• The Time Harriet Tubman Fell Victim To A Conman

    One of Tubman's encounters with danger stands out from the rest, but not because of a slave owner or someone on the hunt for her reward money. It came from a hustler who was uncommonly good at his job, who left Tubman beaten and bound in the woods of Auburn, New York.

    By Richard Milner November 4th, 2020 Read More
  • How Many Men Did Billy The Kid Kill?

    In August 1877, during a poker game, McCarty trades insults with a local blacksmith, Francis Cahill. The game turns violent. Cahill pins McCarty to the ground, and McCarty shoots. Cahill dies two days later.

    By Emilia David November 4th, 2020 Read More
  • The Untold Truth Of Civil War Photographer Mathew Brady

    The 19th-century photographer Mathew Brady, who went from taking portraits of the rich and famous to taking death portraits on Civil War battlefields, is known for depicting the cost of war. The truth of Civil War photographer Mathew Brady is he funded the photojournalism himself and went into debt.

    By Kate Sullivan November 4th, 2020 Read More
  • The Truth About The Brutal Punishments In Alcatraz

    With voguish gangsters and bootleggers like Al "Scarface" Capone and George "Machine Gun Kelly" Barnes capturing the public's attention, the government knew it needed an equally dramatic response to their sensational criminality, one that would strike fear in the hearts of potential lawbreakers.

    By Cody Copeland November 4th, 2020 Read More
  • The Greatest Mathematician Of Ancient Alexandria Was A Woman

    Hypatia was born in Alexandria, Egypt. She was a scientist, educator, and intellectual, though many details of her life remain obscured. She was a brilliant woman who was deeply tied to Alexandra's reputation as a center of learning and progress.

    By Sarah Crocker November 3rd, 2020 Read More
  • Charity Events That Turned Into Total Disasters

    A charity event puts everyone to work toward a common goal and is usually for something that no one can argue about. Every once in a while a charity event occurs that is a disaster unto itself. Here are some of the biggest, grandest, charity disasters.

    By Jenna Inouye November 3rd, 2020 Read More
  • A Look Into The Royal Curse Queen Victoria Carried

    Queen Victoria carried with her a royal curse, one that she passed on to other royals. Unlike that episode of Doctor Who, where Queen Victoria passed on lycanthropy to her heirs, her royal curse is more of a medical nature: She was a carrier for hemophilia.

    By Emilia David November 3rd, 2020 Read More
  • How JFK's Bad Back May Have Contributed To His Death

    In the 2017 report, researchers speculated on whether the brace kept Kennedy sitting upright after he'd been shot in the neck by Lee Harvey Oswald. Had the president not been wearing it, he may have crumpled forward, making it more difficult for Oswald to fire the fatal second shot.

    By Nicole Rosenthal November 3rd, 2020 Read More
  • Where Is The Garden Of Eden Located?

    When trying to locate the physical, actual inspiration for the Garden of Eden, you might assume that we'd be looking for a pretty lush, verdant expanse stuffed full of bountiful fruits. But there have been a lot of climate changes in the Middle East going back to, oh, 10,000 BCE or so.

    By Richard Milner November 3rd, 2020 Read More
  • Why Medicine Was Deadly During The Crusades

    It was the Middle Ages; things were bound to be terrible compared to now. The sad thing is, even if people lived through the hunger and the wars, a doctor might end up killing them instead. Medicine, especially military medicine during the Crusades, was crude and often very dangerous.

    By Emilia David November 3rd, 2020 Read More
  • The Surprising Perks Alcatraz Had That Other Prisons Didn't

    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.

    By Richard Milner November 3rd, 2020 Read More
  • What Was The Mountain Men's Annual Rendezvous?

    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?

    By Richard Milner November 3rd, 2020 Read More
  • The Crazy True Story Of The New England Vampire Panic

    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.

    By Marina Manoukian November 2nd, 2020 Read More
  • The Truth About How UPS Got Started

    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.

    By Robert Balkovich November 2nd, 2020 Read More
  • The Most Mysterious Geoglyphs On The Planet

    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.

    By DB Kelly November 2nd, 2020 Read More
  • The Messed Up Truth Behind IQ Tests

    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.

    By Nicholas Conley November 1st, 2020 Read More
  • The Real Reason Russia Sold Alaska To The United States

    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?

    By Becki Robins November 1st, 2020 Read More
  • Why Julius Caesar Wasn't Really An Emperor

    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.

    By Karen Corday October 30th, 2020 Read More
  • The Surprising Place The Ark Of The Covenant Was Kept

    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.

    By Emilia David October 30th, 2020 Read More
  • Was Daniel Boone Tried For Treason?

    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.

    By Cody Copeland October 30th, 2020 Read More
  • The Odd Use For Lysol In The Early 20th Century

    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.

    By Karen Corday October 30th, 2020 Read More
  • Cosmetics Were Often Deadly In Ancient Greece. Here's Why

    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.

    By Karen Corday October 29th, 2020 Read More
  • The Heroic Carrier Pigeon Of World War I

    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."

    By Emilia David October 29th, 2020 Read More