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This Timelapse Shows How Napoleon Nearly Conquered All Of Europe

From 1802 until his exile in 1815, Napoleon embarked on several massive campaigns across virtually all of Europe. This new video shows the changing front lines from his position as Consul for Life to his historic defeat at Waterloo. This timelapse was put together by Emperor Tigerstar. The changing frontlines are shown in two-week intervals, … Continued

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Skeletons Found In Ancient Cemetery Still Have Shackles On Their Necks

Archaeologists working in southwest France have discovered hundreds of Gallo-Roman graves dating to the second half of the 2nd century AD, with some of the skeletons featuring shackles still strapped around their necks and ankles. The site, which may have been part of an important Gallo-Roman necropolis, is situated near the amphitheatre of Saintes. The … Continued

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17th Century “Witch Marks” Discovered On British Estate

Restoration work on Britain’s 600-year-old Knole House turned up a most interesting feature hidden beneath the floorboards: “witch marks” or “demon traps,” designed to protect the witchcraft-fearing ruler James I from supernatural malevolence. Though the king never ended up visiting the estate, the eerie scratches remain as a testament to the jittery political climate at … Continued

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The Secret History of Hermits

In nearly every civilization with historical records, we find stories of people who went off by themselves to live in the wilderness. But not all hermits were the same: some were outcasts, some were holy, and others were extremely fashionable. All their stories are extraordinary. To the Mountains All hermits seem attracted to heights. This … Continued

Tech News

How Scotch Tape Was Invented

Despite the name, Scotch tape wasn’t invented by the Scottish. It was invented by a college dropout named Richard Drew from Minnesota who worked for a small sandpaper company founded in 1902 called Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, later known as 3M. The name “Scotch” itself has an origin story almost as interesting as the invention … Continued

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Medieval Libraries Developed A Crude GPS System To Locate Books

It wasn’t easy to find a specific book on library shelves in the Middle Ages. The spine title had not yet been invented, and the books weren’t published in standard sizes. But readers didn’t have to spend hours searching, thanks to an ingenious system that made use of concepts similar to modern GPS. At his … Continued

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King Richard III’s Remains Have Been Confirmed To 99.999% Accuracy

The case is officially closed on what’s being called the oldest forensic investigation in history. A new genetic analysis is providing incontrovertible evidence that the skeleton found under a parking lot in Leicester belonged to the king, while uncovering new truths about his appearance and lineage. Richard III was the last king of England to … Continued

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Was Britain’s WWI Blockade The First Atrocity Of The 20th Century?

From 1914 to 1919, the Allied powers restricted the maritime supply of raw materials and foodstuffs to the Central Powers. The policy is often called a key component in the Allied victory, but it resulted in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths, and introduced the world to a terrifying new kind of warfare. The Great … Continued

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​Civil War Maps Show How Sherman’s March Rescued Lincoln’s Presidency

By 1864, the Union Army’s victories in Vicksburg and Gettysburg were overshadowed by growing criticism of the president’s leadership and the failure to capture Richmond. Lincoln feared he wouldn’t be re-elected, unless he could produce tangible evidence that the end of the Civil War was in sight. As the award-winning historian Susan Schulten notes on … Continued

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Which Period in History Is Portrayed The Least Accurately Onscreen?

Whether it’s impossibly well-equipped armies marching onto ancient battlefields or merely a medieval village that seems to have a really good blow-dry bar somewhere on the premises, we want to know which period of history’s portrayal is most rife with inaccuracies. Tell us in the comments what your pick for the most misunderstood period of … Continued

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New Clues Point To The Origin Of Poland’s Mysterious ‘Vampires’

Unconventional burial practices to prevent vampires from rising up from the grave were common in post-medieval Poland, but historians aren’t entirely sure why certain people were targeted more than others. A new study is the first to perform a chemical analysis of the remains to find out. These deviant burials, or apotropaic funerary rites, occurred … Continued

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10 Monarchs Whose Madness Changed History

In fiction, kings and queens who succumb to madness are a great time. In reality, not so much. It’s no fun having huge chunks of the world controlled by someone who is irrational and unstable. Here are ten kings and queens whose craziness changed the course of world events. 10. Ivan the Terrible’s Fits Ushered … Continued

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That Time NASA Asked Schoolchildren To Hunt For Moon Rocks In Iowa

In 1964, NASA tried to obtain lunar rocks without actually going to the Moon. The initiative, called Project Moon Harvest, enlisted the aid of farmers and schoolkids to dig around western Iowa in search of possible lunar meteorites. As Air & Space magazine reports, the project was based on the then-popular belief that tektites (a … Continued

Tech News

Ask the Author of Alan Turing: The Enigma Anything

The new film The Imitation Game hits theaters this weekend. But before you see Benedict Cumberbatch’s brilliant portrayal of Alan Turing on the big screen, you should definitely check out the book that the film is based on, Alan Turing: The Enigma. Today we have author Andrew Hodges joining us for a live webchat from … Continued

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This Beautiful Glass Dish Proves that Ancient Rome Traded with Japan

Over 1600 years ago, this deep blue glass dish made its way from a Mediterranean workshop, across Central Asia, to its final resting place in a 5th century Japanese grave. The journey may have taken over a century, and gives us a glimpse of what trade was like in the early days of the Silk … Continued

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The 10 Greatest and Weirdest JFK Assassination Conspiracy Theories

November 22 marked the 51st anniversary of the death of President Kennedy — a tragedy that changed the course of history. It also spawned the greatest conspiracy-generating machine of all time. You don’t have to be Oliver Stone to believe that Lee Harvey Oswald wasn’t actually a lone nut with suspiciously good aim, though if … Continued

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Some People Use Urine (And Chemistry) to Whiten Their Teeth

There are people out there who use urine to whiten their teeth. I can tell you how it works. Only you can decide whether you think it’s worth it. Life must have been tough back before there were any sanitized versions of necessities. There was a time when eating a pig meant going elbow deep … Continued

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The 19th Century Blueprint For A Massive Mind-Control Machine

James Tilly Matthews was a peace activist 200 years ago, during the Napoleonic Wars. He was confined to Bedlam asylum because he attributed the bloody conflict to a secret society using futuristic mind-control devices, which he illustrated in exquisite detail, rivaling the technical drawings of engineers. The blueprints were published in an 1810 book, Illustrations … Continued

Tech News

Ikea Is Reissuing Amazing Old Designs From the 1950s and 60s

Ikea is over 70 years old, which means the company has survived through dozens upon dozens of design trends, from stuffy conservatism in the late 1940s to the craziness of the 60s. Wonderfully, the company is now plucking classics from its archives to sell in some stores. As one of the only mass-produced furniture companies … Continued

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The Surpisingly Old Origins of the Fax Machine

Today, we mostly think of the fax machine as an outdated piece of technology. While there are still some uses for it in an office-setting, technological advances are sending the fax machines to the same pasture as pagers, land-line telephones, and disposable cameras. Even if this is the last we hear of the beeps and … Continued