Thanks in large part to Brad Pitt, society bumped up their Latin vocabulary last year. Added to "et cetera" and "in vino veritas," everyone now knows "ad astra," the title of Pitt's movie about space travel, meaning "to the stars."
Read MoreThe Olmecs are the lesser-known cousins to the Aztec and Maya, and predate them as the oldest Mesoamerican civilization on record.
Read MoreSteve Miller and Jimi Hendrix are both iconic musicians and guitarists, though their approach to the artform is radically different.
Read MoreBack in the 8th Century, you couldn't very well have a rifle fit for a king -- but you could have a sword. And you did, if your name was Charlemagne, King of the Franks.
Read MoreBeing lead guitarist in The Beatles might seem like a pretty sweet gig, but Geirge Harrison almost missed his place among the gods of rock 'n' roll simply because John Lennon was heavily against him in the beginning. Why was Lennon so adamant about letting young Harrison in the band? Let's find out!
Read MoreWriting about 2500 years ago, the philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus observed that the only constant in life is change -- "life is flux." Rarely has popular culture embraced that as thoroughly as the BBC's Doctor Who, a time travel/sci-fi series that ran from 1963-89 before relaunching in 2005.
Read MoreMany can agree that, like all things, VR is served best with a healthy dose of moderation. But what happens when you use it too much? Like every day?
Read MoreThe most famous ghost of Latin America is undoubtedly La Llorona, the crying woman. Her eerie cries foretell death and danger for naughty children, or maybe unfaithful husbands. She's been in movies, but what do you really know about the wailing woman? This is the legend of La Llorona explained.
Read MoreAt age 27, Willie Nelson moved to Nashville and got a job as an in-house songwriter, crafting songs like "Hello Walls," a hit for Faron Young, and "Crazy," a huge seller for Patsy Cline. And it almost wasn't.
Read MoreStyx is the river between the lands of the living and the dead in Greek mythology. Another, extremely different Styx makes music, and is quite good at it. But they wouldn't play Mr. Roboto for the longest time. Here's why.
Read MoreThe 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 MoreWhat'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 MoreJean-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 MoreResearch shows that the population of cowboys in the Old West was at least 25 percent black. Yet you'd never know based on traditional history.
Read MoreIn 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 MoreWhile the "Chicago Strangler" might sound like a historical villain who stalked the Windy City sometime during the Great Depression, this possible serial killer — or killers — has claimed victims as recently as 2018.
Read MoreHank 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 MoreThat brilliant, unapologetic individuality made for musical voodoo that only he could do so well. But it could also cause discord.
Read MoreUnfortunately, 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 MoreQueen Victoria's grandson, Prince Albert Victor was known to those who loved him as "Eddy," (also great uncle to the present Queen, Elizabeth II), and a proposed candidate for true identity of Jack the Ripper.
Read MoreWhen protests erupted in response to footage of a Minneapolis police officer killing George Floyd — a helplessly handcuffed man who cried out for his mother as a uniformed government official kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes — a few familiar scenes played out in the media.
Read MoreDaryl 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 MoreHuey 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 MoreDio 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 MoreOne 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 MoreElvis 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 MoreThese 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?
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