History »
The Sacred Band of Thebes Entirely Made Up of Male Lovers
In the 4th century B.C., for a period of 50 years a small force of 300 elite Theban soldiers dominated Grecian battlefields. What makes this band of brothers unique in history is that it
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The Goingsnake Shootout
Ezekiel Proctor was a 19th century Cherokee man who had walked the Trail of Tears from Georgia to the Indian Territory when he was just seven years old. He was proud of his heritage,
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WWII Files: Japan’s Secret Weapon- Exploding Balloons
WWII saw the development of some zany designs for weapons, such as when the U.S. developed pigeon guided missiles and (literal) bat bombs (the latter of which were a little too effective, accidentally destroying the testing
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The Lawrence Massacre of 1863
Kansas had been swept up in the debate over whether or not it should allow slavery for some time. When it was finally decided that Kansas would be a free state, the South was
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The Jackson State Massacre of 1970
Overshadowed by the coverage of the Kent State Massacre that occurred not two weeks prior, when two people were killed and 11 injured while protesting at Jackson State College in the spring of 1970,
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Damnatio Memoriae: When the Romans Purposely Erased People from History
Damnatio memoriae (condemnation of memory) was a punishment reserved for certain people the Romans decided to dishonour for one reason or another. Rather impressively, it involved trying to get rid of all records that
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Chastity Belts Were Never Actually Used in Medieval Times
The lasting images of what most of us perceive to be the “medieval times” includes heroic knights, stampeding horses, court jesters, giant turkey legs, ruling kings, and pure maidens wearing chastity belts. But the
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That Time Detroit Gave Saddam Hussein the Key to the City
In 1980 America, the Cold War was still very much hot, Ronald Reagan was elected President, and the United States’ Olympic hockey team shockingly upset the USSR in what would be dubbed “The Miracle
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How the King James Bible Came About
Today I found out about the origin of the King James Bible. Back in 1603, Queen Elizabeth I passed away. She had ruled England for 45 years, was well-loved, and provided a sense of
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A Brief History of Beer
Beer brewing and drinking are activities that have been part of the human experience seemingly since the dawn of civilization. Around 10,000 years ago, mankind began to move away from living life as nomadic
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The Curious Relationship Between Richard the Lionheart and King Philip II of France
Today I found out Richard the Lionheart and Philip II of France “ate every day at the same table and from the same dish, and at night their beds did not separate them.” There
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The U.S. Army’s Camel Corps
Today I found out that camels were acquired by the United States military and played a role in the settlement of the American west. Camels are no strangers to war. They have been used
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How a Donkey and an Elephant Came to Represent Democrats and Republicans
Jennifer asks: Why is a donkey and an elephant associated with the Democrats and the Republicans? The donkey is stereotypically bumbling, slow, and stubborn; the elephant- big and clumsy. Being compared to one of
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The True Story Behind The Appalling Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment
Controversial research programs, unethical experimentation, and human trials have been part of the medical field for centuries. It doesn’t make it any less wrong, but certain scientists with questionable ethics have gotten away with
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The North’s Air Force During the American Civil War
Today I found out about the Union Army Balloon Corps. If you thought that air warfare was reserved for a time after airplanes were invented, you thought wrong. During the American Civil War, the
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The Last Gasp of the Vietnam War: Operation Frequent Wind
Over two days in April 1975, as the forces of the North Vietnamese Army were poised to take the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon, members of the U.S. armed forces, its embassy in South
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Why Native Americans Didn’t Wipe Out Europeans With Diseases
Greg H. asks: Diseases from Europe wiped out most of the Indians, so why didn’t the Europeans also get wiped out by diseases from America? While estimates vary, approximately 20 million people are believed
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The Stanford Prison Experiment
In the summer of 1971, on the campus of one of the nation’s top universities and under the supervision of a faculty member, 11 students tortured 10 others over a six-day period, all in
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