HISTORY

11 Well-Drawn Facts About The Etch A Sketch

How does it work? It's actually pretty simple.

Eva Ekeblad, the Woman Who Reinvented the Potato

The Swedish royal family member realized that spuds could be ground into starch and used to make booze.

A Brief History of the First French Encyclopedia

Diderot's Encyclopédie presented the knowledge of the Enlightenment in just 20 million words.

Remembering the Final Space Shuttle Mission

The STS-135 crew got morning wakeup calls from Beyoncé, Paul McCartney, Michael Stipe, and Elton John.

You Could Once Buy “Memento Kits” Made of White House Scraps

During the early 1950s, souvenir hunters could own a piece of the White House for as little as 25 cents.

How Samuel F.B. Morse Brought Photography to America

Selfies, Instagram, and the ability to show off your vacation photos while you're still at the beach can all be traced back to this versatile inventor's vision.

WWI Centennial: Arabs Take Aqaba, Kerensky Offensive Fails

Erik Sass is covering the events of the war exactly 100 years after they happened. This is the 281st installment in the series.

School Officials in Oklahoma Discover Forgotten Time Capsule From 1938

It was hidden inside the walls of a gym that's slated for demolition.

Meet the Workers Risking Their Lives to Rebuild the Great Wall of China

Since 2005, workers have carried out grueling—and often, life-threatening—physical labor to see the World Wonder restored to tiptop shape.

New Evidence Supports Theory That Amelia Earhart Died in Japanese Captivity

A newly unearthed photograph from 1937 appears to depict Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan.

iStock/Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Winston Churchill’s Audacious Plan to Build an Aircraft Carrier Out of Ice

Is the secret to building an unsinkable aircraft carrier hiding in your ice cube tray?

Al Capone got the scars that gave him his Scarface moniker in a barroom brawl.

The Myth of How Al Capone Gave Us the Term ‘Money Laundering’

According to popular lore, when looking for places to funnel his unlawfully obtained money, American gangster Al Capone gravitated toward laundromats.

Charles Dickens, Part-Time Mesmerist

Dickens wrote, “I have the perfect conviction that I could magnetize a Frying-Pan.”

How Americans Celebrated Independence Day in 1777

Unofficially, the celebrations started just a year after the Declaration of Independence was actually ratified.

The Origins of 6 Great American Songs

"The Star-Spangled Banner" was around for more than 100 years before it became the official national anthem.

Time Has Only Strengthened These Ancient Roman Walls

In the 1st century CE, Pliny the Elder wrote that Roman seawalls grew "every day stronger." Turns out he was right.

7 Historic Flags and Where to See Them

These flags have survived wars, expeditions, surrenders—and the test of time.

By Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Tiny Town That’s Home to America’s Oldest July 4th Celebration

Bristol, Rhode Island covers only about 10 square miles of the country's terrain, but it's home to one of America's most storied Independence Day celebrations.

Remembering Steve Fossett's 2002 Solo Round-the-World Balloon Flight

It took him six attempts to complete the trip, and he celebrated with Bud Light.

A Brief History of the International Geophysical Year

The "year" lasted 18 months.

On This Day in 1984, the MPAA Introduced the PG-13 Rating

Steven Spielberg's movies were too edgy for PG, and too teen-oriented for R.

Grave Sightings: Satchel Paige

When you visit the grave of baseball legend Satchel Paige, you'll learn more than just his birth and death dates.

You don’t have to be in Quebec to tuck into a plate piled with poutine.

A Brief History of Poutine

Poutine—a staple of Canadian comfort cuisine—is comprised of a holy-hoser trinity of ingredients: French fries, cheese curds, and gravy.

Hulton Archive/National Archive/Getty Images

50 Surprising Facts About America's Founding Fathers

George Washington's famous hairdo was not a wig, Benjamin Franklin liked to walk around nude, and 48 other facts no true patriot would want to miss.

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