big bully

Fishy business

Have you heard of the underwater bully? It’s true. There was an underwater bully called the Dunkleosteus terrelli that lived during the Devonian period, around 415 million years ago. It was a 33-foot long fish and weighed four tons and had the most powerful jaws, according to scientists from the Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois. Its bite was stronger than that of alligators, sharks and even the Tyrannosaurus rex. In fact, it could open and close its mouth so quickly that it would create a strong suction that would pull its prey right into its mouth. Instead of teeth they had two bony blades with which they used to snap and crush other animals. They may have gone extinct because of extreme climate changes, or an asteroid may have wiped them out. And you thought all fishes were Nemo-like.

Cast a spell

Curse tablets

Want to cast a spell on somebody for his misdeed? Well, the ancient Romans used to write down their curses to cast a spell on thieves and the like. In fact, a team of archaeologists from the University of Leicester, England, have found what they claim to be the world’s oldest curse, a Roman curse tablet which is 1,700 years old. Curse tablets were metal scrolls on which Romans wrote spells to exact revenge for misdeeds. You need not go to Hogwarts, after all.