Talking to the Dead: How the 1918 Pandemic Spurred a Spiritualism CrazeAfter millions perished, people turned to séances, Ouija boards and more to help communicate with their dearly departed.Read more
How the First Earth Day Was Born From 1960s CountercultureOn April 22, 1970, a nationwide “teach-in” inspired millions of Americans to care more about the environment.Read more
Our Changing View of Earth from Space: PhotosSince the Apollo missions began, space programs have offered a unique perspective on our home planet.Read more
6 Legendary Lost Treasures of World War IIHuman fossils, an amber room and a Raphael masterpiece all went missing during WWII.Read more
The Black Death: A Timeline of the Gruesome PandemicTrack how the Black Death ravaged humanity through history.Read more
When the Founding Fathers Settled States’ vs. Federal Rights—And Saved the NationThe word ‘federalism’ doesn’t appear in the Constitution, but the concept is baked into the document as a novel approach to establishing state and national powers.Read more
All the Ways We’ve Wiped: The History of Toilet Paper and What Came BeforeAmong tools people used in the past were moss, sponge on a stick, ceramic pieces and bamboo ‘spatulas.’Read more
When Did Americans Start Recycling?More than a century ago, recycling wasn’t a thing, but people did it instinctively.Read more
How Americans Have Voted Through History: From Voices to ScreensFrom shouting candidates’ names, to hanging chads to electronic scanning, the nature of voting has a long, sometimes bumpy history in the United States.Read more
The Shroud of Turin: 7 Intriguing FactsThe controversial shroud that is claimed to have once covered the body of Jesus first appeared in the 1350s and is now available for online viewing.Read more
When World War I and Pandemic Influenced the 1920 Presidential ElectionWeary from cataclysmic world events, the U.S. electorate chose a mild-mannered candidate promising quieter times.Read more
How Diseases Spread: Ways People Have Tried to Explain Pandemics Through HistorySome scapegoated the gods, or their enemies. Others blamed planetary alignments. For many, though, it was just ‘bad air.’Read more