather than contemporary Egyptian populations. The scans uncovered a violent end: Takabuti was stabbed from behind, a fatal wound that explained her early death.

Further surprises emerged: she possessed two rare anatomical anomalies—an extra vertebra and an additional tooth—adding layers of intrigue to an already compelling case.

4 More Clues About A Pharaoh’s Death

Pharaoh Seqenenre Taa II is known for his fierce clash with the Hyksos invaders who occupied Egypt. While his son perished on the battlefield, the exact circumstances of the pharaoh’s own death had long eluded scholars.

Discovered in 1886, his mummy displayed a gruesome, seven‑centimetre gash across the forehead and emitted a foul odor, suggesting a brutal, hurried killing and rapid embalming. A 2021 study expanded on these injuries, documenting additional trauma to the nose, cheeks, and above the right eye, as well as a stab wound at the base of the neck.

The pattern of injuries—absent defensive wounds on the arms and the angles of the blows—implies the pharaoh was likely bound and kneeling when assailants struck him with axes, swords, and blunt instruments. This evidence supports the theory that Seqenenre Taa II was captured and executed on the battlefield, lending credence to legendary accounts of pharaohs fighting shoulder‑to‑shoulder with their soldiers.

3 The Unexpected Head Shot

Oxford’s Natural History Museum houses a famed dodo specimen whose soft tissue remains remarkably intact. Researchers, eager to learn more about the extinct bird’s evolution, scanned its mummified head—only to discover lead pellets lodged within the skull.

The pellets indicated that the dodo had been shot in the head during the 1600s, a period when the species was heavily hunted on its native Mauritius. What made this find puzzling was the museum’s provenance claim: the bird was said to have lived in London as a popular curiosity, raising the question of why anyone would shoot it.

One possibility is that the eyewitness account was fabricated and the dodo was already deceased when it arrived in Britain. If the bird was indeed felled in Mauritius, the mystery deepens: how was its carcass preserved for the long voyage back to England when no known mummification techniques existed there at the time?

2 The Pregnant Mummy

In the 19th century, the University of Warsaw acquired an Egyptian mummy believed to belong to an important priest named Hor‑Djehuty, as indicated by the elaborate coffin inscriptions.

However, the 19th‑century “mummy trade” was riddled with deception: sellers often swapped any mummy into a prestigious coffin to fetch higher prices. Modern X‑ray scans in 2016 exposed the truth—the remains were not those of the priest but an unknown woman.

The revelation became even more astonishing when scans showed the woman was six or seven months pregnant, and the unborn infant had not been removed during the embalming process. This makes her the world’s only known pregnant mummy, a singular find that reshapes our understanding of ancient Egyptian burial customs.

1 The Broken Body

In 2000, Pakistani police intercepted a group attempting to sell a mummy. The artifact was transferred to the National Museum in Karachi, where officials announced it belonged to a Persian princess who had died around 600 BC. The discovery sparked a diplomatic tug‑of‑war between Iran and Pakistan over ownership of the royal remains.

Soon, inconsistencies surfaced. The inscription on the breastplate—purportedly revealing the princess’s name and lineage—contained grammatical errors and referenced a name, Rhodugune, that sounded more Greek than Persian. Moreover, the reed mat beneath the body dated to merely 50 years old.

Experts began to suspect the mummy was a modern fabrication, dressed in counterfeit royal regalia to increase its market value. The truth proved even stranger: the woman actually died in 1996, not antiquity, from a broken neck caused by a blunt‑force impact that also fractured her spine.

Numerous questions remain unanswered: Who was she? What circumstances led to her fatal injury? And who orchestrated the elaborate modern‑day mummification?