On a January night in 2002, a group of paranormal investigators visited an abandoned mental hospital just south of Chicago, Ill. The hospital had a dark past. Before it was shut down in the 1970s, it had housed the criminally insane. Occasionally, the staff had executed criminals by electrocution.

An oxymoron is a combination of words that contradict each other. Here are some of our favorites.

In the year 1007 a Japanese noble woman, Murasaki Shikibu, wrote the world’s first full novel. Called “The tale of Genji,” it tells the story of a prince looking for love and wisdom. In its English translation it covers 54 chapters over 1000 pages of text.

For her 80th birthday in 1947, Queen Mary requested a radio play be written for her by Agatha Christie. The play – broadcast on May 30, 1947 – was called Three Blind Mice but when Christie adapted it to a stage play in 1951 it was renamed The Mousetrap. It debuted on November 25, 1952.

Some say proper grammar is on its way out. Rapid-fire communications technologies, particularly short forms like texting and Twitter, seem to make the use of complete sentences, let alone correct punctuation, very 20th century.

If you ever catch some vintage soap opera footage, you may see a few familiar faces. Here are some of today's hottest stars who got their start on daytime dramas.

You can eat my shorts or talk to my hand. But whatever you do, thank you for your support. The balcony is closed, so don't squeeze the Charmin. Still, I would like to buy a vowel, and that's all folks. Good night, and good luck.

The life of early composers is not much different from today’s wild rockers. Franz Schubert’s  lifestyle and sexual adventures resulted in syphilis – contributing to his fame… and death at age 31.