He's still in prison for a crime that doesn't exist any more

From Scientific American: "A bipartisan group of Texas legislators has just done something extraordinary: they have unanimously subpoenaed Robert Roberson, convicted in 2003 of killing his daughter based on the now-discredited theory of shaken baby syndrome, to testify before them five days after he was scheduled to be executed, effectively forcing the state to keep him alive. Roberson is one of many people who have been imprisoned for injuries to a child that prosecutors argue resulted from violent shaking. But research has exposed serious flaws in this idea, and dozens of other defendants who have been wrongly convicted under this theory have been exonerated. Yet Roberson remains on death row, even as politicians, scientists and others—including the lead detective who investigated him—have spoken out on his behalf."

The story behind this Turkish subdivision of Disney-style castles

From The Guardian: "When drone footage of the complex of 732 castles appeared online a few years ago, they quickly became a viral phenomenon: there are dozens of YouTube videos marvelling at the cluster of Disney-like chateaux. Since then, the mystery of whether they will ever be finished has only deepened. The castles were supposed to bring a welcome injection of Gulf money to this part of Turkey. On paper, it was a tempting pitch for prospective purchasers from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Instead, since construction abruptly stopped in 2016, the project has become a bizarre white elephant. As the scandal has dragged on, it has sparked multiple lawsuits, one attempted suicide, and even a minor diplomatic incident between Turkey and Kuwait."

An Austrian master thief jumped from a plane to steal a famous diamond

From Ann Marie Ackermann: "The night lights of Vienna swayed 12,500 feet beneath him as Gerald Blanchard perched at the airplane hatch. Once the Schönbrunn Palace came into sight, he signaled the pilot to slow down. Then Blanchard adjusted his parachute one last time. A nighttime jump to a city roof counted among the most dangerous types of skydives, but Blanchard was no ordinary thief. The theft he was about to accomplish – the Köchert Diamond heist – has taken its place among the most daring jewelry thefts ever. The day before, he’d taken a palace tour. On display glittered Austria’s most famous jewel, the last remaining Köchert Diamond, one of the jeweled stars Empress Elisabeth used to wear in her hair. Blanchard hatched a plan to steal it."

Three brothers from Florida helped create the PC and the video-game industry

From FTNews: "In 1970, a North Miami High School senior named Scott Adams enrolled at Florida Tech. Adams’ younger brothers, Richard and Eric would follow. At the time, no one in sleepy Melbourne, Florida, could have foreseen that this trio of Florida Tech undergrads would work a digital revolution. In 1974, Richard built the world’s first 16-bit personal computer. Eric programmed the machine. A year later, Scott authored the first graphic video game for a personal computer. In 1978, Scott, widely regarded as the “father of the whole computer gaming industry,” launched Adventure International. Today, 2.5 billion people play video games whose ancestry can be traced to the Adams brothers."

Composer Joseph Haydn's skull was stolen and went missing for 145 years

From Wikipedia: "Haydn died in Vienna on May 31, 1809, after a long illness. Following the burial, two men conspired to bribe the gravedigger and thereby sever and steal the dead composer's head. These were Joseph Carl Rosenbaum, a former secretary of the Esterházy family (Haydn's employers), and Johann Nepomuk Peter, governor of the provincial prison of Lower Austria. Peter and Rosenbaum's motivation was an interest in phrenology, a now-discredited scientific movement that attempted to associate mental capacities with aspects of cranial anatomy. Of particular interest to phrenology was the anatomy of individuals held to have exhibited great genius during their lifetime."

An incredible light show done with choreographed drones

Acknowledgements: I find a lot of these links myself, but I also get some from other newsletters that I rely on as "serendipity engines," such as The Morning News from Rosecrans Baldwin and Andrew Womack, Jodi Ettenberg's Curious About Everything, Dan Lewis's Now I Know, Robert Cottrell and Caroline Crampton's The Browser, Clive Thompson's Linkfest, Noah Brier and Colin Nagy's Why Is This Interesting, Maria Popova's The Marginalian, Sheehan Quirke AKA The Cultural Tutor, the Smithsonian magazine, and JSTOR Daily. If you come across something interesting that you think should be included here, please feel free to email me at mathew @ mathewingram dot com