Here's How Abraham Lincoln Predicted His Own Death
Recollections of Abraham Lincoln 1847-1865, an 1895 book which collects anecdotes from Ward Hill Lamon about his presidential friend, included one particularly odd note about a dream.
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The Real Reason People Used To Believe Griffins Existed
The griffin -- also gryphon (says Mythology), also grypes (says Theoi) -- traditionally is a blend of an eagle's front crafted onto the body of a lion. And it may have been based on a real animal.
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The Real Reason Thomas Edison's First Invention Failed
Recent history has not been kind to Thomas Edison. Once remembered as a titan of creative thought, today he's become more or less synonymous with the corrupt underpinnings of American industrialism and man's capacity to dash his rivals' dreams, or go to New Jersey and electrocute an elephant.
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The Real Reason So Many Women Have Been Accused Of Being Witches
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.
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What Life Was Like For Viking Women
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.
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This Is What The Ancient Romans Thought The World Looked Like
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?
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Sea Serpents Might Actually Have Existed. Here's Why
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.
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The Truth About The Nazi Plot To Blow Up The Hoover Dam
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.
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Here's How The Founders Of Apple Actually Met
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.
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Mulan Might Actually Have Existed. Here's Why
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?
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The Real Reason People Were Buried With Coins In Their Mouths
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.
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The Unsolved Mystery Of Prince's Purple Rain
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.
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Here's How Alan Turing Helped Win World War II
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."
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The Crazy True Story Behind Animal Magnetism
The year was 1774, and German physician Franz Anton Mesmer had done the impossible: he had cured Francisca Österlin's hysteria. Supposedly
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This Easter Egg Proves That Star Trek And Star Wars Take Place In The Same Universe
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.
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The Truth About The Ancient Board Games You Never Knew About
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.
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The Truth About The Lost Army Of The Persian Empire
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.
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Mythological Amazon Women Might Actually Have Existed. Here's Why
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.
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The Messed Up Truth About The Reconstruction Era
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.
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Here's What Abraham Lincoln Initially Wanted Freed Slaves To Do
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?
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Messed Up Things That Happened During The Iraq War
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.
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Shakespeare May Never Have Actually Existed. Here's Why
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.
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Was Elvis' Manager A Killer On The Run?
Colonel Tom Parker was a doughy human rabbit hole of shadowy weirdness. And he may even have been a murderer.
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The Man Who Was Successfully Turned Into A Zombie
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?
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The Real Reason The Easter Island Civilization Collapsed
Human beings have been inhabiting Easter Island since somewhere around 400-700 CE. But something led to a collapse in its once balanced civilization.
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This Might Have Been The Cruelest Egyptian Pharaoh
The thing about ancient Egypt? If you're trying to figure out who the meanest ruler was, there's a lot of stiff competition.
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The Truth Behind John Dillinger's Death
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.
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