Dubbed the "Mexican Madonna" and the "Queen Of Tejano Music," Selena Quintanilla was a budding superstar — until she was gunned down in March 1995.In the early 1990s, Latina singer Selena Quintanilla was on top of the world. Widely adored for her Tejano music and stunning fashion, Selena was on her way to becoming a superstar in America. But it all came to a screeching halt with Selena’s murder at the hands of Yolanda Saldívar.

In 1979, Steve Banerjee created the world's most famous male stripper troupe — then put a hit out for anyone who got in the way of his success.At first glance, Steve Banerjee looked like an American success story. An immigrant from India, he had turned a failing Los Angeles bar into a cultural phenomenon by rechristening it Chippendales and promoting male exotic dancers. But Banerjee’s success came at a price. TwitterSteve Banerjee, pictured with a Chippendales dancer.

The world's greenest cities are doing their part to reduce global temperatures' ascension into the red. Which cities do you think are leading the way?While many in the world are still throwing their soda cans out of the car window, the Scandinavians are leading the green movement globally. According to a Green Global Economy Index report published in 2014, four of the top ten greenest cities are located in Scandinavia.

The Circus Trees Never has a California tourist trap been more influential on someone’s future. While touring Santa Cruz, California’s aptly-named “Mystery Spot” with his family, Swedish American Axel Erlandson decided he wanted to be the forbearer of a similar establishment. But instead of relying on curious gravitational and magnetic pulls, Erlandson took to shaping trees in bizarre, other-worldly patterns. His idea was a hit; Ripley’s Believe It Or Not made a visit to the far-out forest in 1976.

Blending urban legend with gruesome fact, Christian Patterson's "Redheaded Peckerwood" is the stuff of photo book legend.Source: Christian Patterson Chronicling the bloody chain of events surrounding 1950’s teen serial-killing duo Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate, Christian Patterson’s “Redheaded Peckerwood” has proven so popular that the first edition sold out soon after its publication, leaving many photo book lovers eagerly anticipating the release of the third edition earlier this year–along with a few additional macabre goodies.

Indonesia's Toraja people keep their dead relatives in their homes, treating them as if they were alive until they can be given expensive, elaborate funerals. A closeup of a long deceased Torajan who has been brought out of his grave for celebration. Muslianshahmasrie/Flickr A Toraja family takes great care cleaning the corpse of a loved one. Muslianshahmasrie/Flickr A Toraja family carries out the caskets of their deceased loved ones. Muslianshahmasrie/Flickr Family members stand over the deceased loved ones who will be cleaned and given new clothes before being returned to their tombs.

The fascinating history of the mistletoe tradition and the truth about the plant under which we steal kisses: it actually sucks the life out of trees. Source: Giphy Mistletoe, the bellwether of romantic holiday traditions, is actually semiparasitic plant. That’s right, the plant under which we are excited to steal kisses is actually known among horticultural circles for latching onto a tree and sucking all the life out of it. That’s not how it became synonymous with festive romance, though.

Under the careful hands of Chris Maynard, feathers that have been discarded or shed are transformed, cut, and shaped to become incredible feather art.Source: This is Colossal Using feathers as his medium of choice, Chris Maynard has joined the ranks of artists like Tanaka Tatsuya and Seon Ghi Bahk, who are known for creating art from unique materials and methods. Under the careful hands of Maynard, ordinary feathers are sliced and trimmed until they create miniature scenes dotted with birds in flight and on perches.

Agnès Sorel rose to unprecedented heights of power for a woman in medieval France, yet her opponents succeeded in leaving her remembered as a power-hungry harlot.Wikimedia CommonsJean Fouquet is said to have used Agnès Sorel for the model of the Virgin Mary, inciting a scandal. The legend of Agnès Sorel became such a staple of medieval French lore that it has become difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction. She was the object of envy, lust, and vicious gossip.

Unique to humans, happiness is one of the hardest emotions to define or understand. What do we really know about the science of happiness?Image Source: Pixabay Unlike other species, humans are equipped with the ability to consciously experience, and anticipate, a weird but pleasant sensation called happiness. But how do we make scientific sense of this phenomenon? From chemistry to psychology, here’s how scientists have attempted to explain the singular human emotion.