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The Salacious Letters That Helped Bring Down Mary, Queen of Scots
In 1567, a tempestuous, unhappy queen picked up her pen and wrote a passionate sonnet to her lover. “My love for him is not an empty show,” she wrote, “But purest tenderness and constancy.” Or did she? The sonnet was one of 12. And those documents were part of a larger hoard ...read more
The Only Major U.S. Warship Lost During WWI Sank in NY Waters—Now We Know Why
In July 1918, the 15,000-ton armored cruiser USS San Diego sank off Long Island, New York, losing six sailors from a crew of 1,200 after a mysterious explosion struck the vessel. The ship was returning home after escorting U.S. troop and cargo ships across the perilous North ...read more
Why Bibles Given to Slaves Omitted Most of the Old Testament
When slavery was legal, its proponents often justified it with the Bible; specifically, a verse that tells servants to obey their masters. There were also a lot of verses that abolitionists could and did use to argue against slavery. But you wouldn’t find those in the ...read more
Activist Carry Nation Used a Hatchet to Smash Booze Bottles Before Prohibition
When Carry Nation stepped foot into the Kiowa, Kansas bar, nobody saw what was coming. The formidable woman, dressed in black, was on a mission from God. But as soon as she entered the saloon, all hell broke loose. “I ran behind the bar, smashed the mirror and all the bottles ...read more
The Wildly Different Childhoods of Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots
Queen Elizabeth I of England and Mary, Queen of Scots were two of the greatest, most legendary rivals in recorded history—although they never even met. In one castle was Elizabeth, the childless “virgin” queen: bawdy, brilliant, tactical and cynical. In the other, Mary: ...read more
12 Great Historical Holiday Decorations and Traditions
Each December, as we unpack our favorite holiday treasures, we recall their personal significance: Grandma’s Christmas china, mother’s hand-sewn tree skirt, a child’s finger-painted ornament. But most traditional items, in general, also have long, storied ...read more
Has Stonehenge Been Damaged By Tunnel Drilling?
Archaeologists have accused a construction crew of drilling into an ancient platform about a mile away from the famous Stonehenge ring. The flint-and-animal-bone platform is about 6,000 years old, and is part of an ancient settlement called Blick Mead. Engineers were working on a ...read more
The Most Amazing Historical Discoveries of 2018
From a 13,000-year-old brewery to a long-lost ancient city supposedly built by Trojan War captives, it was an eventful year for historical discoveries. As the year comes to a close, take a look back at some of the ways history made news this year. 1. A human ...read more
The Twisted History of Candy Canes
If anyone had cause to wonder about the allure of the candy cane, look no further than the words of Will Ferrell’s Buddy the Elf: “We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.” In fact, according to the National Confectioners ...read more
Why is This Medieval Skeleton Wearing Thigh-High Boots?
These boots were made for walking—and surviving the ravages of time. In London, archaeologists discovered the 500-year-old skeleton of a man lying face down in the mud of the River Thames, wearing thigh-high leather boots that were basically still intact. The boots date to the ...read more
Why a Top U.S. Official Was Accused of Being a Soviet Spy After Pearl Harbor
The story goes that when he unfolded and read the note in the spring of 1941, Harry Dexter White tried not to look surprised and controlled his breathing. At a table at Washington’s historic Old Ebbitt Grill just yards from the White House, the influential U.S. Treasury official ...read more
Pearl Harbor Veteran Recalls Coming Eye-to-Eye With a Japanese Bomber
Paul Kennedy was expecting to sleep in on the morning of December 7, 1941. He had been on deck duty on board the U.S.S. Sacramento at Pearl Harbor until 4 a.m., then grabbed coffee with a buddy and hadn’t gone to bed until 5:30 a.m. So, when alarms sounded at around 8 a.m. as a ...read more
How Japan's Kamikaze Attacks Went From Last Resort at Pearl Harbor to WWII Strategy
On the infamous morning of December 7, 1941, Japanese fighter pilots made final arrangements for their deaths. The aviators penned farewell letters and slipped them into envelopes along with locks of hair and clipped fingernails that their loved ones could use for their funerals. ...read more
Meet Krampus, the Christmas Devil Who Punishes Naughty Children
Every year in early December, children in Austria get ready for St. Nicholas to visit them. If they’ve been good, he’ll reward them with presents and treats. But if they’ve been bad, they’ll get a lot more than a lump of coal—they’ll have to face Krampus. Who’s Krampus, you ask? ...read more
How George H.W. Bush Finished What Reagan Started in Ending the Cold War
Ronald Reagan is often lauded as the U.S. President who won the Cold War, by orchestrating a massive arms buildup that the Soviet Union couldn’t afford to match, and by giving a famous 1987 speech at the Brandenburg Gate in which he challenged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to ...read more