HISTORY

Survey Associates, Inc. via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

6 Deadly Labor Disputes

The history of labor relations is littered with strikes that often cost lives.

How The Tenement Museum Uses Crime Scene Photos to Create its Exhibits

Crime scene photos provide clues to what tenement life was like in the early 20th century.

Meet the Georgia Tech Graduate Who Never Existed

William Edgar Smith earned himself an extraneous college degree for committing (admirably) to a joke.

The Lost Book of Titian Peale, America's First Lepidopterist

Titian Ramsey Peale II went to his grave in 1885 believing that his life’s greatest work would never be published. It finally has been.

The Creator of Peanut M&M's Was Allergic to Peanuts

Forrest Mars couldn't eat the candy that made him rich.

Yousuf Karsh, Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

How Hospitality and Some Tulips Brought Canada and the Netherlands Together

Archives of American Art // Smithsonian Institution

See the "Little Black Books" of Famous Artists

Physical address books are one of those remnants of the pre-computer age that are probably not long for this world, so it only makes sense that they’ve become the subject of an archival exhibit.

An 1884 illustration of spectators in the theater

30 Words and Phrases From Victorian Theatrical Slang

Nicknames for noisy babies? Just because these terms from Victorian theater have dropped out of use doesn't mean they're any less applicable today.

Hyacinthe Rigaud, Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

How Louis XIV Invented High Fashion

Louis XIV was nicknamed "The Sun King," but he was also the king of style

What First-Class ‘Titanic’ Passengers Ate for Lunch the Day Their Ship Hit the Iceberg

The menu included options from a buffet, the grill, and eight different cheeses.

7 Unintended Side Effects of Prohibition

Children's menus, NASCAR, and coffee tables were just a few of the strange by-products of prohibition.

Tragic Tunes: Execution Ballads Were the Crime Reports of the Middle Ages

Blood-soaked tales of murder, rape, and other crimes were written into popular songs and sung merrily in the streets.

Mercury in Latrines Helped Historians Follow Lewis and Clark

The expedition's members occasionally got constipated, and relied on Dr. Rush's Bilious Pill.

When College Freshmen Were Forced to Pose Nude During Orientation

For a good chunk of the last century, the first day of school meant a nude photo shoot.

10 Questionable Grooming Products from the 19th Century

The methods people used to look good were actually kind of ugly.

Looking Too Stylish Used to Be Illegal

Though only if you were poor, of course.

50 Famous Misquotations (and What Was Really Said)

Sorry Tumblr: Marilyn Monroe probably didn't say that.

21 Failed Inventions

On this week's List Show episode, Mike looks back on some of history's not-so-bright ideas. (Remember the flying Ford Pinto?)

Batgirl Demands Equal Pay for Women in This 1973 PSA

“I’m paid less than Robin!”

The Deadly Train Crash That Started a Trend

In 1896, two locomotives traveling more than 50 miles per hour smashed into each other. On purpose.

18 Disney Movies That Were Never Made

In an alternate universe, kids are repeatedly watching Louis the Bear and Reynard.

Alfred Kinsey's Massive Gall Wasp Collection

Before he was a sexologist, Kinsey's traveled the country on a hunt for gall wasps.

What's the Difference Between Aluminum and Aluminium?

A little peer pressure goes a long way in the chemistry world.

10 Facts About Krakatoa's 1883 Eruption

This eruption—one of the most powerful and devastating eruptions in modern history—had effects worldwide.

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