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In 1303 the French King Sent Goons to Attack and Kidnap the Pope
A power-mad dictator sends agents to kidnap the pope, plunder his palace and force him to resign in disgrace on trumped-up charges. That may sound like the plot line of a contemporary action thriller. But it actually happened in 1303—a real-life drama featuring King Philip IV of ...read more
These Photos Show the Harsh Reality of Life in WWII Japanese-American Internment Camps
In February of 1942, just 10 weeks after the attacks on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. government issued Executive Order 9066, calling for the internment of Japanese-Americans. Intended initially to prevent Japanese spies from receiving intel, this order authorized their removal from ...read more
9 Black Inventors Who Made Daily Life Easier
Most people have heard about famous inventions like the light bulb, the cotton gin and the iPhone. But there are countless other, often overlooked inventions that make our daily lives easier. Among the creative innovators behind these devices, are African-Americans. From the ...read more
What Made Stonehenge's Builders Collect Massive Stones from 180 Miles Away?
After 5,000 years, scholars are beginning to unlock one of the greatest mysteries surrounding Stonehenge. Geologists long ago traced dozens of the Neolithic monument’s smaller “bluestones” to the Preseli Hills in western Wales, some 180 miles away from Stonehenge itself. Now, a ...read more
What Did Jesus Look Like?
For centuries, the most common image of Jesus Christ, at least in Western cultures, has been that of a bearded, fair-skinned man with long, wavy, light brown or blond hair and (often) blue eyes. But the Bible doesn’t describe Jesus physically, and all the evidence we do have ...read more
Trumpets Found in King Tut’s Tomb Were Nearly Wrecked in a 1939 Publicity Stunt
The trumpeter held the silver instrument to his lips. This was no ordinary trumpet: It had been retrieved 17 years earlier in the tomb of King Tutankhamun, a 14th-century B.C. pharaoh whose lavish sarcophagus and funeral remains had stoked a worldwide fascination with all things ...read more
How the Donner Party Was Doomed By a Disastrous Shortcut
After it was all over, Virginia Reed wrote a long letter to her cousin. A member of the infamous Donner Party, the 13-year-old had recently suffered through one of the most grueling—and gruesome—overland crossings of all time. Though Virginia said her family had not eaten human ...read more
High-Ranking Viking Warrior Long Assumed to Be Male Was Actually Female
The 10th-century Viking’s grave contains high quality weapons, an imported uniform, two horses and even a gaming set. Clearly, the grave contained a warrior of great importance; and for over a century, archaeologists assumed the person was male. But when researchers announced in ...read more
See Photos of 20 U.S. Presidents Who Served in the Military—in Uniform
When the United States chose its first president in 1788, Americans turned to George Washington who, as an army general, had led them to victory over the British and independence. The acclaim that he had received as a war hero made him a unifying figure and gave him tremendous ...read more
Reagan Aides Once Raised the Possibility of Invoking the 25th Amendment
The president was acting strangely. In the wake of a scandal about his illegal dealings with foreign powers, White House aides felt he was so “inattentive and inept” that a memo sent to the chief of staff raised the prospect of invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from ...read more
What Killed King Tut?
When British archaeologist Howard Carter opened a sarcophagus in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings for the first time on February 16, 1923, he stoked intrigue and mystery over an ancient Egyptian boy king. Who was King Tutankhamun, the occupant of the burial chamber who ruled 3,300 ...read more
How the History of Blackface Is Rooted in Racism
The portrayal of blackface–when people darken their skin with shoe polish, greasepaint or burnt cork and paint on enlarged lips and other exaggerated features, is steeped in centuries of racism. It peaked in popularity during an era in the United States when demands for civil ...read more
George H.W. Bush’s Dangerous Role in WWII
With the wings of his plane on fire and smoke pouring into the cockpit, future President George H.W. Bush parachuted into the Pacific Ocean, where he floated for hours on a life raft, vomiting uncontrollably and bleeding profusely from his forehead. Still, Bush could count ...read more
A 14th-Century Nun Faked Her Death With a ‘Dummy’ to Escape Convent Life
In the early 14th century, a nun named Joan of Leeds faked her own death with a “dummy” and a bogus burial. Scholars in the United Kingdom recently reexamined and translated a salty letter the Archbishop of York wrote about the escapade. Several centuries later, it remains the ...read more
Herbert Hoover Blamed the Great Depression on WWI—He Had a Point
Nearly two decades after leaving the White House, Herbert Hoover knew precisely where to place the blame for the economic calamity that befell his presidency—and it wasn’t with him. “The primary cause of the Great Depression was the war of 1914-1918,” the former president wrote ...read more