Who Was The Red Baron? Facts About The World War I 'Ace Of Aces' Manfred Von Richthofen
World War I | June 17, 2021
If the name Manfred von Richthofen doesn't ring a bell, it's probably because you know this World War I flying ace better by his...
Bat Boy: The Millennial Superstar Created By Weekly World News
1990s | June 15, 2021
The term "fake news" may be thrown around a lot these days, but there was a time when hilariously unreal stories were celebrated in grocery store pulp ta...
Did Voter Fraud Kill Edgar Allan Poe? The 'Cooping' Theory
1800s | June 13, 2021
American short story writer, poet, and critic Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), circa 1840. (MPI/Getty Images) The stories of Edgar Allan Poe are filled with fanta...
Did The Hanging Gardens Even Exist? The Most Mysterious Wonder Of The Ancient World
Ancient History | June 11, 2021
Of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only one of them, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, has remained elusive to archae...
Inside The Church Of Bones Made Of 40,000 Departed Humans
historical landmarks | June 9, 2021
The Sedlec Ossuary, better known in popular culture as the Church of Bones, is a small chapel located in the town of Kunta Horra in the Czech Republic. As wi...
'The Scream:' Facts And Stories About Edvard Munch's Iconic Painting
Historical Art | June 7, 2021
Munch made several versions of his famous painting, including this one in pastels. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images) Norwegian artist Edvard Munch's most we...
Chang And Eng: The Conjoined Twins Who Profited As 'Freaks' And Owned Slaves
1800s | June 5, 2021
The Siamese twins, Chang and Eng. (Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images) Conjoined twins are exceedingly rare, thought t...
Life Was Cheap In The U.S.S.R.: The 1982 Salang Tunnel Disaster
1980s | June 3, 2021
Local residents walk along with a donkey carrying water pots after heavy snowfall in Khanozai area some 75 kms in northeast of the provincial capital Quett...
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: How American Business Learned A Grim Lesson
1910s | June 1, 2021
Worker safety was not exactly a priority in the Industrial Age factories of the early 20th century, when many businesses sacrificed employ...
Has Chernobyl, Nuclear Disaster Site, Become A Haven For Wild Animals?
Animals in History | May 31, 2021
On April 26, 1986, a nuclear meltdown at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant led to the worst nuclear disaster in world history, expelling 400 time...
What's A Shibboleth? Origin And Meaning Of The Biblical Word Test
Historical Facts | May 30, 2021
Antique Bible texts in exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum. (Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images) "Shibboleth," when translated directly f...
Not Funny: The 1962 Tanganyika Laughing Epidemic Struck Hundreds Of Children
1960s | May 28, 2021
On January 31, 1962, a trio of giggly girls at a boarding school in the Tanzanian village of Kashasha started laughing—and didn't stop. As ...
Spring-Heeled Jack: The Jumping Fiend Who Terrorized Victorian England
1800s | May 26, 2021
Spring-Heeled Jack, a devil-like character of English urban legend, escapes from an angry mob at Newport Arch in Lincoln. Engraving from Illustrated...
The Man Who Made Prohibition Happen After Being Stabbed In The Leg By A Drunk Person
People | May 22, 2021
Agents pour liquor into sewer following raid during height of Prohibition, 1921. (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via...
Why Do Cats Sit In Boxes? The Origin Of "If I Fits, I Sits"
Animals in History | May 20, 2021
Cat inside a cardboard box. (Felipe Rodriguez/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) "If I fits, I sits" is a true adage of the internet age, but wh...
In Many Hispanic Countries, The Tooth Fairy Is A Mouse
1800s | May 18, 2021
A house mouse sitting on the glove of a biologist (Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images) In the United States, the Tooth Fairy buys children's teeth fo...
Rodney Dangerfield And How He Pretty Much Invented Stand-Up Comedy As We Know It
People | May 16, 2021
Comedian and film star Rodney Dangerfield poses during a 1987 Beverly Hills, California, photo portrait session to promote his return to L...
Birth Control Is Legalized In The U.S.A. In 1960
1960s | May 14, 2021
The contraceptive pill first became available in 1960. It uses synthetic female hormones to control fertility and became commercially viable. (SSPL/Getty Images) The mo...
David Attenborough: A Voice You Know, And A Man You Don't (His Life Story)
People | May 12, 2021
TV presenter David Attenborough walking to work on a snowy morning the day after his appointment as controller of BBC2, March 4, 1965. (Ron Burt...
The First Federal Prison For Women Was Opened In 1928, West Virginia (And How It Went)
1920s | May 8, 2021
Nestled in the rolling hills of Alderson, West Virginia, sits the very first federal prison for women in the United States, the F...
Hirohito: Japan's Emperor During World War II (Who Almost Sent Bioweapons To The U.S.)
World War II | May 6, 2021
Emperor Hirohito in dress uniform, 1935. (Unknown author/Wikimedia Commons) Whether you know him as Michinomiya Hirohito or Empero...
Radical Republicans: The Anti-Slavery Group Who Pressured Lincoln Into Abolishing It
1800s | May 4, 2021
Political cartoon by Thomas Nast (1840-1902) depicting the Republican vote, represented by Uncle Sam riding an elephant, walking over ...
Ulysses S. Grant: President, General, Alcoholic, And Protector Of Slaves
Civil War | May 2, 2021
The 18th President of the United States, Ulysses S. Grant. (Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons) Commanding General of the U.S. Army, Secretar...
How The Polio Vaccine Was Developed (And All The Hiccups Along The Way)
1900s | April 30, 2021
Child vaccinated with Dr. Salk’s vaccine against polio in 1956. (Jean-Pierre Grisel/RDB/ullstein bild via Getty Images) Polio has plagued humans ...
Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi FRSA: Inventor Of Long-Distance Radio
1800s | April 28, 2021
Marconi demonstrating apparatus he used in his first long-distance radio transmissions in the 1890s. The transmitter is at r...
The Easter Rising: Insurrection Within Ireland During World War I
1910s | April 26, 2021
Irish Citizen Army group lined up outside ITGWU HQ under a banner proclaiming "We serve neither King nor Kaiser, but Ireland!" (National Library of Irela...
A History of Shoe-Tossing: Why Do People Throw Shoes Over Power Lines?
Weird History | April 24, 2021
Three pairs of shoes hang from power lines near 19th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. in Long Beach. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via G...
Ivan The Terrible (And Why He Wasn't That Terrible)
People | April 22, 2021
The Czar Ivan the Terrible, 1590, (1903). Artist Hans Wengel. (Print Collector/Getty Images) As one of Russia's most notorious rulers, Ivan the Terrible has long bee...
Indian People Brought Marijuana to Jamaica And Named It Ganja
Ancient History | April 21, 2021
Bhang eaters before two huts, c. 1790. (San Diego Museum of Art/Wikimedia Commons) "Where does marijuana come from?" sounds like the kind of question one w...
Female Pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read And How They Escaped Death Sentences
British History | April 20, 2021
Anne Bonny and Mary Read. (Stefano Bianchetti/Corbis via Getty Images) Hollywood depicts female pirates as lusty, tight-bodiced hotties who ...
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