Free Republic

In the summer of 1495, King Hans of Denmark and Norway anchored his warship off the southern coast of Sweden. While Hans was on land, his vessel—known as Gribshunden or Griffen—mysteriously caught fire and sank to the bottom of the Baltic Sea.Hans was on his way to Kalmar, where he hoped to be elected king of Sweden and reunite the broader Nordic region under a single ruler. As such, Hans brought many opulent status symbols, including luxurious foods and spices, to help persuade the Swedish leadership to agree to his plan.Remarkably, many of those foods and spices have survived underwater...

A recipe for vegetable soup has been shared by Sri Lankan Facebook users alongside a claim it will "cure" Covid-19 infection within three days. The claim is false: medical professionals said there is no evidence the purported remedy can cure Covid-19. SNIP The text in the post reads: "This Soup recipe was taught by Wickramaarachchi indigenous medicine doctor. I gave this soup to all the neighbouring children when they tested positive and they were all cured. "Radish, carrots, cabbages, pumpkins, beets - take them all in equal amounts and add 12 peppercorns. "Its okay to mix in curry leaves. Do...