The very first Civil War ironclads and the first in the world to fight warships were armored gunboats built by Union Captain James Buchanan Eads, the cousin of future President James Buchanan. This led to some of the earliest Union victories of the entire conflict. But they were kind of cartoonish.
Read MoreWhat's in a name? People are still asking it, all these centuries later. And for good reason. Pink Floyd wasn't always Pink Floyd. Nor was The Grateful Dead born that way. But what about Simon and Garfunkel?
Read MoreJean-Michel Basquiat, an artist whose roots in graffiti made his work stand out among others, left a legacy of stunning paintings. But his sudden popularity in his 20s caused him to spiral into a drug habit that eventually cost him his life. His death cemented his status as an art world rockstar.
Read MoreResearch shows that the population of cowboys in the Old West was at least 25 percent black. Yet you'd never know based on traditional history.
Read MoreIn case you've forgotten, Marilyn Manson and My Chemical Romance have also been sparring for over a decade in a feud that will most likely never be resolved.
Read MoreWhile the "Chicago Strangler" might sound like a historical villain who stalked the Windy City sometime during the Great Depression, this possible serial killer — or killers — has claimed victims as recently as 2018.
Read MoreHank Williams Jr. found some success, working more or less as a tribute act and playing plenty of his old man's standards. Critical reception was lukewarm -- The New Yorker pointed out that he "was raised to be an echo, not an influence," changing his name to better pull a nostalgic crowd.
Read MoreThat brilliant, unapologetic individuality made for musical voodoo that only he could do so well. But it could also cause discord.
Read MoreUnfortunately, The Ramones only seemed like a tight unit from the outside. They may have made rock history, but the band's internal affairs were full of arguments, feuds and disappointment ... and ultimately, several untimely deaths.
Read MoreQueen 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 MoreWhen protests erupted in response to footage of a Minneapolis police officer killing George Floyd — a helplessly handcuffed man who cried out for his mother as a uniformed government official kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes — a few familiar scenes played out in the media.
Read MoreDaryl Hall (the tall, blond one) and John Oates (the one with the mustache) are one of the greatest duo acts pop-rock has ever seen. And it all started with... a shootout.
Read MoreHuey Lewis and his band contributed a track to Back to the Future that helped make history, both for the movie and for their careers. But it was almost never recorded.
Read MoreDio joined Black Sabbath when the band fired the increasingly unreliable Ozzy Osbourne in 1979, and his powerful voice was a perfect match for the band's signature sound. So why'd he end up leaving?
Read MoreOne of the most successful Hollywood directors of all time, Spielberg has formed quite a legacy. Fans would undoubtedly be interested in viewing his first feature, if only to see just how far the movie legend has come. The catch is, Spielberg's earliest film doesn't exist anymore.
Read MoreElvis Presley was a man who spent his later years surrounded by two things: the adulation of his hangers-on, and comfy cozy velvet. His followers, dubbed the Memphis Mafia, filled numerous roles in the singer's life -- including that of bodyguards.
Read MoreThese days, Sammy Sosa might not look anything like he used to during his active playing career, but the baseball great's considerable achievements remain etched in the annals of the sport. Does his net worth reflect that success?
Read MoreWhether it's the horrific experiments led by "angel of death" Josef Mengele, the horrors of concentration camps like Ravensbruck — or, you know, Hitler — you won't be hard-pressed to find examples of Nazis being unspeakably awful.
Read MoreWhat is the most definitive rock band of all time? That question is prime fodder for an entertaining evening of argument, but you can be dead certain of one thing: At some point, someone's bound to mention Led Zeppelin.
Read MoreThere's a long and storied tradition of enlisting animals to assist humans in times of war or straight-up attempting to weaponize them against enemies. In WWII alone, the British sabotaged Nazis with exploding rats, the U.S. tried planned to make bat bombs, and Polish soldiers adopted a ...
Read MoreGone 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 MoreOver the ages, dogs have been used to perform many odd jobs alongside humans. From working in public safety, mental health and criminal justice sectors, the addition of a canine pal can prove beneficial in many situations. Can dogs detect cancer, though?
Read MoreThe 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 MoreSteve Buscemi (pronounced "buss-ehm-ee," says Snopes) is one of those character actors who keeps surprising the audience. He's displayed a remarkable range over the course of his nearly 40 years in the business. Surprisingly enough, though, he also used to be a firefighter.
Read MoreNow, 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 MoreFounded in 1969, it's no doubt that funk group Earth, Wind & Fire is considered one of the most commercially successful acts of all time. However, amid all this overwhelming success and an iconic status lasting fifty years, one question remains: Where did the group's legendary name come from?
Read MoreThere's one mystery that's had the very cool bow ties of the Whovians all mussed up for years. And it's not "why does the Doctor's age fluctuate so much?," or "What was the Doctor talking about when he said he was half-human in that TV movie?"
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