Historically speaking, it's never been easy to convince Catholics and Protestants to agree on things. However, in the late 1400s, the two denominations put their differences aside and essentially started an interfaith book club.
Read More
Vikings. The word conjures a host of images in popular imagination: brutal, burly savages wielding axes and howling their way through coastal raids, clad in equal parts dirt and animal skins, and sporting questionable hygiene. However, the Vikings were a far more nuanced society than many realize.
Read More
The Roman Empire at its height spanned all the way through the tip of modern day Scotland, down to encompass all of Europe, out to Russia and into Turkey, and along the northern African coast. But did the Romans have any idea what that empire actually looked like?
Read More
Kraken. "Nessy," the Loch Ness Monster. Soe Orm from Scandinavia. The Great American Sea Serpent. That shark from Jaws. Ancient myths and modern stories of water-bound monsters abound in human consciousness and across cultures.
Read More
The Hoover Dam is exactly the sort of thing that a Bond villain would want to blow up. Enter the Nazis, the real-life Bond villains of the mid-20th century.
Read More
Steve Jobs first founded what would be one of the largest tech companies in 1976 with his business partner, Steve Wozniak. The two met on a chance occasion, and it's a good thing fate was in their favor, or we might not have had the iPhone, the MacBook, or the iPod.
Read More
Mùlán has served as inspiration in China for centuries, an example of self-sacrifice for the greater common good; of devotion to family; of bravery. Could she have actually existed?
Read More
Long before people were tossing coins to ultra-buff witchers, they were placing them in the mouths of the dead. "Charon's Obol," as such coins have been dubbed, have been found in the graves of the once-living since the 5th century BCE, largely throughout Western European countries.
Read More
While certain bands are infamously secretive about their creations, pop legend Prince has typically been frank about the meaning behind his songs. Purple Rain is an exception.
Read More
It would be hyperbole to declare that mathematician Alan Turing saved England and won the war against the Axis in Europe during World War II. But there's no question the war would have had a very different outcome if Turing hadn't been there during the time Churchill called "the darkest hours."
Read More
The year was 1774, and German physician Franz Anton Mesmer had done the impossible: he had cured Francisca Österlin's hysteria. Supposedly
Read More
Too often in life, people are divided into socially reinforced groups, diametrically opposed to one another on principle. Jets versus Sharks. Montagues versus Capulets. Contemporary versus classical theater nerds. And, for a time, Star Wars fans were often pitted against Star Trek fans.
Read More
One weird truth of ancient board games is that they offer a candid view into how people from a different age approached the game of life — like a quick 'n sneaky casual snapshot taken when the subjects weren't deliberately composing themselves to look good.
Read More
Archaeological digs can shed some light on long-held theories, even ancient ones. So when archaeologists discovered human bones in the Sahara desert, they thought they had finally found a Persian army lost to the sands centuries ago, ultimately solving an ancient mystery.
Read More
Story after story is told of the Amazons (a word which isn't Greek; it's probably from a Persian word for "warrior"), in many different cultures and societies. The stories are good. The history is better.
Read More
Reconstruction after the Civil War was an attempt to reconstruct everything about Southern life and politics. But after an auspicious start, Reconstruction slowly collapsed under the weight of political reality and short-sighted decisions. Here's the messed-up truth about the Reconstruction era.
Read More
As Union forces captured Confederate territory, the slaves they encountered would be freed. Which raised the next question: If slavery is finally abolished everywhere, what happens to all of these thousands of people, formerly enslaved, but now free?
Read More
Like all wars, the Iraq War was filled with heroes, villains, and mistakes both harrying and hilarious. These are some messed up things that happened during the Iraq War.
Read More
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who divide everyone into two groups, and those who don't. Another two kinds: Those who love Shakespeare, and those who would rather binge watch Friends -- again. But Shakespeare may have been even less real than friends.
Read More
Colonel Tom Parker was a doughy human rabbit hole of shadowy weirdness. And he may even have been a murderer.
Read More
Ah, zombies. The archetype of the shambling undead minion has left a meaty trail across the length and breadth of pop culture worldwide. But is zombification actually a thing? And if so, how does it happen?
Read More
Human beings have been inhabiting Easter Island since somewhere around 400-700 CE. But something led to a collapse in its once balanced civilization.
Read More
The thing about ancient Egypt? If you're trying to figure out who the meanest ruler was, there's a lot of stiff competition.
Read More
Dillinger is one of those names that's become an archetype. Depression-era American criminal -- a gangster, a bank robber. Here's how he died.
Read More
Life in ancient China was not easy for women.
Read More
The original series gave everyone the opportunity to be a detective/forensic psychologist/UFOlogist. Even if you weren't alive for the original, the reboot gives you the chance to rewrite a bit of history. Are you up to the challenge?
Read More
Owning a guitar used by a famous rock musician is a way of owning a piece of history. Here are the most expensive guitars in rock history.
Read More