HISTORY

The border between these two countries is a little odd in places.

Over the Borderline: The Little Bit of Minnesota That Could Have Gone Canadian

An old map error led to some strange—and at times contentious—geography.

Clockwise from top left: Shirley Chisholm, Clara Barton, Ellen Ochoa, Nellie Bly, Josephine Baker, Mary Pickford, Maya Angelou, Amelia Earhart, Kalpana Chawla, and Kamala Harris.

130 Amazing Women Who Changed the World

From singers to scientists and athletes to activists, here are 130 amazing women who have changed the world for the better.

Forged in the Heat of Battle: The Origin of the Boy Scouts

Those iconic khaki uniforms are usually associated with childhood adventure, but scouting was actually forged in the heat of battle by a desperate British military officer.

Rosa Parks is fingerprinted by a Montgomery, Alabama, police officer after being arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger.

11 Peaceful Protests and Their Historic Results

Civil disobedience and nonviolent protests have moved mountains. Here are just a few examples of when people took back power.

American officials exchanged Soviet spy Rudolf Abel for the American U-2 spyplane pilot Francis Gary Powers in the 1962 “Bridge of Spies” transfer.

How a Nickel and a Paperboy Brought Down a Cold War Spy

Soviet spy Rudolf Abel might have never been caught were it not for a Russian turncoat and a newspaper delivery boy who thought he’d been stiffed.

10 Hoax Definitions, Paper Towns, and Other Things That Don’t Exist

Facts become very easy to copyright when they aren’t true. Here are people, places, and things that exist only on paper, solely to thwart would-be info burglars.

You must be a lucky one of you find a four-leaf clover.

Why Are Four-Leaf Clovers Considered Lucky?

While the shamrock mainly has religious ties, the four-leaf clover—often mistaken for the same plant—is often associated with luck. We explain why.

March’s weather is notoriously volatile.

Why Do We Say March ‘Comes In Like a Lion, Goes Out Like a Lamb’?

It’s one of the most common weather idioms. But what do lions and lambs even have to do with the month of March?

The Berlin Wall was a symbol of the Cold War from 1961 to 1989.

11 Chilling Facts About the Cold War

The U.S. and USSR employed spies, quelled internal dissent, made allies abroad, and stockpiled nuclear weapons in this proxy war.

The ‘Eagle’ has (crash-) landed: The Andrée expedition’s balloon on the ground on Kvitøya, Svalbard.

The Disastrous North Pole Balloon Mission of 1897

Swedish engineer Salomon August Andrée and two companions wanted to fly a hydrogen balloon over the North Pole. Their Arctic mission didn’t go as planned.

The Equal Rights Amendment is the best-known Constitutional amendment that is not yet part of the Constitution.

6 Constitutional Amendments That Just Missed the Cut

Since 1789, Congress has sent 33 constitutional amendments to the states for ratification. Here’s the scoop on the six amendments that didn't make the grade.

Mr Payback, An Interactive Movie (1995) trailer [FTD-0013]

The ’90s Flop That Billed Itself as “the First Interactive Movie”

‘Mr. Payback’ might not have set the box office alight, but it did at least try to pioneer a new form of entertainment.

How One Pilot’s Sweet Tooth Helped Defeat Communism

The code name for the American mission: Operation Little Vittles.

How NASA Helped Solve a Murder

The space agency helped out on a landmark criminal case in 1990.

A map of the 63 National Parks in the U.S.

1 Fact About All 63 U.S. National Parks

From Acadia to Zion, the U.S. has some pretty majestic national parks. Here’s one fun fact about every single one—plus a map so you can see where they all are.

How Did Latin America Get Its Name?

Latin isn’t widely spoken in Latin America, so why is it called that?

Civil War medical officers including Jonathan Letterman, a surgeon who pioneered the ambulance-to-ER transport of wounded patients during the Civil War.

5 Medical Innovations from the Civil War

Civil War surgeons learned fast. Here are a few of the MacGyver-like medical solutions that have had a lasting impact.

Katherine Johnson at NASA's Langley Research Center, 1980.

10 Fascinating Facts About Katherine Johnson

Before she helped send the first astronauts to the moon, Katherine Johnson was a human “computer” working behind the scenes at NASA.

The Dame of Sark, Sibyl Hathaway, in March 1953.

How the World’s Only Feudal Lord Outclassed the Nazis to Save Her People

Dame Sibyl Hathaway protected her people with the unlikeliest of weapons: Feudal etiquette, old-world manners, and a dollop of classic snobbery.

How Cereal Transformed American Culture

More than a century ago, Christian health gurus invented cereal to promote a healthy lifestyle free of sin. Little did they know, their creation would eventually be used to promote everything from radio and cartoons to Mr. T and tooth decay.

From left to right, posters for: ‘A Clockwork Orange’ (1972), ‘King Kong’ (1933), ‘Frankenstein (1931)

Hundreds of Rare Movie Posters Expected to Fetch High Bids at Auction

Rare movie posters for ‘A Clockwork Orange’ (1972), ‘King Kong’ (1933), ‘Frankenstein’ (1931) will be auctioned off online in March.

Luigi Galvani, a possible model for Dr. Frankenstein, conducts his famous experiments on frogs.

7 People Who Might Have Inspired Dr. Frankenstein

Who was a model for Mary Shelley’s protagonist? Candidates include a 17th-century alchemist and Charles Darwin’s grandfather.

Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab during the shooting of the 1956 film Moby Dick

George Pollard Jr., Unlucky Captain of the Ship That Inspired ‘Moby-Dick’

When Captain George Pollard Jr.’s ship was rammed by a whale, he had no idea it would help make literary history.

Why Did ‘The Ukraine’ Become Just ‘Ukraine’?

Until a few decades ago, Ukraine was almost always referred to as 'the Ukraine'. Then people started dropping the definite article, and now you almost never see it. Here's why.