HISTORY

DCTWINKIE5500, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0

Hell on Wheels: The Sordid History of Ted Bundy's VW Beetle

The car was the serial killer's mobile murder weapon. It was also his undoing.

When 'Courage' Caused Controversy for Dan Rather

In 1986, the famed news anchor spent a week defending the puzzling new way he ended his broadcasts.

A Brief History of the Beer Can

It took decades, and a lot of injured feet, to get us to the stay-tab can we know and love today.

9 Handy Facts About the History of Handwriting

Even handwriting scholars can't read all scripts.

The Lavender Scare: When the U.S. Government Persecuted Employees for Being Gay

During the Lavender Scare, an estimated 10,000 LGBTQ people were pushed out of U.S. government and military positions.

Periodic Table Discovered at Scotland's St Andrews University Could Be World's Oldest

The German copy dates back to 1885.

Shirley Chisholm led a groundbreaking career.

12 Facts About Shirley Chisholm, the First Black American Woman to Run for President

Nearly 50 years after becoming the first Black American woman to run for president, Shirley Chisholm is still making headlines.

Mathew Brady, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

5 Facts About Edgar Allan Poe

You can quote 'The Raven.' But how well do you know Edgar Allan Poe's quirky sense of humor and code-cracking abilities?

The $13,000 Epiphany That Made Orville Redenbacher a National Popcorn King

Happy National Popcorn Day!

Courtesy of ©ITVStudios2017 for MASTERPIECE

15 Fascinating Facts About Victoria

8. Queen Victoria famously hated being pregnant, but star Jenna Coleman likes playing a pregnant queen best.

In What Field Was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a Doctor?

Martin Luther King Jr. earned a doctorate in systematic theology from Boston University in 1955. In 1989, archivists working with The Martin Luther King Papers Project discovered that King’s dissertation suffered from what they called a “problematic use o

Rachel Weisz and Olivia Colman in The Favourite (2018)

The Favourite: 10 Facts About the Real History Behind the Movie

While the film fudges some of the historical details, it's also founded on some solid history.

How Prohibition Paved the Way for a Ku Klux Klan Resurgence in the 1920s

How the 18th Amendment, which just turned 100 years old, helped ignite a race war.

How to Build an Igloo, According to a Canadian Film From 1949

The most experienced builders can construct one in 40 minutes.

8 Explorers Who Mysteriously Disappeared (and Some Who’ve Been Found)

Explorers often push the boundaries of survival in the name of glory, so it’s no great surprise that many have gone missing.

S Reynolds, Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain Mark 1.0

Why Do Brides Traditionally Wear White? You Can Thank Queen Victoria

It used to be a status symbol.

Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove

5 Fast Facts About Sake Dean Mahomed

The man who opened England's first Indian restaurant and brought the art of shampooing to Europe is the subject of today's Google Doodle.

15 Old-Fashioned Hats Ready for a Comeback

Bring them back!

17 Bizarre Natural Remedies From the 1700s

If a 'gentle vomit' won't work, try electrocution.

Wise Quacks: A History of the Rubber Duck

Ernie's love song about his prized duck once hit the Billboard Top 100.

Magician and escape artist Harry Houdini

How Harry Houdini Might Have Pulled Off His Most Daring Trick

Being buried under 3000 pounds of dirt isn't easy.

Boston Public Library, Flickr, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Remembering Boston's Great Molasses Flood of 1919

On January 15, 1919, Boston suffered one of history’s strangest disasters when the “Great Molasses Flood” tore through the city's North End and deposited so much gooey residue that locals claimed they could still smell the molasses on warm days decades la

7 Common Words With Little-Known Relatives

When some words hit the big time, they left clunky related words behind.

8 Morning Routines of History's Most Successful People

Kickstart your year with productivity tips from Ben Franklin.

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