Faxes From the Far Side • Damn Interesting

The 1950s-era Soviet mission to first photograph the far side of the moon.

The National Interest: Blog

Who Sets the Prices?

The legal decision that fostered the idea of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, and why it still sticks around even though that decision was overturned.

The Alchemy of Air: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific Discovery That Fed the World but Fueled the Rise of Hitler: Hager…

The Alchemy of Air: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific Discovery That Fed the World but Fueled the Rise of Hitler [Hager, Thomas] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Alchemy of Air: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific…

The True Story of Lawrence of Arabia

His daring raids in World War I made him a legend. But in the Middle East today, the desert warrior’s legacy is written in sand

Pakistan's lost city of 40,000 people

In the dusty plains of present-day Sindh in southern Pakistan lie the remains of one of the world's most impressive ancient cities that most people have never heard of.

Inside the Great Pyramid | Giza Project

The Great Pyramid, or the Pyramid of Khufu, has fascinated scholars and tourists alike for centuries. Located on the Giza Plateau near Cairo, Egypt, it is the largest of the three pyramids that form the Giza Pyramid Complex. Built during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of…

An Undiscovered Coronavirus? The Mystery of the ‘Russian Flu’ - The New Yor

Scientists are grasping for any example that could help anticipate the future of Covid, even a mysterious respiratory pandemic that spread in the late 19th century.

The Richest Athlete of All Time Did Nothing With His Wealth and Vanished Into History

Over the course of his chariot racing career, Gaius Appuleius Diocles won almost 60,000 lbs of gold. What did he do with it? Who knows.

No, the 'Epic of Gilgamesh' Is Not the Oldest Surviving Work of Literature - Tales of Times Forgotten

If you think you know one thing about the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, then, chances are, you probably think that the epic is the oldest surviving work of literature in the whole world. This claim pervades basically all non-academic discussion of the epic. I was…

The Real Warriors Behind 'The Woman King'

A new film stars Viola Davis as the leader of the Agojie, the all-woman army of the African kingdom of Dahomey

10 of the most legendary rulers from ancient history

Some early rulers were so iconic that their names and works passed into legend and influenced others for centuries.

The Missing Chinese Machine Revolution

Before the industrial revolution, there had been a significant increase in machinery use in Europe. Why not in China?

How Ships and Forts Created Western Dominance

How could tiny nations such as Portugal and the Netherlands challenge vast empires like China and India in the age of sail?

What Happened to Anne Boleyn’s Heart?

If YOU ASKED PEOPLE WHAT body part you would associate with Anne Boleyn, most would probably say her head. Logical, of course. It was the part famously detached from the rest of her body on May 19,…

Was King Arthur a Real Person?

The story of Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table has captivated us for a thousand years. But is there any truth behind the tales?

Why Was Western Printing Superior to Asian Printing?

Movable type was not invented by Gutenberg but in China and later advanced in Korea, so why didn't Asia have a printing revolution?

Five Lessons from History

The most important lessons from history are the takeaways that are so broad they can apply to other fields, other…

The messages that survived civilisation's collapse - BBC Future

The Sumerians, Maya and other ancient cultures created texts that have lasted hundreds and even thousands of years. Here's what they can teach us about crafting an immortal message.

She was a global superstar. She was a world-class spy.

The story of Josephine Baker.

The mystery of the world's oldest toys

The world's oldest toys date back thousands of years – but determining whether ancient children played with them, and how, remains a mystery archaeologists are piecing together.

The Tip-Off From a Nazi That Saved My Grandparents

It has often been described as a “miracle” that most of Denmark’s Jews escaped the Holocaust. Now it seems that the country’s Nazi rulers deliberately sabotaged their own operation.

The 1600s Were a Watershed for Swear Words

When Coal First Arrived, Americans Said 'No Thanks'

Back in the 19th century, coal was the nation's newfangled fuel source—and it faced the same resistance as wind and solar today

From whistling arrows and trumpeting elephants to battle cries and eerie horns, ancient soldiers used sound to frighten and confuse their…

Since antiquity people have harnessed sound as a weapon, and the practice continues – in new high-tech ways – today.

Have Scholars Finally Deciphered Linear Elamite, a Mysterious Ancient Scrip

Linear Elamite, a writing system used in what is now Iran, may reveal the secrets of a little-known kingdom bordering Sumer

The Night That Grasshoppers Killed Texas League Baseball

Fifty years ago, a minor league game in Midland was postponed for the rarest of reasons—a swarm of grasshoppers biblical in its proportions.

A collection of bad album covers that are both hilarious and awkward, 1960s-1980s - Rare Historical Photos

In this collection, you can see some of the worst album covers of all time. Everything from rock, metal bands, country, gospel comedy, jazz, etc.

Overexposed: A History of Fotomat

The tiny photo processing kiosks could be found everywhere in the 1970s and 1980s. And that was the problem.

When Did Shaking Hands Become a Standard Way of Greeting Someone?

There’s ancient evidence for the custom of shaking hands, but did it mean the same thing then as it does today?

A Traveling Jewish Deli Exhibit Tells an American Tale in Pickles and Pastr

“I’ll Have What She’s Having,” a traveling exhibit on the Jewish delicatessen, looks back at a vibrant institution fueled by immigration and irresistible food.

Winamp’s woes: How the greatest MP3 player undid itself

15 years on, Winamp “still lives”—but mismanagement blunted its llama-whipping.

Everything We Know About Platforms We Learned from Medieval France

Raise a glass of bubbly to the count of Champagne.

The American Amusement Park's Wild Ride

From the trolley parks of the early 20th century to the theme parks of today, these spaces of shared pleasure have been both a reflection of urban life, and an escape from it.

The Sanaa Palimpsest: A truly fascinating Quranic manuscript

The Sanaa Palimpsest has a number of unique characteristics, not least as an enduring artefact of Quranic scribal methods and of Islamic heritage within Yemen. Yet deciphering the text poses theological quandaries surrounding Quranic tradition.

A Glimpse Inside a Florentine Silk-Weaving Workshop

The Antico Setificio Fiorentino, which relies on looms from the 18th and 19th centuries, has been producing precious textiles since 1786.

Hacker News

From a salt substitute in China’s impoverished southwest to a fixture on tables nationwide, chili peppers have come a long way over the past 400 years.

Voynich Manuscript

How Dardistan became one of the most multilingual places on Earth | Aeon Essays

At the crossroads of south and central Asia lies one of the world’s most multilingual places, with songs and poetry to match

The History of the Singular 'They'

The singular form of 'they' has been endorsed by writers like Jane Austen and William Shakespeare.

Hacker News

1980 Sears Spring Summer Catalog, Page 729 - Catalogs & Wishbooks

Lost Languages Discovered in One of the World's Oldest Continuously Run Libraries

The centuries-old texts were erased, and then written over, by monks at Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt

A Mystery That Took 13,200 Years to Crack

Hidden in the tusk of a 34-year-old mastodon was a record of time and space that helped explain his violent death.

Thirty-Six Stratagems

The Thirty-Six Stratagems is a Chinese essay used to illustrate a series of stratagems used in politics, war, and civil interaction.

The ghostly radio station that no one claims to run

“MDZhB” has been broadcasting since 1982. No one knows why.

Hong Kong’s Floating Restaurant Sinks at Sea, Laden With Memories (Published 2022)

Jumbo Floating Restaurant, which closed in 2020, capsized in the South China Sea after being towed from the city. The sinking triggered nostalgia for a happier period of Hong Kong history.

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs

How the Ballpoint Pen Killed Cursive

Thicker ink meant it didn't smudge as easily as its predecessor, the fountain pen—but it also made writing by hand more physically demanding.

Visiting Vladimir Putin’s Lost Russia

An ex-Soviet state’s national myths—as well as the forces of nationalism, economics, culture, and religion—all pull it away from Moscow. Can Russia really compete?