By Erik Sass In the years leading up to the Civil War, many Northerners and Southerners alike wanted the federal government to take a more aggressive approach toward acquiring new territory. In fact, some private citizens, known as filibusters, took matters into their own hands. They raised small armies illegally; ventured into Mexico, Cuba, and South America; and attempted to seize control of the lands. One particularly successful filibuster, William Walker, actually made himself president of Nicaragua... READ ON

By Christa Wagner Sure, it may seem silly, but, comic books mean something. Soldiers used dog-eared copies of Captain America to keep their spirits up in WWII. The Green Lantern and Green Arrow made kids actually think about issues like racism and heroin. And millions gasped when they heard the news that Superman died. In fact, the vibrant medium is so often pegged as children's pulp, or fun for the feeble-minded, that people tend to forget that comics have actually grown with and continued to... READ ON

By Jeff Fleischer 1» THOMAS JEFFERSON'S MISTAKE In decades past, American presidents apparently had hobbies other than playing golf and eating at McDonald's. Thomas Jefferson, for one, was an avid paleontologist. As early as the 1790s (before it was cool), he kept an impressive fossil collection at his home in Monticello. So when a group of confused miners came upon some unidentifiable bones in a West Virginia cave, they sent them to Jefferson. Judging from the long limbs and large claws, the... READ ON

"If this is an Olympic year, it must be time for a boycott," Tony Kornheiser wrote in the New York Times in 1976. That year, many African nations were incensed that New Zealand's rugby team had toured ostracized South Africa. Would Africa boycott the Montreal Games in... READ ON