How 38 IRA Members Pulled Off the UK’s Biggest Prison EscapeIn 1983, dozens of Irish Republican Army prisoners broke out of the ‘escape-proof’ Maze prison.Read more
How Civil War Medicine Led to America’s First Opioid CrisisMany soldiers who received opioids in hospitals continued to use opium and morphine after the war.Read more
The Native American Chief Who Drove Out Spanish Colonists—and Nearly Expelled the EnglishKidnapped and taken to Spain, Opechancanough used what he learned of the Europeans to lead his people against two of the world’s greatest powers.Read more
The 1860 Compromise That Would Have Preserved Slavery in the US ConstitutionThe author of Crittenden Compromise argued his six amendments presented a good deal. But then-President-elect Lincoln drew a firm line.Read more
The Surprising Stories of 7 Heisman Trophy WinnersFirst awardee Jay Berwanger passed on an NFL career, Michigan’s Tom Harmon played himself in a movie and LSU’s Billy Cannon was imprisoned for counterfeiting.Read more
7 Momentous College Football Coaching HiresThe hirings of Woody Hayes at Ohio State, Bear Bryant at Alabama and Ara Parseghian at Notre Dame produced major headlines—and eventually national championships.Read more
How Early World Fairs Put Industrial Revolution Progress on DisplayAs England and the United States transformed under the Industrial Revolution, World Fairs served to drum up support for the shift.Read more
Weird and Wondrous: the Evolution of Super Bowl Halftime ShowsFrom a disastrous ‘Battle of New Orleans’ and a 3-D glasses experiment to the comical ‘Left Shark,’ the entertainment has captured the public’s imagination.Read more
8 Remarkable Female Figure Skaters at Winter OlympicsGold medalists such as Sonja Henie, Dorothy Hamill and Tara Lipinski have used the worldwide platform to launch lucrative post-Games careers.Read more
How John Marshall Expanded the Power of the Supreme CourtBefore Marshall became chief justice in 1801, the Supreme Court operated out of a borrowed room and wielded little authority.Read more
Why Did the Beatles Break Up?Creative differences, money problems and a certain band member’s girlfriend have all been used to explain the split. But what if the truth was a lot more complicated?Read more
‘The Great Escape’: The Audacious Real Story of the WWII Prison BreakThe Nazis thought the Stalag Luft III camp was escape-proof, but 76 Allied airmen proved them wrong.Read more