Plague Masks: A Brief History Of The Strangest Medical Mask We Ever Used
Medical History | April 5, 2020
As if the Black Plague—the terrible pandemic of bubonic plague that decimated medieval Europe—wasn't terrifying enough all by itself, the "doct...
Mysophobia: History Of The Fear Of Germs, Washing Hands, And Famous Germaphobes
Medical History | April 4, 2020
A paramedic wears a protective mask and complete sterile dressing to avoid contact with COVID-19. (Photo by Olivier Matthys/Getty Images) ...
Humans In Dark Isolation Develop 48-Hour Sleep Cycles, Sleep 30 Hours
Historical Facts | April 3, 2020
Isolation messes with our heads. Humans who lose contact with other people and the normal stimuli that occurs during the day react in strange ways. One...
Howard Hughes: Facts And Stories You Didn't Know (All The Weird Stuff)
People | April 2, 2020
Long before the term "social distancing" entered our everyday vocabulary, there have been people who chose to self-isolate. We called them reclus...
History Of The Gas Mask: How Need Brought Us The Weirdest-Looking Common Tool
Artifacts | April 1, 2020
The gas mask has come to be an international symbol of wartime atrocities, but it began as a tool for people tasked with unenviable and dangero...
The Hays Code: Hollywood's Golden Age's Hard Rules, Explained
Movies | March 31, 2020
If you pull up most American movies from the 1930s and '40s, you'll find that they're sweet to the point of cavity-inducing, with a hardened spine of morality ...
The Mad Bomber: George Metesky's Bombs Terrorized New York City
People | March 30, 2020
As millions of people file for unemployment and still more lack health insurance, it's easy to understand, here in 2020, why someone might get salty wit...
Terracotta Army: The 1974 Discovery Of 8,000 Ancient Clay Warriors
Artifacts | March 29, 2020
The Terracotta Army guards the Emperor's tomb. (Photo by API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images) Like many stories of fantastic discoveries from the past, t...
Charles 'Pretty Boy' Floyd: The Depression-Era Robin Hood
People | March 28, 2020
One of the most colorful Depression-era criminals was the cherub-faced, Robin Hood–esque Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd. Floyd's love for his machine gun and habi...
Gary M. Heidnik: The Real-Life 'Buffalo Bill' Who Kept Women In A Pit
People | March 27, 2020
Buffalo Bill—the unhinged villain of Silence Of The Lambs, not the greatest showman of the wild west—feels too evil to be real. However, the most frigh...
The Gympie: Stinging Trees Make People Kill Themselves
Medical History | March 26, 2020
We're gonna say it: Plants are jerks. Considering that we need them to live, they don't even have the decency to taste good, and sometimes, they flat-out kill us...
'Hillbilly' Music: Billboard Debuted Country Hits For The First Time
Historical Art | March 25, 2020
Today's country and rock music owe their beginnings to "hillbilly" music. (Photo by D. Corson/ClassicStock/Getty Images) For a long time, country mu...
Harry Houdini: Stories, Myths, And Facts About Magic's Godfather
People | March 24, 2020
Harry Houdini may have passed away in 1936, but he remains the most well-known magician of the 20th century. He was the scourge of false mystics and imitato...
Okay Etymology: Why Do We Say "Okay" And Where Did It Come From?
1800s | March 23, 2020
As one of our most commonly used colloquialisms, "okay" is so much a part of our language and culture that it is hard to imagine a time when it wasn't ...
FDR Ends Prohibition: The Immediate Aftermath And How The U.S. Settled Into Normalcy
1930s | March 22, 2020
View of men and women celebrating the repeal of Prohibition with a toast and bell-ringing, Chicago, 1933. (Chicago History Museum/Gett...
Jimmy Carter Announces The 1980 Olympics Boycott
Events | March 21, 2020
The opening ceremony of the 1980 Olympics. (RIA Novosti archive, image #487025 / Sergey Guneev / CC-BY-SA 3.0) This summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo are currently in lim...
Doomsday Bunkers: These Are The Coolest Bunkers Ever
Artifacts | March 20, 2020
Everyone on Earth will someday have to confront the fact that they will die. Some people leave it at that, content to literally shrug off this mortal coil. Others ...
Why The Past Smelled Absolutely Horrible
Weird History | March 19, 2020
It's time to face facts: People are disgusting. It's not that you're a lazy or unhygienic person, it's just that the human body is a cesspool and there's nothing to be done about i...
A Brief History Of Toilet Paper
Artifacts | March 18, 2020
TP, bathroom tissue, mummy wraps, bum stuff—whatever you want to call it, toilet paper is a big business. In the 21st century, it's an industry estimated to be worth $30 billion dollars, an...
Saint Patrick Blue: He Wasn't Always Green
Ancient History | March 17, 2020
The altar at Saul Church before the annual Saint Patrick's Day service shows the patron saint of Ireland wearing a blue robe, not a green one. (Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) ...
My Lai Massacre Details: How The U.S. Became War Criminals During The Vietnam War
Vietnam War | March 16, 2020
Have you ever wondered why Vietnam veterans are regarded as "baby killers" by certain political factions? It was because of the My Lai...
The Assassination Of Julius Caesar: History And Stories You Might Not Know About
Ancient History | March 15, 2020
The death of Caesar. (Leemage/UIG via Getty Images) Beware the Ides of March! If you're like most of us, you were introduced to this phr...
The History Of The FBI's 'Ten Most Wanted' List
Recent History | March 14, 2020
For the last 70 years, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list has put the fates of some of the most hardened and dangerous criminals in th...
The Irish Republican Army (IRA): A Troubled History
Recent History | March 12, 2020
The history of the IRA, or Irish Republican Army, is long and complicated, filled with religious tensions, political uprisings, and lots of mayhem. So who exactly a...
Horatio Nelson's Body: When The British Pickled Their Dead Leader In A Barrel To Bring Him Home
Military History | March 11, 2020
At the Battle of Trafalgar during the Napoleonic War, Britain's most beloved naval hero, Horatio Nelson, was struck by a musk...
The Weird History Of Babies In Advertising
1800s | March 10, 2020
It's no secret that babies are popular. As a species, we have about 258 of them every minute, so if we weren't designed to find their squishy little faces adorable enough to...
The Notorious B.I.G.: Theories And What Really Happened
Events | March 9, 2020
American rapper Notorious B.I.G. attends the 1995 Billboard Music Awards, New York, New York, December 6, 1995. (Larry Busacca/WireImage/Getty Images) In the ear...
Ladies' Ordinaries: Women-Only Restaurants That Shielded Them From 19th-Century Men
1800s | March 8, 2020
The Gloppe patisserie on the Champs-Elysees, two women eating pastries, 1889, Jean Beraud. (M. Seemuller / De Agostini Picture Library ...
Alexander Graham Bell: Inventor Of The Telephone, International Hero
People | March 7, 2020
Although several noted inventors of the day, including Thomas Edison and Elisha Gray, were also tinkering with communication technology, it was Ale...
Aspirin: The History Behind The Heroin Addict Who Invented It
1800s | March 6, 2020
Not to alarm you, but those little white pills that make your headaches dissolve and soothe inflamed muscles have more in common with heroin than you think, i....
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