History
Discover facts about history. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
History
Wartime propaganda gives a complicated conflict a simple face.
Wartime propaganda gives a complicated conflict a simple face. A poster has room for a villain, a victim, and an action to take—not the full history of a war.…
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Path to everyday miracles is littered with disasters you never hear about.
Path to everyday miracles is littered with disasters you never hear about. Ammonia and sulfur dioxide worked as refrigerants, but a leak could turn a kitchen…
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One of the strangest units in World War II fought with paint, rubber, and speakers instead of guns.
One of the strangest units in World War II fought with paint, rubber, and speakers instead of guns. Because a small unit couldn’t match a real division in…
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An early London fire insurer also supplied the firefighters.
An early London fire insurer also supplied the firefighters. After the Great Fire of 1666, Nicholas Barbon established the Fire Office in 1680. Alongside…
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Some of the world's oldest cities had better sanitation than Victorian London.
Some of the world's oldest cities had better sanitation than Victorian London. About 4,000 years ago, homes in Mohenjo-daro had bathing areas that drained…
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Teotihuacan planned its ordinary homes as carefully as its monuments.
Teotihuacan planned its ordinary homes as carefully as its monuments. The ancient Mexican city arranged apartment compounds and major buildings within a…
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If you time-traveled to many famous medieval cities, you might be disappointed by how small and quiet they really were.
If you time-traveled to many famous medieval cities, you might be disappointed by how small and quiet they really were. Many held about as many people as a…
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One of the largest intelligence breakthroughs of World War Two depended on thousands of women whose names barely made it into the history books.
One of the largest intelligence breakthroughs of World War Two depended on thousands of women whose names barely made it into the history books. At Bletchley…
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The 1918 flu got Spain's name partly because Spain reported it.
The 1918 flu got Spain's name partly because Spain reported it. Wartime censorship limited coverage in combatant countries, while neutral Spain's reporting…
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White bathrooms made cleanliness something people could see.
White bathrooms made cleanliness something people could see. Light-colored surfaces reveal dirt, and smooth tiles and exposed floor space are easier to wipe…
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One of the most explosive forces in world history was not gunpowder or oil, but salt.
One of the most explosive forces in world history was not gunpowder or oil, but salt. British control of salt made an everyday necessity a symbol of colonial…
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Bad harvests helped turn weather into a witchcraft accusation.
Bad harvests helped turn weather into a witchcraft accusation. Researchers have linked colder periods and economic hardship with some waves of European witch…
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Boccaccio gave plague refugees a hundred stories to tell.
Boccaccio gave plague refugees a hundred stories to tell. The Decameron imagines ten young people leaving plague-stricken Florence and organizing their days…
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In 1835, thousands of New Yorkers believed that bat winged humans were dancing on the Moon, and their most trusted newspaper swore it was true.
In 1835, thousands of New Yorkers believed that bat winged humans were dancing on the Moon, and their most trusted newspaper swore it was true. The New York…
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One of the biggest crime drops in modern history may have started with something as boring as changing gasoline.
One of the biggest crime drops in modern history may have started with something as boring as changing gasoline. Researchers connected the timing of the 1990s…
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San Francisco had an Anti-Mask League in January 1919.
San Francisco had an Anti-Mask League in January 1919. The city had enforced mask rules during the 1918 influenza outbreak, then imposed them again as illness…
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Britain went to bed on September 2 and woke up on September 14.
Britain went to bed on September 2 and woke up on September 14. In 1752, adopting the Gregorian calendar meant skipping eleven date labels to realign with…
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In 1665, Cambridge University closed during the Great Plague.
In 1665, Cambridge University closed during the Great Plague. Newton worked in isolation at his family home, Woolsthorpe Manor. The ideas he pursued there…
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Roman aqueduct repairs came with permanent credit plaques.
Roman aqueduct repairs came with permanent credit plaques. At Rome's Porta Maggiore, stacked inscriptions name Claudius for building aqueducts and later…
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In 541 CE, whispers of a mysterious sickness rolled across the Byzantine Empire, carried by trade ships heavy with grain and hidden death.
In 541 CE, whispers of a mysterious sickness rolled across the Byzantine Empire, carried by trade ships heavy with grain and hidden death. Rats and fleas came…
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Before smartphones, before the lightbulb, came the forgotten spark of the Renaissance wind gun—a weapon that could fire silently using compressed air.
Before smartphones, before the lightbulb, came the forgotten spark of the Renaissance wind gun—a weapon that could fire silently using compressed air. A…
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Before light bulbs and smartphones, a fireproof material called asbestos was once advertised as ‘miracle wool.’ Romans used it in funeral cloths so the fabric survived the flames and the ashes could be kept separate.
Before light bulbs and smartphones, a fireproof material called asbestos was once advertised as ‘miracle wool.’ Romans used it in funeral cloths so the fabric…
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Before smartphones and fiber optics, the Victorian internet almost happened: the 'telegraph web.' Submarine cables linked London with Bombay and Paris with New York, carrying messages across oceans in minutes.
Before smartphones and fiber optics, the Victorian internet almost happened: the 'telegraph web.' Submarine cables linked London with Bombay and Paris with…
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A fake German corpse factory became a British wartime headline.
A fake German corpse factory became a British wartime headline. In 1917, British newspapers circulated a story that Germany rendered the bodies of its own…
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