war

Harold (second from left) grasps the arrow that is apparently in his eye.

The exact number is hotly debated—but there are dozens.

Detail of Scene 52 of the Bayeux Tapestry showing a group of horsemen fighting with spears and swords, armored with mail-shirts and helmets, and carrying shields.

The medieval masterpiece—embroidered on a 230-foot piece of linen—depicts bloody battles and a royal betrayal that changed the history of England.

Manhattan Project scientists working on the Thin Man plutonium gun assembly.

One atomic bomb was used in a test explosion. Two more bombs were deployed over Japan. That left a mysterious fourth bomb—code-named Thin Man—in the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

Overhead view of Pit 157 from Bergheim Saulager, showing a late Middle Neolithic violence-related bone collection analyzed in the study.

According to a new archaeological study of human bones showing evidence of violent “overkill,” war was hell even in the late Stone Age.

No one wants to go through a nuclear war.

Cockroaches have a reputation for being indestructible. But they may not be as totally immune to radiation as people think.

Fallout shelters experienced explosive growth the early 1960s.

Fears of nuclear war led to a fleeting craze for fallout shelters stocked with crackers, body bags, and guns.

American servicemen and women in Paris celebrate on V-J Day, marking the end of World War II.

Savage battles, atomic bombs, and shark attacks were just some of the events leading up to the end of World War II in August 1945. Here's a look back on its 80th anniversary.

The toy aisle looked pretty different in the mid-20th century.

From a dollhouse with a nuclear bunker to an atomic energy lab with real uranium, some of these toys from the ‘50s and ‘60s have us scratching our heads.

“Fat Man” was originally intended for a different Japanese city.

Kokura was the original target, but avoiding the atomic bomb may have been more than just random chance.

Duck and Cover (1951) - Classic Cold War Safety Film

The nuclear anxiety of the 1950s led to two unlikely strategies: ducking under school desks and taking advice from a cartoon turtle.

An illustration of the moments following the ‘Enola Gay’’s deployment of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima.

After dropping the atomic bomb over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, almost all of the 12 men aboard the ‘Enola Gay’ had something to say about it.

The world changed forever when the U.S. detonated two atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945.

Eighty years after the first—and only—deployment of atomic bombs, here’s a look back at one of history’s most devastating acts of war.

A fallout shelter sign left over from the Cold War still visible in Brooklyn, New York.

Tens of thousands of fallout shelter signs, with three yellow triangles in a black circle, are visible on building façades today. They serve as grim reminders of the hottest flashes of the Cold War. So why are they still around?

Sometimes the military systems put in place to avert nuclear annihilation worked a little too well.

Some people made jokes; one person established the Nobel Prize.

While their images might not be immortalized on dollar bills or their stories ingrained into every high school syllabus, these lesser-known figures nonetheless played critical roles in the shaping of the American Revolution.

United States Army Chief of Staff General Collins studying a map of the front line during the battle for Korea, with Lieutenant General Walker, Brigadier General Farrell, and Korean Brigadier General Paik.

What you need to know about this so-called “Forgotten War” on its 75th anniversary.

Arnold Schwarzenegger at the 2023 premiere of 'FUBAR,' season 1.

The Arnold Schwarzenegger–starring Netflix series takes its title from World War II military slang. Here’s what 'fubar' means.

The holiday is always a three-day weekend for a reason.

Discover the real reason why Memorial Day always happens on a Monday, plus how the holiday actually does differ from Veterans Day, and more.

A U.S. Marine charges forward through Japanese machine gun fire during the Battle of Okinawa.

From their birthplace in a tavern to the origins of that famous ‘Leatherneck’ nickname, learn more about the history of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Arlington is some of the most hallowed ground in the United States. But despite its great importance, the cemetery has had more than its share of scandals.

The African American Civil War Memorial.

These tributes to fallen soldiers may not be as instantly recognizable as the Vietnam Memorial and others, but their stories are no less fascinating—including one that doubles as a mausoleum right in Manhattan.

In 1947, the seemingly everyday, innocent thoughts of a teen girl were published. But they weren’t so everyday: they were the thoughts of Anne Frank.

The Alien Act was enacted by John Adams’s Federalist administration in preparation for a war that didn’t actually happen.

Three of the four acts expired shortly after they were signed into law in the late 1700s. One remains active—and it’s been at the center of constitutional debates ever since.

There’s a Surprising Number of Penises in the Medieval Bayeux Tapestry

12 Fascinating Secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry

The Manhattan Project Bomb You Haven’t Heard Of

Smashed Skulls and Severed Limbs Suggest Stone Age Armies Brutalized Their Victims

Could Cockroaches Really Survive a Nuclear War?

The Brief, Terrifying Time Americans Went All In on Fallout Shelters

12 Facts About the End of World War II

7 Retro Toys From the Atomic Age

How the Japanese City of Kokura Narrowly Avoided Nagasaki’s A-Bomb

Classroom Cold War: When Students Were Trained to “Duck and Cover”

How 12 ‘Enola Gay’ Crew Members Remember Dropping the Atomic Bomb

12 Facts About the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Why Do We Still See Fallout Shelter Signs?

7 Close Calls in the Nuclear Age

How 5 Influential People Responded to False Reports of Their Death

8 Forgotten Figures From the American Revolution

10 Facts About the Korean War

What Does ‘Fubar’ Mean?

Why Is Memorial Day Always on a Monday?

11 Things You Might Not Know About the Marine Corps

The Scandalous History of Arlington National Cemetery

11 Lesser-Known War Memorials

10 Facts About Anne Frank’s ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’

11 Fundamental Facts About the Alien and Sedition Acts