The Clever Hans Phenomenon

November 3, 2021

A horse flicks water off its hoof at Windsor Racecourse on July 19, 2021 in Windsor, England. (Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images) Animals are much smarter than we give them credit for, but just ho...

Mary Shelley And Frankenstein

October 28, 2021

Frankenstein's monster. (smartboy10/Getty Images) In 1816, the volcano Mount Tambora blew its top, creating what was known throughout the world as the "year without a summer" due to the a...

Marie Laveau, The Voodoo Queen

October 20, 2021

A needle-punched voodoo doll stands in front of a bright fire. (Rainer Fuhrmann/EyeEm/Getty Images) If there was ever a true queen of Voodoo, it was Marie Laveau, a Creole woman born in...

The First Horror Movie Was Made In 1896

October 18, 2021

The early French cinematographer Georges Melies playing the role of a magician with a female assistant. (Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images) It's easy to f...

Lemuria: The Other Lost Continent

October 14, 2021

A general view of the Anse Georgette beach on in Praslin Island, Seychelles, where the lost continent of Lemuria is said to have been located. (Phil Inglis/Getty Images) We're all fam...

The Not-So-Black-And-White History Of The Tuxedo

October 10, 2021

(Hulton Archive/Getty Images) The tuxedo is a man's go-to outfit for weddings, proms, and evenings at the opera, but who's responsible for this uniquely stylish suit? I...

Pilt Carin Ersdotter: History's Hottest Milkmaid

October 2, 2021

Milkmaid with cow, Jan van Ossenbeeck, 1647–1674. (Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Scarlett Johansson may have topped People magazine's list of the...

How This Black Entrepreneur Changed The Baking Industry

September 16, 2021

Bread machine with bread. (Pavel Ševela/Wikimedia Commons) If you were one of the people who jumped onto the homemade bread-making train during the COVID-19 pand...

The Hawaiian Gazette: The First Hawaiian Newspaper Published

September 4, 2021

The Summer Residence Of The Late King Kamehameha V. At Waikiki, 1873 Engraving. (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) On Septe...

The Morgan Affair: A Tale Of Secret Societies, Kidnapping, And America’s First Third Political Par...

August 31, 2021

Picturesque History of Freemasonry (1844), Reception of an apprentice. (Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Im...

The Granger Movement Of The 1860s

August 25, 2021

Vignette inspired by the Granger movement depicts a farmer with a plough and two horses, asserting the importance of the farmer in American society. Dated 1875. (Photo12/Universal Image...

The Real Life Of The Legend: Johnny Appleseed

August 11, 2021

A United States postage stamp depicting American apple tree planter John Chapman, a.k.a. Johnny Appleseed (1774- 1845) in front of a large red apple, released in 1966. (Phot...

History Of The County Fair

August 1, 2021

(Alex Camara/Europa Press via Getty Images) As late summer rolls around, county fair season is in full swing. It's a tradition as popular in rural America as the country music concerts and e...

The Burning Of Washington: When The British Attacked The White House

July 19, 2021

Burning of Washington, Paul de Thoyras. (Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons) The War of 1812 erupted after a series of trade disputes, thanks to ...

The Invention Of Aspirin

July 1, 2021

Aspirin tablets spilled from a bottle. (Chris Walton/South China Morning Post via Getty Images) Since 1899, aspirin has been touted as a wonder drug, but people have been using a natural form ...

Policarpa: The Teenage Spy

June 29, 2021

Policarpa Salavarrieta. (José María Espinosa Prieto/Wikipedia Commons) Policarpa Salavarrieta, seamstress, spy, and heroine of Colombian independence, was born January 26, 1795 in the small ...

Did Voter Fraud Kill Edgar Allan Poe? The 'Cooping' Theory

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...