John Dillinger: Escape Plans, Bank Robberies, And Everything You Didn't Know About The Famous Crook

November 24, 2022

During the Great Depression, there were no superheroes, but there was a very real Robin Hood. John Dillinger was a b...

The Hays Code: Hollywood's Golden Age's Hard Rules, Explained

November 21, 2022

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 mora...

The Monster Study

September 14, 2022

Speech therapist talking with child. (vgajic/Getty Images) The Monster Study was an experiment intended to test the effects of stigma on childhood stuttering, but it mostly resulted in a whole lot of...

Poor Little Rich Girl: The Custody Battle For Gloria Vanderbilt And Her Trust Fund

August 12, 2022

Long before her name was on the back of your jeans or her son, Anderson Cooper, was giving you the news, Gloria Vanderbilt was a chil...

Going Out With A Bang: Babe Ruth Hits His Last Homer

May 25, 2022

Babe Ruth in uniform for the Boston Braves on March 17, 1935. (Bettmann/Getty Images) On May 25, 1935, the great Babe Ruth hit his 712th, 713th, and 714th career ho...

A Cave, Not A Crown: A Visit To The Princess Margaret Rose Cave

May 6, 2022

British royal succession being what it is, the younger siblings always seem to get the short end of the jewel-encrusted stick. Such was the case of Prin...

Olympic Hero Jesse Owens

February 13, 2022

Jesse Owens soars through the air with the greatest of ease for a distance of 26 feet 5-221/64 inches, bettering the Olympic mark, and winning the event at the games in Berlin. (Bettmann/Getty I...

The Unexpected Connection Between The Dewey Decimal System And America's First Olympics

February 3, 2022

On February 3, 1932, the third Winter Olympic Games opened, marking the first time that the United States hosted a winter Olympi...

Machine Gun Kelly Sentenced To Life In Prison

October 12, 2021

American gangster George Kelly Barnes (1895–1954), A.K.A. Machine Gun Kelly, with his wife, Kathryn, at their trial for the kidnapping of businessman Charles F. Urschel at t...

The Unbelievable Comeback Story Of Elizabeth Robinson Schwartz, Olympic Heroine And Accident Victim

September 8, 2021

Betty Robinson, A.K.A. Elizabeth Schwartz, in the 100-meter race at the 1928 Olympic games. (Library of Congress/Corbis...

Superman Action Comics 1938 Premieres The World's First Iconic Superhero

April 18, 2021

The last son of Krypton made his first comic book appearance in Action Comics #1 in June 1938, but he was gestating long before he appeared on ...

Is Pluto A Planet? How Clyde Tombaugh Discovered Pluto In 1930

February 18, 2021

On February 18, 1930, a young, eager, self-taught astronomer named Clyde Tombaugh made an observation that changed the way we think about our galaxy as w...

The Phantom: The World's First Superhero Premiered In 1936

February 17, 2021

The Phantom is a rarity among superheroes. As one of the first costumed superheroes, he paved the way for characters like Spider-Man and Batman while creator...

The Anti-Fascist Congress of the United Front Who Were Sent To Concentration Camps Soon After

October 20, 2020

Fascism as an ideology came into major prominence in the early 20th century when Italian dictator Benito Mussolini founded...

John Dillinger: Escape Plans, Bank Robberies, And Everything You Didn't Know About The Famous Crook

July 22, 2020

During the Great Depression, there were no superheroes, but there was a very real Robin Hood. John Dillinger was a b...

Maurice Tillet: The Inspiration For Shrek Had A Condition Called Acromegaly

July 21, 2020

Voiced by Mike Myers, Shrek is the reluctant hero of the 2001 fairy tale comedy of the same name, which was based on a children's book by Wi...

The 21st Amendment: All The Craziest Things That Happened When Prohibition Ended

April 27, 2020

Prohibition was an era unlike anything America had ever experienced. This 13-year period of nationwide state control over the brewing, ...