HISTORY

Unraveling the Many Mysteries of Neil Diamond’s ’Sweet Caroline’

Now’s a good time—so good, so good, so good—to dig into the rich history of Neil Diamond's iconic tune.

Why Does Santa Claus Give Coal to Bad Kids?

The tradition of giving misbehaving children lumps of coal predates the Santa Claus we know and love today.

Some of your favorite writers faced rejection.

20 Famous Authors and Their Rejections

From James Baldwin to Gertrude Stein and beyond, literature’s most celebrated authors have faced stinging and ruthless rejections.

Part of a tablet—regarding wheat, animal hides, and other supplies—on display in the British Museum.

8 Illuminating Facts About the Vindolanda Tablets

The Vindolanda tablets tell us a lot about life in early Roman Britain.

Caricature by James Gillray of Perkins Tractors being administered to a patient.

8 of History’s Greatest Charlatans

One scam was convincing enough to fool George Washington.

The Underground Cheese Caves of Missouri

in the 1980s, Springfield was home to a subterranean labyrinth made up of cheese wheels.

A group of volunteers separates trash they’ve collected from the sea.

Watch as Ocean Trash is Turned Into Sustainable Art

Gyrecraft, a project from the design firm Studio Swine, shows how one person’s ocean trash is another’s sustainable art.

Why Do We Only Say “Merry” for Christmas?

Americans favor 'Merry Christmas,' while Brits opt for 'Happy Christmas.' Here's how we got here.

A holly sprig is the traditional garnish for a Christmas pudding.

A Brief History of Christmas Pudding, Britain’s Imperial Dessert

Clearing the last of the Christmas dinner plates is a special moment. It means it’s time for the traditional dessert.

Black Friday means shopping deals galore.

A Brief History of Black Friday

It’s the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, but where did this tradition start? And just how big is it?

Who doesn’t want a few fun fact to liven up their Thanksgiving meal?

20 Thanksgiving Facts to Liven Up Your Meal

When your uncle starts to talk politics, get the conversation back on track with these Thanksgiving tidbits instead.

These haunted locations from across the U.S. will leave you screaming.

Haunted Locations You Can Visit in All 50 States

For when you need a more immersive haunting experience.

Christian Krohg, ‘Leif Erikson Discovering America,’ (1893)

15 Fascinating Facts About Leif Erikson

Leif Erikson's foray into America began over a thousand years ago—long before Columbus's 1492 journey.

Anthony Burgess had difficulty creating his slang dictionary.

When ‘Clockwork Orange’ Author Anthony Burgess Wrote a Slang Dictionary

Penguin Books commissioned the work in 1965, but the "A Clockwork Orange" author only completed several hundred entries before discarding the project.

10 Fascinating Facts About Louisa May Alcott

‘Little Women’ author Louisa May Alcott was also an early suffragette who fought against slavery and registered women to vote.

‘Do, Re, Mi’ can help people learn to play the piano.

Why Are the First Notes of a Tonal Scale Called ‘Do, Re, Mi’?

Solmization, or the practice of assigning syllables to the different “steps” of the scale, originated in ancient India.

11 Facts About Joséphine de Beauharnais

Ahead of the release of Ridley Scott’s biopic, ‘Napoleon,’ here are 11 facts about the woman who once stood in the emperor’s shadow.

‘Tableclothwise,’ ‘Parrotwise,’ and 10 Other ‘-Wise’ Words That Never Caught On

You think you’ve seen every category of words … then you find this batch, including such oddities as tableclothwise and rabbitwise.

One of the rooms inside the Explorers Club headquarters.

11 Awesome Artifacts You Can See at the Explorers Club

The Explorers Club keeps some odd artifacts in its collection, including a stuffed whale penis.

The pyramid and all-seeing eye were symbols of the Illuminati.

The Real Stories Behind 8 Secret Societies

Let’s peer in the windows of mysterious clubs, from not-so-secret societies like the Freemasons to lesser-known groups like the Bullingdon Club.

Why Wendy’s Quietly Got Rid of Its Elegant Sunrooms

Solariums are nostalgic for many customers, but Wendy's thinks they’re dated.

Skeleton projected onto life-sized elephant model at ’The Secret World of Elephants’ exhibit.

Explore the Secret World of Elephants With the American Museum of Natural History’s New Exhibition

A new exhibit coming to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City examines elephants’ past, present, and future.

Rhys Darby as Stede Bonnet in 'Our Flag Means Death.'

Stede Bonnet, the Real-Life ’Gentleman’ Pirate Who Inspired ’Our Flag Means Death’

Centuries later, Stede Bonnet’s motivations and actual aptitude for piracy remain unclear. But he still managed to make the history books—in his nightgown, no less.

These spiders and their webs aren’t meant to be scary.

Why Ukrainians Hang Spider Webs on Their Christmas Trees

The Eastern European tradition is rooted in a beloved folktale often known as 'The Legend of the Christmas Spider.'

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