• The Crazy True Story Of The 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake

    The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, while not the "Big One," was a complete catastrophe, nonetheless. In a mere 15 seconds, per Britannica, the 6.9 magnitude quake caused $6 billion in property damage, injured 3,800 people, killed 67, and reshaped the face of San Francisco forever.

    By Richard Milner October 7th, 2020 Read More
  • What It Was Really Like Sailing On The Mayflower

    When the Pilgrims first set sail on the Mayflower in August 1620 to the New World, they expected a month-long trip. However, what it was really like sailing on the Mayflower was far different. Pilgrims on the Mayflower ran out of fresh food, water, and had to occupy themselves with games.

    By Jeff Somers October 7th, 2020 Read More
  • The Time Disney Got Into A War With The Newspaper Industry

    An LA Times article called out Disney for not paying its fair share to the city. Anaheim owns the parking garage that Disneyland uses for its visitors, and the city only charges the mega-corporation $1 per year to lease it. Meanwhile, Disneyland pulls in multi-million-dollar revenue every year.

    By Nick Vrchoticky October 7th, 2020 Read More
  • This Was Thomas Jefferson's Strange Fear During His Presidency

    There's a lot to be said about the United States of America's third president, Thomas Jefferson. But presidents aren't superhuman. Jefferson had one fear, in particular, was quite strange given the man's very public career path. This was Thomas Jefferson's strange fear during his presidency.

    By Nick Vrchoticky October 6th, 2020 Read More
  • What Are October Surprises And What Do They Accomplish?

    Politico describes an October surprise as either "happenstance or deliberately orchestrated ... bombshells that scramble political calculus just as the stakes are at their highest." And it appears as though October 2020, like the rest of this bewildering year, won't be lacking in such events.

    By Cody Copeland October 6th, 2020 Read More
  • Who Was Walter Reed?

    In a time when we are beginning to challenge the figures of the past whom we have chosen to lionize either by erecting statues or giving their names to streets, it seems that Walter Reed, whose name adorns the Presidential hospital at Bethesda, is an utterly apt and timely choice.

    By S. Flannagan October 6th, 2020 Read More
  • The Bizarre Mystery Behind The Numbers Stations

    Long a mystery, numbers stations are radio stations that play coded messages and anyone with a shortwave radio can listen in. The bizarre mystery behind the numbers stations is that nobody knows who transmits them. Numbers stations broadcast numbers or codes for intelligence officers and spies.

    By Asher Cantrell October 5th, 2020 Read More
  • Why Historians Hate People Upscaling Film

    The trend of "upscaling" historic film –- which includes the process of colorization, improving the resolution to 4k, and standardizing the frame rate at 60 frames-per-second -– has become a huge hit on YouTube. Why do historians dislike it?

    By S. Flannagan October 5th, 2020 Read More
  • The Crazy History Of Cheating In Chess

    As head of the FIDE, the International Chess Foundation, Arkady Dvorkovich stated in a New York Times article, "No matter what the game is, when there are benefits from winning, you have cheating."

    By Richard Milner October 5th, 2020 Read More
  • The Time Bob Marley Was Almost Assassinated

    There's a lot of material to work with to piece together what happened in the days leading up to gunmen opening fire on Marley's home, but even so, the story is complex, and the final truth unclear.

    By Richard Milner October 5th, 2020 Read More
  • The Messed Up History Of Tuberculosis

    Tuberculosis, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is one of the deadliest infections a human can get. Here's the messed up history.

    By Marina Manoukian October 5th, 2020 Read More
  • The Truth About Kamala Harris And Jill Biden's Relationship

    Kamala Harris already knew the Biden family well before the 2020 presidential race. During her time as California Attorney General from 2011-2017, she worked closely with the Bidens' son Beau, who served as the Attorney General of Delaware from 2007 until his tragic death from brain cancer in 2015.

    By Cody Copeland October 2nd, 2020 Read More
  • The Untold Truth Of Kamala Harris And Joe Biden's Relationship

    Kamala Harris's friendship with Biden's late son, Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015, and their mutual grief over the loss, helped mend the rocky relationship. The Guardian reports that to Harris, Beau was an "incredible friend and colleague." Both served as state attorneys general.

    By Cody Copeland October 2nd, 2020 Read More
  • This Is Why Benjamin Harrison Was Afraid Of Electricity

    Harrison made a key update to the historical White House: Namely, he ordered electric power to be installed. Harrison himself, however, wanted nothing to do with electricity or electric lights. Or at least, he wanted nothing to do with the lights' switches.

    By Richard Milner October 2nd, 2020 Read More
  • The Truth About Miami's Stone Circle

    When the remaining sections of the earth were uncovered, Riggs was right. The dig revealed a perfect circle, right in the middle of downtown Miami. The circle is made up of a ring of 24 smaller basins, cut into the limestone bedrock, that combine to form a full circle that is 38 feet in diameter.

    By Aimee Lamoureux October 1st, 2020 Read More
  • The Truth About The Proud Boys

    During the debacle that was the first 2020 U.S. presidential debate, President Trump refused to condemn white supremacy in America, instead appearing to endorse far-right group the Proud Boys. But, who are the Proud Boys? This is the truth about the Proud Boys.

    By Cody Copeland October 1st, 2020 Read More
  • The Mystery Behind The Big Circles

    The circles were first spotted by aircraft in 1920 by a British commander named Lionel Rees, relates The Washington Post. Rees wrote about the three circles he saw for the journal Antiquity but, despite how mysterious the rings were, they inspired little research until a photography project.

    By Emilia David October 1st, 2020 Read More
  • The One Thing Elon Musk Is Most Terrified Of

    There is one thing that keeps tech billionaire Elon Musk up at night, and it's not spiders or ghosts or dying in a fiery hyperloop accident. This is the one thing Elon Musk is most terrified of.

    By Cody Copeland October 1st, 2020 Read More
  • The Truth About Abraham Lincoln's Inventions

    Lincoln is not just a good politician; he was also something of an inventor, dabbling in mechanical creativity. And he even managed a patent for one of his inventions, said Time Magazine, the first (and so far, only) president to hold a patent.

    By Emilia David October 1st, 2020 Read More
  • This Is The Only Living Person Who Knows The Recipe For Campari

    The unusual liqueur has been around since 1860, when Milan-based café owner Gaspare Campari bottled some of the stuff in his basement, as recounted by Saveur. Its candied vermilion hue, spiced yet bitter taste retains a refined, unique quality that beckons the drinker to challenge their senses.

    By Richard Milner September 30th, 2020 Read More
  • The Truth About Calvin Coolidge's Strange Obsession With Vaseline

    Besides Vaseline in particular, Coolidge had some interesting ideas about health in general. The website Medicare Supplement ranks him as the 22nd healthiest president in history, earning a grade of C and receiving the dubious distinction of "pickiest eater of all presidents."

    By Karen Corday September 30th, 2020 Read More
  • Leopold And Loeb: The Truth About America's Original Evil Geniuses

    Loeb wanted to make the newspapers with a crime so sensational that the press couldn't help but take notice. Although Leopold would later claim that he only went along with the plan "to please Dick" (via PBS), he had his own interest in committing the perfect crime.

    By Aimee Lamoureux September 30th, 2020 Read More
  • The Strange Prediction Made About 21st Century Women

    "The woman of the year 2000 will be an outsize Diana, anthropologists and beauty experts predict. She will be more than six feet tall, wear a size 11 shoe, have shoulders like a wrestler and muscles like a truck driver." According to Roe, women would have "Amazonian" proportions.

    By Daniel Leonard September 30th, 2020 Read More