Weird and wonderful

The miller Samuel Wood, whose arm and scapula were torn off when entangled in a rope attached to a moving mill machinery in 1737. (Photo by Alamy)

7 bizarre cases in the history of medicine

Wreck of Fishing boat, Iceland. (Photo by Dreamstime)

Adventures in Iceland

Between 1613 and 1754, a legal loophole meant that on-the-spot marriages could be carried out in an area surrounding the Fleet Debtors’ Prison known as the ‘Liberties of the Fleet’. (Photo by Getty Images)

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about the history of London

6th August 1965: A scene from 'Mission to the Unknown', an episode of the popular British television sci-fi series 'Doctor Who', shows a meeting in the Dalek city on Kembel, 6th August 1965. Representatives of the seven galaxies meet and approve the Daleks' plan to conquer Earth.(Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Doctor Who through the ages

An illustration of a group of supposed witches being beaten in front of King James VI and I, the most notorious royal witch-hunter of all time, c1610. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A brief history of witches by Suzannah Lipscomb

Men enjoying a drink and a chat in a coffee house, 1674. Coffee houses became known as ‘schools of the wise’, where people would gossip, argue and discuss the breaking news of the day. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A drink for the devil: 8 facts about the history of coffee

A portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots. (Photo by Leemage/Corbis via Getty Images)

12 facts about the Stuarts

Sam Willis and James Daybell. (Photo by David Hampton for BBC History Magazine)

The extraordinary history of ordinary things

Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor playing Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII in the 1963 film, Cleopatra. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

The 7 best couples in history

Historians Sam Willis (left) and James Daybell. "We challenged ourselves to write the histories of things we weren't necessarily even sure had a history," says Willis. (Photo by David Hampton for BBC History Magazine)

Books interview with Sam Willis and James Daybell: “Everything has a history. And we mean absolutely everything”

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A woodcut of a woman thought to be baking bread, printed in 1497. In the Middle Ages baking was a luxury few were able to enjoy, but those who could afford a wood-burning stove would start with bread. In the 15th century Britain saw explosion of expensive spices, such as saffron, and sweetened dough became popular. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

A brief history of baking

Viking Berserker figures. The one on the left is wearing a helmet with horns. His companion wears the mask of a wolf or bear. Sweden, 6th century. (Photo by Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

The truth about Viking berserkers

Despite popular belief, Gladiatorial fighting was not the most popular entertainment in Ancient Rome. (Photo by Alamy)

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about the Romans

President Nixon making his final televised address as president of the United States, 9 August 1974. Nixon became the first, and so far the only, president to resign from office, following the Watergate scandal. (Photo by Getty Images)

The 5 most notorious presidents in US history