HISTORY

Officials emptying barrels of beer during Prohibition.

15 Words and Phrases Popularized During Prohibition

With Prohibition—which ran from January 17, 1920, to December 5, 1933—came language to describe everything from drinking establishments to the people who made booze to booze itself.

17 Fascinating Facts About the Wright Brothers

They may be famous for their aviation feats, but the brothers also made a foray into the bicycle business.

Rules for Murder: The Detection Club and the Evolution of the Murder Mystery

While the club initially formed as a social group for writers of detective fiction, it did have an official purpose: to uphold a rigid set of standards for crime fiction, and weed out any potential members who wouldn’t agree to meet them.

The Royal Ballet's Steven McRae and Roberta Marquez as the Prince and the Sugar Plum Fairy in 2012.

8 Magical Facts About ‘The Nutcracker’

Peek behind the curtains of ‘The Nutcracker,’ Tchaikovsky’s famous Yuletide ballet.

Arizona judge Sandra Day O'Connor testifies at her confirmation as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1981.

How Sandra Day O’Connor Beat the Odds, Ruled the Court, and Became the Most Powerful Woman in America

Discover how Sandra Day O’Connor overcame the odds to become the first female U.S. Supreme Court justice.

On December 1, 1955, a Bus Driver Had Rosa Parks Arrested—But It Wasn’t Their First Encounter

Rosa Parks changed the world on December 1, 1955, when she stood up for civil rights by sitting down. But who was the bus driver on the other side of history?

Now’s a good time—so good, so good, so good—to dig into the rich history of “Sweet Caroline.”

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.

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