HISTORY

6th-Century Writing Discovered Inside Medieval Bookbinding

Researchers at Northwestern University developed a new way to see inside old books.

8 Dazzling Facts About Hedy Lamarr

Enjoying that Wi-Fi? Tip your hat to Hedy.

Tackney os, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 4.0

Telegraph From the 'Lusitania' Has Been Recovered From the Ocean Floor

The ship sank off the Irish coast 102 years ago.

10 Things You Should Know About The Treaty Of Paris (1763)

The agreement transformed the political geography of North America.

Did the Romans Ever Conduct Archaeological Expeditions In Search of Ancient Artifacts?

They were interested in learning about the past, but the idea of systematically looking around for the unknown wasn’t really on their radar.

How 9 New Orleans Neighborhoods Got Their Names

You can thank some patron saints—and the local telephone company.

Slip a few of these phrases into conversation.

10 Long-Forgotten Expressions to Drop Into Conversation

English allows you to drop what are (at face value at least) some pretty peculiar idioms and expressions into your everyday conversation.

10 Henry Ford Facts (That Have Almost Nothing to Do With Cars)

If Henry Ford were still around for his 154th birthday (July 30), he'd probably be exhausted of people talking about the Model T or his development of the assembly line.

A Brief History of Deep Blue, IBM's Chess Computer

It took years, and many matches, for an IBM computer to beat Garry Kasparov.

On This Day in 1958, NASA Was Created

Eisenhower signed the legislation largely in response to the USSR's various Sputnik satellites.

The Time Walter Cronkite Angered R.J. Reynolds

Though Walter Cronkite was famous for his even-keeled delivery of the news, incorrect grammar could get him riled up.

Remembering the Silent Parade Civil Rights March of 1917

Roughly 10,000 protesters walked down Fifth Avenue to raise awareness of a racially divided nation.

How Science—and a Broken Heart—Helped Identify Titanic Bandleader Wallace Hartley's Lost Violin

Bandleader Wallace Hartley clung to his instrument until the end. He was found, but the violin was believed lost for nearly a century.

Pawel Sawicki, Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum

Traveling Auschwitz Museum Exhibition Heads to North America

The exhibition will include more than 1150 artifacts.

James Cameron is Making a Documentary to Reassess the Accuracy of Titanic

Two decades after the film’s release, the writer-director will scrutinize the film’s authenticity in an upcoming National Geographic special.

6 Eponyms Named After the Wrong Person

Having something named after you is the ultimate kudos—but the credit doesn't always go to the right person.

WWI Centennial: Battle of Mărăști

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 283rd installment in the series.

9 Chilly Facts About Frozen Food Pioneer Clarence Birdseye

The peas in your freezer have a fascinating history involving fur trapping, candy boxes, and a frozen alligator.

Fake It Until You Make It: 10 Artificial Ruins

In the 18th and 19th centuries, counterfeit ruins were all the rage on grand estates.

Lovely Vintage Manuals Show How to Design for the Human Body

A design agency launched a Kickstarter to get the landmark Humanscale Manuals, first published in 1974, back in the hands of everyday designers.

Philipp Salzgeber // CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Remembering Comet Hale-Bopp's Unlikely Discovery

In an astronomical coincidence, two men discovered the comet simultaneously on July 23, 1995.

On This Day in 1962, NASA Launched and Destroyed Mariner 1

A software error coupled with a radar failure led to the loss of NASA's first Venus probe.

Brown University Library, Wikipedia/Public Domain

Lincoln’s Famous Letter of Condolence to a Grieving Mother Was Likely Penned by His Secretary

Linguists used a technique called n-gram tracing to analyze the letter and identified John Hay as its likely author.

5 Surprising Facts About the Battle of Dunkirk

With Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’ winning critical acclaim, the world’s attention is once again focused on the historic events recounted in the film.

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