It may seem like the main objective of Monopoly is to last forever and make the other players hate you until the end of time ... but in a way, the aim is to create a lucrative company town. You strategically buy up properties, railroads, and utilities, until you control everything.
Read More
In 1932, the US Public Health Service began conducting a study on the Black men of Macon County, Alabama. The men were never informed of the true nature or the risks of the Tuskegee syphilis experiment.
Read More
When people began moving west in the 1800s, it was a treacherous journey. They had to pass through dangerous terrain, and unpredictable territories, spawning many myths and false facts about the Wild West.
Read More
The United States' historical treatment of its indigenous peoples is contentious, to say the least. From 1794 to 1887, during the Westward Expansion, Native American lands shrunk to almost nothing, and then the Dawes Act in 1887 chopped up what little land was left and divided it up between tribes.
Read More
In 1258, Baghdad, the seat of the Abbasid Caliphate and the heart of what was effectively the Arab empire fell to the besieging army of Ghengis Khan's grandson, Hulagu Khan. But things had been going downhill for a while.
Read More
The Talking Heads had a successful 16-year musical career, which ultimately ended when Byrne decided to leave the band in 1991. Here's why.
Read More
There's no catch-all for psychiatric wellness. At times in history, the insane asylum was a catch-all, and not the kind of place you'd want to spend a moment.
Read More
The tragic true story of the Tulsa Race Massacre is a dark spot in American history, and thanks to decades of silence, you've probably never heard of it.
Read More
After Young Hannibal depicted Hannibal Lecter as a samurai-themed kid seeking revenge on his sister's killers, it was easy to think that Hollywood has said all it has to say about a certain cannibal murderer. NBC's Hannibal promptly proved everyone wrong by bringing Dr. Lecter on the small screen.
Read More
It took a couple of hundred years, but some members of what passed as the medical profession started to ask whether tobacco and cigarette smoking was really such a good idea after all.
Read More
Ulysses S. Grant should be a lot more famous than he is, but his name mainly comes up during discussions about greatest generals or worst presidents. However, the untold truth of Ulysses S. Grant is a much richer and more fascinating story.
Read More
Queen Victoria, with nine children and a full time job, probably needed to cut loose once in a while. Here are her favorite drugs.
Read More
Queen Elizabeth I of England ruled over what many call the Golden Age. This was a time when the country flourished. So of course, over time, legends around her grew. She called herself the "Virgin Queen" and historians generally believe Queen Elizabeth I actively encouraged these myths about her.
Read More
The Olmecs are the lesser-known cousins to the Aztec and Maya, and predate them as the oldest Mesoamerican civilization on record.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
In the United States, June 19th marks an auspicious day in history. It's Juneteenth. Here's why that's important.
Read More
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
Read More
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?
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More
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.
Read More