Alcatraz had one luxury that most other prisons lacked: "reasonably hot" showers. Showers weren't private, and had to be quick, but they were at least not frigid. It's suspected that this gesture was merely an attempt to prevent prisoners from getting acclimated to the cold water of the Bay.
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Is a "mountain man" precisely the kind of long-bearded, ax-hefting hermit you imagine him to be? Who exactly were these atavistic conquerors of tree and hill, these intrepid trappers of critters and traders of tabacky? Something a bit more authentic than who we see on The History Channel, mayhaps?
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Before Robert Koch discovered the tubercular bacillus in 1882, the lack of understanding of the bacteria and the disease it caused led to some wild theories and attempts to curb the spread of tuberculosis. Surprisingly, this intersected with vampire legends in an especially curious manner.
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Seattle has always been a city of industry and innovation, something that teenagers Jim Casey and Claude Ryan knew all too well. In 1907 they borrowed $100 from an acquaintance and founded the American Messenger Company, which would eventually become UPS.
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Geoglyphs are basically designs that someone's made on the surface of the earth, through etchings or piling up elements to create a picture. Geoglyphs can be found throughout the world. These are the most mysterious geoglyphs on the planet, from Peru to Ohio.
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IQ tests have been around, in one form or another, for over a century. Sadly, the many occasions in which IQ tests have been used as a justification for racism, eugenics, xenophobia, and executions is ... deeply troubling, to say the least. This is the messed up truth behind IQ tests.
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In the mid-1800s, the United States set its sights on Alaska, now a state rich in oil, fish, minerals, natural wonders, and snow. But not everyone thought it was such a great idea The US went ahead and made the purchase anyway. So what is the real reason Russia sold Alaska to the United States?
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Once humans started eating more grain, "bacteria in the human mouth flourished, pouring out acids that eat away at the teeth." The Sudanese skeletons belonged to farmers, so why were their teeth in such great shape?
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Britain destroyed and withheld evidence of crimes in Africa with the explicit purpose of being kept out of the hands of post-independence governments.
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Gaius Julius Caesar is known for having been a statesman who changed the course of history. Per Britannica, he was a general who overthrew the long reign of Roman nobility and replaced it with a dictatorship. (He came, he saw, he conquered, or in his words, Veni, vedi, vici.) July is his namesake.
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The ark of the covenant is of great importance for many religions, and even more so for the Israelites who escaped Egypt. They carried the ark with them during the Exodus, and, because of its importance, they constructed a place to shelter it, called a tabernacle, to keep it safe while they rested.
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One man wrote of Boone, "He never liked to take life and always avoided it when he could." An historically accurate depiction of Boone reveals that he would have rather negotiated peace than engage in violence, and this attitude would put him into a bit of trouble with the military in 1778.
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Per Mother Jones, birth control was often difficult to obtain in the first half of the 20th century. It was expensive, hard to access, and required the intervention of doctors who often didn't want to provide contraceptives to their patients. This left people to devise their own methods.
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Ancient Greeks took the cosmetic use of dangerous lead a step further, favoring a white lead face cream that was meant to clear up blemishes and even the tone and texture of skin. Unfortunately, lead causes health problems ranging from infertility to dementia.
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The U.S. Army deployed around 600 carrier pigeons, according to the World War I Centennial Commission, and one stood out as heroic. The pigeon's name was Cher Ami -- French for "dear friend."
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The electors represent the choice of the majority of their state -- whoever wins the popular vote in their state. To put it simply, when you vote on November 3, you're voting for your candidate's electoral representatives, explains the website of the US House of Representatives.
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The truth of life in the Wild West was rarely easy for the people who actually had to live there. Things like medical care or law enforcement could be hard to find. To be a woman there was even more difficult. These women were some of the toughest to make their mark
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In the cowpoke getup, the 100-pound Pearl looked like more like a young boy playing sheriff than a menacing highway robber, but the clothes -- and the .38 revolver she took with her -- were enough to scare the daylights out of the passengers on the stagecoach bound for Florence, Arizona.
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Have you ever noticed an obvious typo in an important document just seconds after you submitted it? The answer to that question is probably "Yes"; it's a terrible moment that unites us all. Humans are imperfect, so unless we get replaced by robots, it's unlikely that we'll ever stop making typos.
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Twain basically invented himself as a public figure, and both he and his irreverence infiltrated social circles, from Nikolai Tesla to abolitionists to suffragettes. Twain did have a private life, however, and it centered around his wife Olivia ("Livy") and their children.
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It's plain that a not insignificant number of those trailblazing frontiersman were really just a bunch of pugnacious lowlifes always on the lookout a chance to steal something, most often after shooting something or someone. One such scoundrel was Warren Earp, the youngest brother of Wyatt Earp.
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The coronavirus (COVID-19) is the latest in a litany of pandemics that have been unleashed upon society, a powerful threat with a global impact. It's no wonder that pandemics throughout history have more often than not coincided with significant civil unrest.
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Serial killings had to have started somewhere — they weren't birthed by some mystical demon. This is a very human problem that started somewhere in our history, and the earliest known serial killer may have been the child butcher Gilles de Rais. Was this man history's first recorded serial killer?
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Spencer Silver discovered that his glue had microspheres that retain stickiness. He couldn't think of a use for his invention; after all, the goal was to find a new adhesive that could stick anywhere. So his microsphere-filled, removable adhesive sat on a shelf for several years.
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The Amish have a bit of a reputation as a devoutly religious group who live simply, without modern conveniences. But there is a dark truth to the group.
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At the age of 77, Joe Biden would be the oldest president in United States history were he to win the 2020 election. That's why many wonder if Joe Biden would run for president in 2024 if he loses to President Donald Trump.
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If President Donald Trump loses the 2020 US election, what happens then? Some think he'll refuse to peacefully hand over the presidency. Others think he'll try to become president again in 2024, which begs the question: Can Donald Trump run for president in 2024 if he loses to Joe Biden?
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