The very first Civil War ironclads and the first in the world to fight warships were armored gunboats built by Union Captain James Buchanan Eads, the cousin of future President James Buchanan. This led to some of the earliest Union victories of the entire conflict. But they were kind of cartoonish.
Read More
What's in a name? People are still asking it, all these centuries later. And for good reason. Pink Floyd wasn't always Pink Floyd. Nor was The Grateful Dead born that way. But what about Simon and Garfunkel?
Read More
Jean-Michel Basquiat, an artist whose roots in graffiti made his work stand out among others, left a legacy of stunning paintings. But his sudden popularity in his 20s caused him to spiral into a drug habit that eventually cost him his life. His death cemented his status as an art world rockstar.
Read More
In case you've forgotten, Marilyn Manson and My Chemical Romance have also been sparring for over a decade in a feud that will most likely never be resolved.
Read More
Hank Williams Jr. found some success, working more or less as a tribute act and playing plenty of his old man's standards. Critical reception was lukewarm -- The New Yorker pointed out that he "was raised to be an echo, not an influence," changing his name to better pull a nostalgic crowd.
Read More
That brilliant, unapologetic individuality made for musical voodoo that only he could do so well. But it could also cause discord.
Read More
Unfortunately, The Ramones only seemed like a tight unit from the outside. They may have made rock history, but the band's internal affairs were full of arguments, feuds and disappointment ... and ultimately, several untimely deaths.
Read More
Daryl Hall (the tall, blond one) and John Oates (the one with the mustache) are one of the greatest duo acts pop-rock has ever seen. And it all started with... a shootout.
Read More
Huey Lewis and his band contributed a track to Back to the Future that helped make history, both for the movie and for their careers. But it was almost never recorded.
Read More
Dio joined Black Sabbath when the band fired the increasingly unreliable Ozzy Osbourne in 1979, and his powerful voice was a perfect match for the band's signature sound. So why'd he end up leaving?
Read More
One of the most successful Hollywood directors of all time, Spielberg has formed quite a legacy. Fans would undoubtedly be interested in viewing his first feature, if only to see just how far the movie legend has come. The catch is, Spielberg's earliest film doesn't exist anymore.
Read More
Elvis Presley was a man who spent his later years surrounded by two things: the adulation of his hangers-on, and comfy cozy velvet. His followers, dubbed the Memphis Mafia, filled numerous roles in the singer's life -- including that of bodyguards.
Read More
These days, Sammy Sosa might not look anything like he used to during his active playing career, but the baseball great's considerable achievements remain etched in the annals of the sport. Does his net worth reflect that success?
Read More
What is the most definitive rock band of all time? That question is prime fodder for an entertaining evening of argument, but you can be dead certain of one thing: At some point, someone's bound to mention Led Zeppelin.
Read More
Steve Buscemi (pronounced "buss-ehm-ee," says Snopes) is one of those character actors who keeps surprising the audience. He's displayed a remarkable range over the course of his nearly 40 years in the business. Surprisingly enough, though, he also used to be a firefighter.
Read More
Founded in 1969, it's no doubt that funk group Earth, Wind & Fire is considered one of the most commercially successful acts of all time. However, amid all this overwhelming success and an iconic status lasting fifty years, one question remains: Where did the group's legendary name come from?
Read More
There's one mystery that's had the very cool bow ties of the Whovians all mussed up for years. And it's not "why does the Doctor's age fluctuate so much?," or "What was the Doctor talking about when he said he was half-human in that TV movie?"
Read More
Remember The White Stripes? The band that consisted of Jack and Meg White had a good run during their 14-year career. In the band's heyday, they peaked at number three on Billboard 200 with their 2005 album, Get Behind Me Satan, and their single Seven Nation Army is still an anthem today.
Read More
Betty Boop first showed up in 1930, though not in human form... at first she was an anthropomorphic french poodle.
Read More
If you've ever left the TV running and have dogs, you might have noticed they sometimes stare raptly at the screen. Why is it that dogs seem to really love watching TV?
Read More
For a band as longstanding and storied as Metallica, they have not been without ups and downs. No event had such a dramatic impact on Metallica's history, though, as the death of the bassist Cliff Burton.
Read More
For longer than most of us have been alive, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (or NASCAR, to its friends) has been rattling the ground beneath Daytona. But how did it get its start?
Read More
It's been more than 30 years for Cops, the ride-along reality TV series that purported to show police officers at work, making communities across the country safe. But now those Bad Boys are going to have to find something else to do, as the show's been canceled, along with Live P.D.
Read More
On July 6, 1992, Johnson's lifeless body was pulled from New York's Hudson River. The police classified it a suicide. None of her friends accepted that.
Read More
John Wayne remains an American icon for his roles in Westerns and war movies, but what do we really know about him? This is the untold truth of John Wayne.
Read More
Donnie Yen's mother, Bow-sim Mark, is kind of a big deal — not just as an acclaimed martial artist but also as a business woman who made it big at a time when the glass ceiling was a whole lot thicker than it is today.
Read More
Keiynan Lonsdale, an Australian actor took on the role of Wally West, who becomes Kid Flash. But he may have been a flash in the pan, so to speak.
Read More