The Truth About Charlemagne's Legendary Sword
Back in the 8th Century, you couldn't very well have a rifle fit for a king -- but you could have a sword. And you did, if your name was Charlemagne, King of the Franks.
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The Truth About Jack The Ripper And Queen Victoria's Relationship
Queen Victoria's grandson, Prince Albert Victor was known to those who loved him as "Eddy," (also great uncle to the present Queen, Elizabeth II), and a proposed candidate for true identity of Jack the Ripper.
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The Messed Up Truth About Gone With The Wind
Gone with the Wind presents a sentimental view of the old South—and slavery. It's impossible to ignore the messed up truth about Gone with the Wind—truths that include overt racism, love affairs, protests, and one of the most chaotic and poorly-run film productions in history.
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The Strange Deal That Gave Pepsi A Military Force
The eighties were a pretty weird and wild decade. Hair was at its all-time high, people actually listened to Cutting Crew, shoulder pads were worn far and wide ... and, for a moment in time, Pepsi became the sixth largest military force in the world.
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The Chilling Star Wars Easter Egg We All Missed
Now, there's a new hidden detail in Star Wars making its way across the internet, rounding out a galaxy far, far away just that much more. It regards Yoda's living situation, and friends? It's a stone cold bummer.
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The Mystery Thriller That's Crushing It On Netflix Right Now
Five years ago, moviegoers were treated to Dan Stevens' performance in an indie thriller/mystery titled The Guest. Now it's crushing it on Netflix.
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The Reason Nike's Juneteenth Announcement Is So Important
When the world's largest athletic apparel and equipment company makes a statement, people listen. That company, Nike, just made a big announcement about Juneteenth -- the oldest national celebration commemorating the official end of slavery. Here's what you need to know.
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The History Of Juneteenth Explained
In the United States, June 19th marks an auspicious day in history. It's Juneteenth. Here's why that's important.
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The Real Reason Loving Day Is So Important
There was a time when it was illegal for blacks and whites to marry, or have children together, or love one another in committed, legal relationships. But along came the court case of Loving v. Virginia
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The History Of NASCAR Explained
For longer than most of us have been alive, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (or NASCAR, to its friends) has been rattling the ground beneath Daytona. But how did it get its start?
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The Messed Up Truth About The Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery bus boycott is often hailed as the opening act of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. But the version you're taught in school leaves out the heroic efforts of multiple people who worked tirelessly towards desegregation. This is the messed up truth about the Montgomery bus boycott.
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The Real Reason Elizabeth Woodville Was Called The White Queen
Historical figures become known by their nicknames. Sometimes, people forget why they were given those names in the first place. That's pretty much what happened to Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen, especially after the BBC TV show of the same name premiered.
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The Real Reason The Great Wall Of China Was Built
Many myths surround the Great Wall of China, from the story that it can be seen from space (it cannot), to the reasoning that it was built to keep the Huns from invading China, as seen in the opening scene of Mulan. That one, it turns out, might not be true either.
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The Truth About Picasso's Lost Masterpiece
In September of 1998, Swissair Flight 111 crashed unexpectedly off the coast of Nova Scotia. All 229 passengers and crew died in the accident, which was later determined to have been caused by a fire stemming from faulty wiring.
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Were Drugs Really Smuggled In Soldiers' Coffins During The Vietnam War?
The movie American Gangster includes a stunning sequence, wherein heroin was smuggled into the U.S. inside the coffins of fallen soldiers returning from the Vietnam War. Did this really happen?
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The Hit Mystery Thriller On Netflix You Need To Watch
One of Netflix's most recent acquisitions, The Night Clerk, is part police procedural, part whodunnit, part study of humanity, as the best mysteries always are.
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The One Thing Alexander Ludwig Regrets About Playing Bjorn On Vikings
Acting is a notoriously fickle business. There are those actors who want to branch out into music, or direct, or return to their roots in live theater. Or aspire to film, rising above the more pedestrian work to be found on television. (Commercials? Ew.)
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The Real Reason Popes Change Their Names
There have been many popes who kept their birth name when they were elected to the papacy, though the last one was in 1555 -- Marcellus II. Here's why they change them.
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The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Emmett Till
Emmett Till loved to laugh."He would pay people to tell him jokes," according to his cousin, Wheeler Parker. He also "loved to tell jokes," said childhood friend Richard Heard, who remembered Emmett being "a funny guy all the time."
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The Real Reason The Pentagon Has So Many Bathrooms
The Pentagon, headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, is a remarkable feat of architectural design and structural engineering. And it's got a ton of bathrooms.
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The Legend Of Baba Yaga Explained
Baba Yaga is Russian, she's scary, and she wants to eat you, but there's so much more. How do you know when you've found a Baba Yaga and not just a generic forest witch? Is she definitely going to eat you? Can you go to her for a solid deal on a good horse? This is the legend of Baba Yaga explained.
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The Truth About Margaret Beaufort, Mother Of The Tudors
An 1884 song observed that "A Boy's Best Friend is His Mother." It perfectly describes the relationship of King Henry VII of England -- father of the future Henry VIII, grandfather of Queen Elizabeth I -- and his mother, Margaret Beaufort.
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The Real Meaning Of Kente Cloth
Quick: what do George Floyd and Kente cloth have in common? Congressional Democrats were accused of using both of them in a photo op masquerading as a meaningful gesture.
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The Truth About The Anti-Mask League Formed During The 1918 Pandemic
Funny how a little piece of cloth can become the focus of a political debate, and a political divide. But this is not our nation's first pandemic rodeo, and it's not the first time people got snippy about wearing masks in public to help control a public health menace.
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The Truth About Dracula's Disturbing Origin
Bram Stoker can thank his mom for some of the dark inspiration of Dracula.
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The Legend Of The Jersey Devil Explained
If you happen to find yourself in New Jersey's Pine Barrens, keep an eye out for a scary cryptozoological creature which, these days, usually goes by the friendly name of the Jersey Devil. And no, it has nothing to do with hockey. This is the legend of the Jersey Devil explained.
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The Real Reason Julius Caesar Was Kidnapped By Pirates
Get ready to buckle your swash, me hearties, to hear a tale of long ago from the High Seas, and there's a celebrity, and there's pirates! This one happened back around 75 BCE and it involves one of the few people from Ancient Rome that almost everybody can name: Julius Caesar.
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