GOVERNMENT

25 Fascinating Facts About Daylight Saving Time

Love it or hate it, daylight saving time means you have to reset your clocks twice a year and either gain or lose an hour of sleep.

Oil fields like the one above were at the center of the Teapot Dome Scandal in the 1920s.

10 Facts About the Teapot Dome Scandal

A century ago, the Teapot Dome scandal was the Watergate of its time.

An Irish family at the ruins of their house In Killarney.

Ireland’s Great Hunger: 13 Facts About the 19th-Century Potato Famine that Devastated the Emerald Isle

The lack of proper aid paired with layers of broken policies and a fractured response from a distant British government led to unimaginable—and likely avoidable—suffering in Ireland.

The 10 Worst Presidents in American History, According to Historians

According to historians, these are the worst American presidents ever to hold the highest office in the land.

Did Thomas Jefferson really bring ice cream to the U.S.?

1 Misconception About Each U.S. President

George Washington wasn’t the only U.S. president for whom a healthy dose of fiction gets mixed in with the facts.

The reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes.

When Howard Hughes Helped the CIA on a Top-Secret Mission

In 1968, when the CIA needed help with an audacious Cold War operation, officials decided that eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes would be the perfect man for the job.

Women register to vote following the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

12 World-Shaping Events That Happened in 1920

Despite what you may believe, 1920 wasn't all flappers and jazz bands. The year saw some major events that would go on to shape history.

Pedro Lascuráin ruled Mexico for about 45 minutes.

10 of History’s Shortest-Serving World Leaders

Their reigns were short, but not sweet.

NASA Prepares For Space Shuttle Discovery's Launch

NASA Launches Official Inquiry Into UFO Sightings

NASA is organizing a task force that will determine how the agency studies UFOs in the future.

The gender binary looms large in this sphere.

The Sexist History of Naming Hurricanes After Women Only—And How 1970s Feminists Fought to End It

“I’m sick and tired of hearing that ‘Cheryl was no lady as she devastated such and such a town,’” Roxcy Bolton said. She wasn't alone in her exasperation.

10 Things You Might Not Know About Calvin Coolidge

Our 30th president, born on the Fourth of July in 1872, once pardoned a raccoon.

10 Mysterious Facts About Area 51

Area 51 has been strongly associated with alien sightings and secret government studies for decades. Here are a few facts you might not know about it.

Hanford, Washington, became the site of nuclear experiments.

Green Run: When the U.S. Government Released Radiation in the Pacific Northwest

In the 1940s, residents near Hanford, Washington, were getting dosed with the radioactive equivalent of Three Mile Island every day.

The U.S. Senate chamber and its rows of desks.

5 Famous Desks in the U.S. Senate

The historic moments that happened at these desks—and the Senate VIPs who sat behind them—mean that some have taken on lives of their own.

Four UFOs appeared in the sky at 9:35 a.m. on July 15, 1952 over a parking lot in Salem, Massachusetts.

Think You Spotted a UFO? See What the 1952 Questionnaire for Reporting Sightings Looked Like

Project Blue Book's questionnaire had sections for describing UFOs and even sketching pictures.

President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Hart-Celler Act.

9 Facts About the Hart-Celler Act

The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 irrevocably changed the face of the United States.

A Third Round of Free At-Home COVID Test Kits Is Now Available

The previous rounds of free at-home COVID test kits maxed out at four. This time, the USPS will ship eight to each household.

8 of History's Strangest Taxes

History is full of kings and governments who have tried to earn money by taxing anything from beards to bachelors.

Scotland Apologizes to the Victims of Its Witch Hunts After 300 Years

After Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon issued an apology to victims of the country's witch trials, an official pardon could be on the way.

15 Things You Didn't Know About Madeleine Albright

Albright's impressive credentials included professor, ambassador, New York Times best-selling author, and 'Gilmore Girls' guest star.

Lawmakers have been trying to make the Equal Rights Amendment happen for almost a century.

9 Facts You Should Know About the Equal Rights Amendment

Almost 100 years have passed since the Equal Rights Amendment was first proposed. Here are the facts you should know.

Next year's spring forward could be our last ever.

The Senate Just Passed a Bill to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent

The Senate has unanimously decided that the Daylight Saving Time system of falling back and springing forward just isn’t worth it.

Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke Of Edinburgh on their coronation day.

A Rundown on English and British Royal Eras

Since 1485 English (and later British) cultural periods have been named after the monarch or group of monarchs who occupied the throne.

What Happens to Undeliverable Mail With No Return Address?

If you forgot to put a return address on a piece of mail that never made it to its destination, you can still get it back.

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