Around 800 AD, the Maya civilization in Central America collapsed, mostly likely due to climate change caused by volcanic eruptions. Nobody knew where they went, so it was theorized they died out.

When Maya ruins were first discovered by Europeans in the 1800s, many immediately saw cultural similarities between them and North American natives. But no evidence of a migration.

Ruins discovered in Georgia suggest a possible connection between the Maya and the natives of the Southeastern United States. The ruins align with Maya building practices and suggest the Maya middle and lower classes migrated north to escape the drought. They build towns and eventually became absorbed into local societies.

It’s an intriguing and controversial theory. Learn more here at MysteriousEarth.net.

In Romania, police are investigating a vampire slaying in a village. The family of a dead man, whom they believed had become a vampire, dug him up, tore out his heart, burned it to ashes, mixed it with water, and drank it.

According to legend, vampires like to prey on their families. The family contends they are following tradition and beliefs to protect themselves. The police contend vampires aren’t real and digging up and destroying deceased relations is illegal.

The case offers interesting insight into vampire lore in Romania. Men in the village stated:

* They learned vampire slaying when they were very young
* Many had a vampire and vampire victims in their family histories
* Causes of vampirism include dying before baptism and black cats jumping over your coffin
* Vampires can be seen in mirrors and are not warded off by crosses or garlic
* If a family member gets sick shortly after another family member dies, their blood is being drained each night
* Two ways to kill a vampire–cut out the heart and burn it (it will squeak and try to escape, so pin it with a wooden stake), the other is to pierce the bellybutton before it rises to feed

Learn more here.

Some time back, I posted about the “man who saved the world.” During the Cuban Missile Crisis, at the end of a weather report, missile crews in Okinawa received orders to launch against the USSR and other targets. Captain Basset, commanding one crew, thought it strange the DEFCON readiness rating was not 1, indicating war. Another crew thought it strange and sought verification. A third crew said they intended to launch, which prompted the captain to order the nearby second crew to send airmen with weapons to shoot the lieutenant if he proceeded. The captain then sought verification from his commanding officer, a major who ordered the crews to stand down. The major was later demoted and removed from his duties.

Read the full story here.

ESQUIRE now has a similar story of another man who saved the world, this time on the Russian side. In 1983, when tensions between the US and USSR were at a new all-time high, Stanislav Petrov, a lieutenant-colonel manning the early warning system, detected a limited US missile launch. It looked suspicious to him, and the system was glitchy. However, it was his duty to report the “launch” to the Kremlin, who almost certainly would have ordered a counter strike. He stood down.

Men like these are the unsung heroes of the Cold War. As in we should be naming our kids Basset and Stanislav and holding annual holidays in their honor. Without them, we might all be dead. As in the entire planet.