The True Story Of How Britain Destroyed Their Files On Colonialism
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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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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."
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Here's What You Need To Know About The Electoral College
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 Toughest Women In The Wild West
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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The Woman Behind One Of America's Last Stagecoach Robberies
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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Here Are Some Of The Most Disastrous Typos In History
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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The Truth About Mark Twain's Children
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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The Truth About The Forgotten Earp Brother, Warren
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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Outbreaks That Led To Civil Unrest
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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Was This Man History's First Recorded Serial Killer?
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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The Accident That Led To The Invention Of Post-Its
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 Dark Truth About Amish Country
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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Can Joe Biden Run For President In 2024 If He Loses To Donald Trump?
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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Can Donald Trump Run For President In 2024 If He Loses To Joe Biden?
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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Is There An Age Requirement To Run For President Of The United States?
In the constitution, the rules for future presidents were outlined, including a natural citizenship requirement and an age requirement. The age requirement to run for president of the United States starts at 35. The president's age was of great debate in the 1700s.
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What's The Most Times Someone Has Run For President Of The United States?
Some candidates try again and again to be president, but success forever eludes their grasp. So you might be wondering, what's the most times someone has run for president of the United States?
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The Mythology Of The Northern Lights Explained
Hundreds of years ago, though, our ancestors made up their own mythology about the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis.
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The Worst Christmas Shortages In History
Christmas will never be immune to buzz-killing shortages. These are the worst Christmas shortages in history.
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Why Brazil Sends People To The Deadly Snake Island
According to Smithsonian magazine, some 2,000-4,000 golden lancehead vipers live on the island officially known as Ilha da Queimada Grande (which translates literally to Big Burned Island, though its colloquial name obviously suits it better).
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How Horses Led To The Invention Of Pants
At what point in history did we as a people decide, yes, pants they are important? That was right around the time we decided walking was for losers and started riding horses. Yep, horses are the reason for all this pants nonsense.
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The True History Of The Pencil
The history of the pencil is inextricably linked with the entire history of human communication as it flowed from oral traditions to written communication, and the development of written languages, where tiny scrawled symbols denoted sounds made by the human mouth, tongue, and throat.
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The Reason Christopher Columbus Didn't Actually Discover America
Not only did Columbus not discover America -- there were already Native Americans who had been living there for thousands of years -- he literally never set foot in what became the continental United States.
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