HISTORY

Abraham Lincoln's Very Bad Blind Date

As an Illinois state representative, Abraham Lincoln went on a bad blind date that ended up in a very strange and very unexpected place.

10 Things Your Body Can Do After You Die

From getting hitched to saving the environment, here's proof you can still be a busybody long after you kick the bucket.

The Man Who Invented the Spork

The combo spoon/fork's inventor was a rich New York doctor with a string of wacky patents.

See an Early Work From Dr. Seuss called The Pocket Book of Boners

In 1931, Dr. Seuss was a contributing illustrator for a "collection of schoolboy wisdom, or knowledge as it is sometimes written, compiled from classrooms and examination papers" called "Boners."

A Brief and Bizarre History of the Baby Cage

Baby cages were once an acceptable way for city-dwelling parents to let their children get some air.

Mary Pickford and the First Million-Dollar Film Contract

Her history-making movie deal would earn her nearly $22,000,000 today.

The Island Where Tabasco Peppers Grow

If you love Tabasco and all things spicy, Louisiana's Avery Island is your version of Wonka's chocolate factory.

Winner Takes All: 8 of the Most Dramatic Format Wars

More than a few of the battles between media platforms over the past century have been downright ruthless.

How Thousands of Women Kept The U.K.'s Timber Industry Afloat

During World War II, the Women's Timber Corps took over the forestry jobs of men who had joined the armed forces. The performed intense labor jobs and kept the timber industry afloat.

How to Tell the Future With Snails, and 14 Other Pieces of Outmoded Advice

The best bits of wisdom from the advice manuals published way before Google searches were a thing.

A Brief History of the Plastic Pink Flamingo

From the plastic bird's birth to its modern perch atop the pyramid of campy Americana, here’s the quick-and-dirty on the hot pink queen of kitsch.

9 Presidential Kids Whose Antics Made News

Sometimes, under the microscope of media attention, the childlike antics and teenage rebellions of the First Children made national news.

This is What A Woman From Tehran 7000 Years Ago Looked Like

Science is constantly getting better at reconstructing what life was like in earlier eras. And now, new 3D imaging technology shows us what our fellow human may have looked like many millennia ago.

25 Things You Should Know About Chicago

Impress the locals on your next visit to the Windy City.

12 Cruel Anti-Suffragette Cartoons

Almost 100 years ago, American women won the right to vote. But not before they were ridiculed and vilified.

28 Historical Photos of Dads Doing Dad Things

Happy Father's Day!

How the Word ‘Father’ Unlocked the History of Language

It's no coincidence that the word used to describe dear old dad was so similar across distinct classical languages.

25 Things You Should Know About Portland

Sure, you know about the craft beer, the fancy coffee, and all those awesome food carts. Here are some nuggets about the Rose City you might not have known.

Jean-Baptiste Wicar, Virgil Reading "The Aeneid" // Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

6 Mysteries Surrounding Virgil's Life and Work

Nearly 2,000 years after Virgil wrote "The Aeneid," even the most basic facts about the author are still a source of controversy.

The Musicians Who Scared the Soviet Union in the '80s

In 1985, the Soviet propaganda machine accused Western bands of spreading racism, homosexuality, and anti-Soviet myths.

T.W. Ingersoll via Boston Public Library Flickr

Color Images of the 1904 Russo-Japanese War

Colorized stereographs give us a glimpse at life in the Japanese army at the beginning of the 20th century.

The U.S. Military Considered Building Halitosis and Flatulence Bombs

During World War II, officials (briefly) thought it might be best to take a more, um, natural approach to their weaponry.

iStock (man) / Dan Kitwood/Getty Images (Cambridge)

The Eccentric British Headmaster Who Never Existed

In 1948, the fictional H. Rochester Sneath badgered his fellow headmasters about sex ed, rodent infestations, and exorcisms.

See the Oldest Depiction of the Universe in Human History

Discovered in 1999, the Nebra sky disk is the oldest-known graphic of the universe in human history.

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