HISTORY

Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael in ‘Wham!”

The 20 Best Documentaries on Netflix Right Now

The best documentaries prove that truth is not only stranger than fiction—it's frequently more entertaining.

A surgeon waving a dismembered arm might have sparked the Doctor’s Riot of 1788.

The Anatomy Riots: When Americans Protested Grave Robbing by Taking to the Streets

In the 18th and 19th centuries, robbing graves of their corpses for dissection at medical schools was an all too common practice—and sometimes, enraged citizens rose up in protest.

21 Old and Odd Directional Words

The rich history of the English language is full of similar directional words that are cool but uncommon, like ‘pancakewards,’ ‘couchward,’ and ‘pocketwards.’

The cover of Emily Wilson’s translation of ‘The Iliad.’

A New Translation of ’The Iliad’ Is Bringing a Truer Ancient Greece to Modern Readers

This all-new translation of the Homer epic is six years in the making.

‘Avocado’ doesn’t mean what you think it means.

11 Common English Words That Come From Native American Languages

‘Avocado’ comes to us from Nahuatl—and it doesn’t mean what you might think it means.

A Cathedral in England Is Home to One of the World's Oldest Cat Doors

Exeter Cathedral in England has had cats on the payroll since the 14th century.

The Eerie Legend of the ‘Old Leatherman,’ Connecticut’s Silent Wanderer

For decades, a man dressed head to toe in leather moved through Connecticut and New York. Who was he, and what did he want?

A Brief History of the Ouija Board

The Ouija board has terrified countless slumber party children and served as a plot vehicle in a number of Hollywood films. Here’s where it came from.

Where did this phrase come from, anyway?

Why Do We Say “Trick or Treat” on Halloween?

The origins of the phrase (indirectly) involve smelly cabbage, Donald Duck, and several Canadian journalists.

10 Facts About Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios

In the weeks leading up to Halloween, the family-friendly characters that normally populate Universal Studios are replaced with killer clowns and chainsaw-wielding maniacs.

How Phone Hackers Paved the Way for Apple

The ‘phone phreakers’ of the 1960s and 1970s indirectly led to the tech boom of today.

Carving pumpkins is one of the most famous Halloween traditions.

15 Spooky Halloween Traditions and Their Origins

Love Halloween costumes and spooky decorations? Let’s dig a little deeper and learn the creepy stories behind the holiday's traditions, from carving pumpkins to munching on candy corn.

This map shows traditional Indigenous territories across North America.

This Website Allows You to See the Traditional Indigenous Territories and Languages in Your Region

You can see how North America, South America, New Zealand, and Australia, and more divided before colonists arrived.

The cover of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ by Ruben Toledo.

10 Blood-Curdling Facts About ‘Dracula’

In true undead style, Dracula holds up well: He’s as creepy today as he was when Bram Stoker invented him in 1897.

Elvis could have been a hunk of granite.

A Fifth Head for Mount Rushmore? Here Are Seven Famous Contenders

Who, if anybody, deserves a place alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt on the famous monument?

3D movies have been coming at you for over a century.

Everyday Things That Are Much Older Than You Might Think

Condoms, 3D movies, the name Tiffany ... All of these things have been around a lot longer than you might think. In this episode of The List Show, we're breaking down our favorite deceptively old things, from synchronized swimming to Juicy Fruit gum.

Skeletons are good for more than just Halloween.

Watch Plastic Skeletons Being Made in a 1960s Factory

We're glad skeletons are usually made of plastic now.

An Evening Seance Newspaper Illustration.

10 Facts about the History of Spiritualism

From spiritualism's beginnings at the Fox cottage to ectoplasm, so-called spirit photography, and beyond, here's what you need to know about this controversial cultural phenomenon.

Karl Aspelin, Public Domain // Wikimedia Commons

What Was the First Banned Book in History?

As is often the case when you look back into history, there’s more than one possible answer. But one of the leading contenders has a fairly predictable culprit: the Puritans.