• The Bizarre Truth About Hooters' Airline

    By 2003, Hooters had been operating as a successful restaurant chain since the 1980s and was "flush with cash." Looking to expand the brand, Brooks bought the North Carolina-based charter airline Pace Airlines and refurbished the fleet of planes with Hooters logos.

    By Karen Corday December 9th, 2020 Read More
  • How Do People Celebrate Kwanzaa?

    Kwanzaa got its start in 1966 when Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor and chairman of Black Studies at California University, wanted African Americans to build community after the Watts Rebellion, a six-day riot in August of 1965 that killed 34 people and caused $40 million in damage.

    By Sandra Mardenfeld December 8th, 2020 Read More
  • The Accidental Origin Of The Snow Globe

    Surgical instruments mechanic Erwin Perzy of Vienna, Austria, was performing experiments in order to improve the brightness of then newly invented electric light bulbs. Shoemakers at the time used the trick of putting candles in front of glass globes of water in order to create a diffused spotlight.

    By Karen Corday December 8th, 2020 Read More
  • How Was Christmas Celebrated During The Spanish Flu Of 1918?

    The holiday season of 2020 is missing many of its traditional gatherings and celebrations due to the global pandemic caused by COVID-19. This is not, however, the first time in history that the holidays have been interrupted by a widespread and very contagious disease.

    By Karen Corday December 8th, 2020 Read More
  • The Real Reason The Winchester Mystery House Was Built

    Come into a tremendous fortune under no action of her own, and bearing not only the weight of the Winchester name, but the knowledge of how many deaths her money came from. Such was the dilemma faced by Sarah Winchester.

    By Richard Milner December 8th, 2020 Read More
  • All The Times Rasputin Should Have Died

    It wasn't until after Rasputin seemed to improve the Tsar's son's hemophiliac condition that the country would embrace his reputation. He became a favorite in Tsar Nicholas II's court, until his personality turned certain important people against him.

    By Nick Vrchoticky December 8th, 2020 Read More
  • How The Widespread Killing Of Black Cats Led To The Black Death

    It was even more common to blame animals for the spread of the disease, and 14th century Europeans became completely fixated on the wrong animal. Instead of trying to eradicate the disease-filled vermin that were ravaging the cities, some decided black cats were to blame for all their problems.

    By Aimee Lamoureux December 8th, 2020 Read More
  • The Truth About The Ancient Tradition Of Chinese Footbinding

    Women in ancient China, beginning in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) up until the early 20th century, bound their feet as a means to attract better marriage prospects. This made their feet incredibly small, but it also meant their feet become gnarled, broken, and painful.

    By Emilia David December 8th, 2020 Read More
  • How Life Would Be Different If The Great Depression Never Happened

    Between 1929 and 1939, the entire industrialized world was caught in the grip of the biggest financial crisis in history -- the Great Depression. While the Great Depression was horrible for those who lived through it, the U.S. would look very different today if it hadn't happened.

    By DB Kelly December 7th, 2020 Read More
  • The Mysterious Organization Behind The Escape Of Nazi War Criminals

    While it might seem pretty straightforward that after the end of WWII, the Nazi party needed to pay the price for their crimes, it didn't exactly work that way. Many fled Europe in the aftermath of the war and ended up in South America. How they got there is both bizarre and terrifying.

    By DB Kelly December 7th, 2020 Read More
  • This Was The Unluckiest Neanderthal In History

    The world of the Neanderthals was a near-endless winter and there were many ways to die, as the unluckiest Neanderthal in history once found out. Some deaths, and this still holds true today, are simply the result of an unfortunate circumstance. This was the unluckiest Neanderthal in history.

    By Nick Vrchoticky December 7th, 2020 Read More
  • The Weird Way Hunting Was Done In The Stone Age

    When Wisconsin University researchers examined a Stone-Age butchery site in Tanzania, they found that the site's animal remains indicated that those animals had been specifically targeted and killed by human hunters. Hunting is apparently far older than we realized.

    By Daniel Leonard December 4th, 2020 Read More
  • What Life Was Really Like For Neanderthals

    Neanderthals existed from roughly 400,000 years ago until 40,000 years ago. Though they lived in the Stone Age, they didn't have rocks for brains. Here's what life was like for our Stone Age relatives.

    By A. C. Grimes December 4th, 2020 Read More
  • The Untold Truth Of Mar-A-Lago

    Mar-a-Lago is President Donald Trump's primary residence, a resort club for the extremely wealthy, and an estate with more history than you might expect.

    By Jenna Inouye December 4th, 2020 Read More
  • Branding: The Truth About Cattle Logos

    Long before the word "branding" was used to describe the click-boosting tactics of Instacelebs, it was used by cowherds to keep track of field-roaming cattle (a funny comparison, to be sure). And we mean "long before," as in pre-written language scrawled on cave walls thousands of years ago.

    By Richard Milner December 4th, 2020 Read More
  • The Truth About Eastern Europe's Terrifying Version Of Santa Claus

    Frau Perchta's role in Christmas, though, has changed over the years. It turns out that she tends to be most active between Christmas and the Epiphany, so people believed she's more of a holiday thing. Frau Perchta preyed on lazy people year-'round before becoming a general threat against children.

    By Emilia David December 3rd, 2020 Read More
  • Inside Julius Caesar's Connection To Priesthood

    Julius Caesar is the most famous Roman who ever lived, but he tends to be more famous for some things than others. Caesar is remembered as a general and a politician, but not as a priest, a title that Caesar held multiple times. Let's look inside Julius Caesar's connection to priesthood.

    By Benito Cereno December 2nd, 2020 Read More
  • Who Really Were The Three Wise Men?

    We know they brought gifts, but most people aren't too familiar with the characters beyond that. When you hear the visitors mentioned in Christmas carols -- for instance, "We Three Kings," posted on YouTube -- they're often described as being, well, kings who follow a star from far off lands.

    By Nick Vrchoticky December 2nd, 2020 Read More
  • What It's Really Like To Celebrate Christmas At The White House

    The tradition had very humble beginnings. Pre-20th century presidential administrations didn't officially observe Christmas. The president and his family traditionally decorated "modestly with greens and privately celebrated the Yuletide with family and friends."

    By Karen Corday December 2nd, 2020 Read More
  • What It's Really Like To Celebrate Christmas When You're At War

    Christmas is still celebrated by soldiers during times of war. That doesn't stop the conflict that's going on, and the stress of combat doesn't dissipate for the holidays. The celebrations that are typical to the military are nothing like they are stateside, but there's still some holiday cheer.

    By Nick Vrchoticky December 2nd, 2020 Read More