HISTORY

Abenaki filmmaker and performer Alanis Obomsawin

11 Indigenous Leaders You Should Know

These Indigenous politicians, activists, linguists, teachers, and artists—who work to preserve their heritage and secure civil rights—deserve to be better known.

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11 Bizarre Tricks From a 19th Century Magic Book

While there are tons of videos on sites like YouTube that have magic tricks today, before the internet, people learned these spells from books.

A Currier & Ives lithograph depicts people fleeing across the Randolph Street Bridge during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

8 Surprising Facts About the Great Chicago Fire of 1871—150 Years Later

On October 8, 1871, Chicago was transformed into a hellish inferno by the Great Chicago Fire. By the time a sudden rain helped extinguish the flames, 300 people were dead, and 100,000 more were homeless. And no: It was not because of Mrs. O'Leary's cow.

An illustration of a woolly mammoth, blissfully unaware of its species impending doom.

20 Cool Facts About the Ice Age

How many ice ages have there been so far? The same number of ‘Ice Age’ movies that have been released. (Five.)

Billie Holiday performs at the Downbeat in New York City in 1947.

How Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" Shocked Listeners With Its Brutal Confrontation of Racism

Named the “song of the century” by TIME in 1999, “Strange Fruit” continues to devastate listeners nearly a century after its original recording.

A little Vegemite on toast is an Australian tradition.

What Is Vegemite? A Brief History of Australia's Favorite Yeast Extract Spread

With its mysterious ingredients list and polarizing taste, Vegemite is one of the most fascinating products to come out of Australia.

Workers sift for treasure at Sutton Hoo in 1939.

Explore the Sutton Hoo Ship Burial Through These Newly Digitized Photos From the Dig

The Sutton Hoo ship burial excavation was meticulously captured by two amateur photographers. Now, you can see their work online.

Hell On Heels: How Madonna's Shoe Mishap Scandalized the 1984 MTV VMAs

Madonna wasn't yet a household name when she opened the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards by humping the stage, leading some people—including her own management team—to believe her career was over.

Abraham Lincoln's hair was used to make the eagle's head in this one-of-a-kind sculpture.

This Priceless 'Hairy Eagle' Sculpture Is Made Out of Abraham Lincoln's Hair

At the height of the Civil War, a soldier advocacy group displayed a sculpture made from the presidential follicles of Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary to raise money for troops. Now it's a historical curio.

10 Facts About Joshua Tree National Park

Only two hours outside Los Angeles, Joshua Tree National Park has always had a glamorous cachet. But it also has a fascinating history filled with Hollywood-style drama.

Monuments, statues, houses, cars, and even sneakers have been built out of spite.

38 Things Done Out of Spite

Spite causes us to act in ways that might cause us to suffer but somehow still feels so good. Perhaps that's why people have built literal monuments to spite.

When Hundreds of Vampire-Hunting Children Invaded a Scottish Cemetery—And Helped Spur a Comic Book Ban

In September 1954, hundreds of armed children invaded a Glasgow graveyard to hunt a vampire—and inadvertently helped pass a comic book censorship law.

Preschoolers waiting to be vaccinated for smallpox outside their doctor's office.

Mandatory Vaccines for Schools Began in Boston Nearly 200 Years Ago

The prospect of COVID-19 vaccine mandates for schools has been ruffling some feathers lately. It’s not a new issue.

Robert E. Lee and company in the National Cathedral's stained-glass windows.

The National Cathedral Will Replace Its Confederate-Themed Stained-Glass Windows

Stained-glass windows depicting Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson were removed in 2017. Now, Kerry James Marshall is working on their replacements.

You won't want to run into any of these cryptids.

22 Creepy Cryptids From Around the World

From Bigfoot and Yeti to the Loch Ness Monster and Ogopogo, the world is full of cryptids. Here are just a few of the many cryptids around the world that you should know.

Victorians saw Halloween as a time to worry about marriage. And bake cakes with needles in them.

7 Highly Intriguing Victorian Halloween Traditions

In the 1800s, Victorians regarded Halloween as less about creepy costumes and more about the abject terror of being unwed.

HP sauce "You've got to admire their Sauce" 1982 TV Commercial

What Is HP Sauce? The Sticky History Behind the UK’s Favorite Brown Sauce

A brief food history of HP Sauce, one of the UK's oldest—and most beloved—brown sauces, plus tips for how to use it now.

6 Interesting Facts About the Color Yellow

For some, yellow is the color of the gods—for others, it symbolizes controversy. Here are six facts about the color yellow.

A 1788 portrait of Marie Antoinette by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun.

Marie Antoinette’s Diamonds Are Hitting the Auction Block

Not all of Marie Antoinette’s jewels stayed within the family after her death. These two bracelets did.

Vincent van Gogh continues to surprise scholars.

A Newly Identified Vincent Van Gogh Sketch Is Going on Display for the First Time

The artist has left behind a body of work that keeps expanding. This time, it's a pencil sketch that's been in private hands since 1910.

Not even cats were safe from being a part of the epic Japanese fart battles depicted in a series of art scrolls produced during the Edo period.

20 Memorable Farts Heard 'Round the World

So much has changed over the past several thousands of years that it's easy to forget about some of the things that have not. Like the fact that we’re still the same people we always were—fallible, farting people.

20 Headline-Making Animals

Whether their fame lasted for 15 minutes or a lifetime, the notoriety these animals received was well-deserved.

5 Riveting Facts About the Color Red

As one of the oldest colors in the world, red symbolizes aggression, power, and passion. Here are some surprising facts about the hue.

Jeremy Bentham's preserved head between the feet of his auto-icon, circa the 1950s.

The Strange Stories Behind 10 Historical Body Parts

From Napoleon's penis to Galileo's finger, the body parts of historical figures are steeped in legend.

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