Why Are There So Many Urban Legends About Mr. Rogers?
You may have read it on the internet or heard it from a friend: Before Fred McFeely Rogers became a beloved TV legend, he was a sniper in the Vietnam War. Then he took to the airwaves, adopting his signature sweater to cover his full-sleeve tattoos, using his platform to abuse ...read more
The First Lady Whose Legacy Outshines Her Husband’s
How many American first ladies created legacies that overshadow those of their presidential husbands? It’s a case that can be argued for Betty Ford, who courageously took on taboo topics such as breast cancer, abortion and addiction—and in doing so, started national conversations ...read more
World’s Oldest Animal Discovered, Looks Weird
The oldest known animal in history has been discovered thanks to some well-preserved animal fat that’s been sitting in northwest Russia for the past 558 million years. The find expands the confirmed existence of animals by three million years.The ancient animal is a Dickinsonia, ...read more
This Teenager Killed Nazis With Her Sister During WWII
Freddie Oversteegen was only 14 when she joined the Dutch resistance during World War II, and only a couple of years older when she became one of its armed assassins. Together with her sister—and later, a young woman named Hannie Schaft—the trio lured, ambushed and killed German ...read more
Why Were the Rosenbergs Executed?
Few death-penalty executions can equal the controversy created by the electrocutions of spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in 1953. Accused of overseeing a spy network that stole American atomic secrets and handing those over to the Soviet Union, the couple were the only spies ...read more
Best Gear for an Epic Mountain Adventure
HISTORY recommends products that our editors think you’ll like, and if you buy something through our links HISTORY may get a small share of the revenue. Prices may fluctuate.WALK THIS WAYWhether you’re navigating wintry backwoods terrain, looking for a quad-burning workout or ...read more
Four Works of Nazi-Looted Art Identified and Returned to Jewish Family
Germany has identified four drawings that Nazis stole from a Jewish home during the Third Reich. The art belonged to the Deutsch de la Meurthe family, who lived in Paris when Germany invaded and occupied France. Nazis seized their house—all but Georgette, the youngest daughter, ...read more
Ancient Beer: 13,000-Year-Old Site May Be the World’s Oldest Brewery
For many people, nothing tastes better than a glass of cold beer, whether enjoyed at the end of a long day of work or while relaxing on a summer afternoon. But brewing beer—not baking bread—could be the reason our ancestors began cultivating grains in the first place. Inside a ...read more
How Flappers Redefined Womanhood (Hint: It Involved Jazz, Liquor and Sex)
No cultural symbol of the 1920s is more recognizable than the flapper. A young woman with a short “bob” hairstyle, cigarette dangling from her painted lips, dancing to a live jazz band. Flappers romped through the Roaring Twenties, enjoying the new freedoms ushered in by the end ...read more
When Women Took Up Arms (and Disguises) to Fight in Mexico's Revolution
The Mexican Revolution rose out of a struggle for civil liberties and land and would eventually topple the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz and begin a new age for Mexico. The war, which started in 1910, was, at its core, one of the first social revolutions and women—as well as ...read more
The 2008 Crash: What Happened to All That Money?
The warning signs of an epic financial crisis were blinking steadily through 2008—for those who were paying close attention. One clue? According to the ProQuest newspaper database, the phrase "since the Great Depression" appeared in The New York Times nearly twice as often in the ...read more
World War II-Era Flood Was the Worst in D.C.'s History
While Allied troops were fighting World War II in the Pacific, the U.S. homefront was defending Washington, D.C. from the worst flood it’d ever seen.“Spare no effort or expense to protect the Capital,” President Franklin D. Roosevelt told officials during the flood of October ...read more
How the Vietnam War Empowered the Hippie Movement
On March 8, 1965, two battalions of U.S. Marines landed on beaches of Da Nang, marking the first official engagement of American troops in the Vietnam War. Over the next several years, as the United States escalated its ill-fated involvement in that conflict, hundreds of ...read more
Why Is There a Civil War in Syria?
The Syrian civil war, which has devastated the entire country of Syria and its neighbors, is a complex conflict that involves several nations, rebel groups and terrorist organizations.What started as a nonviolent protest in 2011 quickly escalated into full-blown warfare. Since ...read more
When Dozens of Korean War GIs Claimed a UFO Made Them Sick
In May 1951, one year into the Korean War, PFC Francis P. Wall and his regiment found themselves stationed near Chorwon, about 60 miles north of Seoul. As they were preparing to bombard a nearby village with artillery, all of a sudden, the soldiers saw a strange sight up in the ...read more