Like much of Disney's output in the '80s and '90s, the tale of a pauper whose fortunes change thanks to a chance encounter with a genie in a lamp was appropriated from a much older fairytale. In Aladdin's case it's a story that researchers think may have a real historical figure at its heart.
Read MoreHe was the King of Rock n' Roll in life, but his death was anything but distinguished. According to musical legend Leonard Bernstein, Elvis was the "greatest cultural force in the 20th century." But he died too young.
Read MoreJanuary 27, 1547. Henry VII's last day. As power brokers "hovered solicitously in the background," Henry was overcome by a "final paralysing weakness."
Read MoreAn alternative voting method has been making huge strides in the past few years, which combines the benefits of caucuses and traditional voting in one bright, shiny package: it's called ranked-choice voting. Here's how it works.
Read MoreEven though Oscar Wilde was skilled with words, he couldn't write enough to ward off death, disease, and betrayal.
Read More"I am Spartacus." It's a rallying cry to this day, people together for a common cause, acting as one. But whether or not the moment actually happened in history, we're still asking: Who was Spartacus?
Read MoreWhat do the richest people in the world have in common, aside from owning suits worth more than your life savings? Are all the richest people geniuses? Were they mostly born rich? Here are the stories of the richest people in the world.
Read MoreSometimes, mascots can land a company in boiling hot water. From racist controversies to violent incidents, you’ll probably remember these controversial mascots, even if the corporations themselves might prefer that you didn't.
Read MoreThanks to some olfactory archaeology we may have cracked the code of the whiff of Cleopatra's presence. Yes, we may now know what Cleopatra smelled like.
Read MoreWhether you liked his music or not, the world of music could probably do with more characters like the late Tom Petty. But if there's one thing about him that wasn't petty, it was his cash.
Read MoreBorn in Detroit, Michigan in 1941, James Phillip Hoffa has spent most of his life as labor union royalty. He joined the Teamsters on his 18th birthday, and studied law at the University of Michigan. From 1968 to 1993, he worked as a Teamster attorney. Where is he now?
Read MoreIf you could turn yourself invisible, would you use your powers for good or evil? Be honest. Thanks to science, you may one day have to consider this question seriously.
Read MoreAh, "Rock-a-bye Baby." The most classic nursery rhyme of all time.
Read MoreBeing an author is hard, but when it goes right, it goes right. Some people have managed to use the art of stringing words together to rake in countless millions. So which one of these precious few has done it the best? Who, in fact, is the richest author in the world right now?
Read MoreFor Catholics, fasting during the Lenten season (Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday) is a way to practice spiritual discipline and penance leading up to their holiest day of the year. In 17th century Bavaria, however, some very clever monks spent their Lent living off of nothing but beer.
Read MoreLife hasn't been easy for Carlos Santana. In fact, it's been a long and bumpy road to legendary status for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer.
Read MoreOn 24 February, 2020, author Clive Cussler died at 88 years old. He lived a pretty extraordinary life. And a pretty successful one.
Read MoreIt's one of those moments in espionage history when someone probably said, "That plan is so crazy, it just might work." Which is fine for movies, but in real life, generally, if the plan is that crazy, it really won't work. Case in point: the incident now known as The Great Locomotive Chase.
Read MoreIn 1990, Willie Nelson found himself at odds with the Internal Revenue Service to the tune of more money than you will ever even find yourself tangentially connected to.
Read MoreThe mortality rate of the coronavirus is somewhere around two percent, and there's no telling just how contagious it is until more data trickles in. What's more, there's a chance that there'll be an outbreak in the U.S. as well. So, what should we do to protect ourselves?
Read MoreJust one month before the release of Enter the Dragon, Bruce Lee died in Hong Kong, where he had been working on what was his final, uncompleted film, Game of Death. But it was never fully realized.
Read MoreThe J.M. Smucker Company, manufacturers of Jif peanut butter, have teamed up with popular GIF database Giphy to produce limited edition peanut butter jars that may settle the pronunciation debate.
Read MoreDreams, or "sleepy-time brain television," have long been a point of fascination. Sometimes, those dreams involve snakes.
Read MoreIf the first images of record-breaking glacial melt in Antarctica didn't send you running for your climate comfort blanket, how about these latest images of bloody ice shelves calving into unforgiving seas?
Read MoreMajor League Baseball players have not escaped financial perils that affected stars from other sports. Here are former baseball stars who are surprisingly poor.
Read MoreFrom its treacherous origins to the various no-shows, here's the controversial history of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Read MoreActing on a new directive to extend the orbital reach of satellites tens of thousands of miles in the direction of the moon, the shadowy R&D arm of the Pentagon is hard at work on a "nuclear thermal propulsion" engine.
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