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The Failed Soviet Rival to the Flapper Dress
In post-revolutionary Russia, as the country’s thinkers attempted to work out a new way of life for citizens of the Soviet Union, a small number of artists grappled with a different problem: the clothes of the future. Soviet clothing, they reasoned, should be “rational,” ...read more
Why Jesus Was Betrayed by Judas Iscariot
From the moment he plants a kiss on Jesus of Nazareth in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas Iscariot sealed his own fate: to be remembered as history’s most famous traitor. But by identifying Jesus to the Jewish authorities, Judas set into motion the series of events that became ...read more
WWII Wreck Found of USS Wasp, Where 176 Died After Torpedo Attack
In the treacherous waters of the Atlantic and the bomber-laden Mediterranean of World War II, the USS Wasp, a 741-foot-long aircraft carrier, came out unscathed. But it wasn’t so lucky in the Pacific. After earning two battle stars and ferrying soldiers and aircraft in the ...read more
How the Vietnam War Ratcheted Up Under 5 U.S. Presidents
At the end of World War II, the United States was broadly popular in Vietnam for having repelled the Japanese occupiers. Even Ho Chi Minh, the nationalist and communist revolutionary, started off pro-American. But, through the terms of five U.S. presidents, that relationship ...read more
When Irish-Americans Attacked Canada—With the White House's Blessing
In the spring of 1866, a band of Irish-Americans who fought on both sides of the Civil War united to undertake one of the most fantastical missions in military history: invade the British province of Canada, seize the territory and ransom it back to the British for Ireland's ...read more
St Patrick: Kidnapped by Pirates and Enslaved at 16
Early in the 5th century, an Irish ship beat against the waves along the western coast of Great Britain. On the far edge of the crumbling Roman Empire, a band of Irish marauders crept into a secluded cove and raided the village of Bannavem Taburniae. Among the plunder captured ...read more
Getting Into Harvard Was Once All About Social Rank (Not Grades)
It was 1749, and John Winslow was about to go to sea. Any voyage was a risky, time-consuming endeavor in those days, so before he left he sat down to write an important letter. His correspondent wasn’t a loved one or even a friend: It was Edward Holyoke, president of Harvard ...read more
How St. Patrick’s Day Was Made in America
Every March 17, the United States becomes an emerald country for a day. Americans wear green clothes and quaff green beer. Green milkshakes, bagels and grits appear on menus. In a leprechaun-worthy shenanigan, Chicago even dyes its river green. Revelers from coast to coast ...read more
The Massive, Overlooked Role of Female Slave Owners
Most Americans know that George Washington owned enslaved people at his Mount Vernon home. But fewer probably know that it was his wife, Martha, who dramatically increased the enslaved population there. When they wed in 1759, George may have owned around 18 people. Martha, one of ...read more
D-Day: Facts on the Epic 1944 Invasion That Changed the Course of WWII
Without the brilliant planning and heroic sacrifices of the D-Day invasion, the Allies may have never defeated the Nazi forces in Europe. On June 6, 1944, more than 156,000 American, British and Canadian troops stormed 50 miles of Normandy's fiercely defended ...read more
Underpaid, But Employed: How the Great Depression Affected Working Women
During the Great Depression, millions of Americans lost their jobs in the wake of the 1929 Stock Market Crash. But for one group of people, employment rates actually went up: women. From 1930 to 1940, the number of employed women in the United States rose 24 percent from 10.5 ...read more
In 1952, 'Flying Saucers' Over Washington Sent the National Press Into a Frenzy
If 1952 marked the year that UFO fever spread across Cold War America, events in late July of that year spiked that mania to critical levels. That's when the grandfather of all "saucer" sightings took place in the skies above the nation's capital, causing a coast-to-coast ...read more
Barbie’s Secret Sister Was a Sexy German Novelty Doll
When Barbie dolls were first introduced in 1959, little girls snatched them up in droves. For the first time, midcentury kids could play with a doll that looked like a woman, not a little girl—a doll with a sassy ponytail, heavy eyeliner, a healthy dose of side-eye, and a ...read more
30,000 People Were 'Disappeared' in Argentina's Dirty War. These Women Never Stopped Looking
Draped in lush trees and surrounded by stately buildings, Buenos Aires’ Plaza de Mayo might look like a place to check out monuments or stop for a relaxing rest. But each Thursday, one of Argentina’s most famous public squares fills with women wearing white scarves and holding ...read more
Why Did Pontius Pilate Have Jesus Executed?
In the Gospel of John, Pontius Pilate poses a question to Jesus of Nazareth: “What is truth?” It’s a question that could also be asked about Pilate’s own history. From the perspective of the New Testament of the Christian Bible, the Roman governor of Judea was a wavering judge ...read more