history
How medieval Arabs invented grenades to drop on Crusaders
Before gunpowder was introduced to the West, medieval Arabs devised grenades using crockery.
Let there be God: How Yahweh became “God Almighty”
In the Canaan religion, Yahweh was a lesser god, who was assigned the land of Israel. Here's how he became "God Almighty."
“Do not bid!”: The fight to stop homeownership collapse in Detroit
Can Detroit get its comeback right?
How the biggest earthquake in world history nearly destroyed a local civilization
Some of the coastal areas were not repopulated for millennia afterward, showing that there was a long-lasting memory of this tragic event.
Yorkicystis, the 500 million-year-old relative of starfish that lost its skeleton
Yorkicystis lived during the “Cambrian explosion,” 539 million to 485 million years ago – hundreds of million years before the dinosaurs.
Don’t fall into the personal brand trap
Brands manufacture meaning through consensus; people must strive to create their own.
Read this book if you want to understand what drives inventors, engineers, and scientists
"The Soul of a New Machine" provides a rare level of insight into the minds and decisions of humanity's greatest thinkers.
Ancient Maya installed gemstones in their teeth. It wasn’t just fashion.
The ancient Maya enjoyed filling their teeth with gemstones. A new study reveals how the procedure was done and how it didn't kill them.
How “gate” became the syllable of scandal
In terms of sheer productivity, “-gate” has no peer. Wikipedia’s list of -gates has over 260 entries.
The “sonnenrad” used in shooters’ manifestos: a spiritual symbol of hate
The sonnenrad is a Heathen symbol composed of 12 repeated runes.
Mechanical Turk: An elaborate 18th-century hoax that played chess like an AI robot
An elaborate device called the Mechanical Turk defeated Benjamin Franklin and Napoleon Bonaparte at chess. Edgar Allan Poe revealed the hoax.
Utopias: Does living in a perfect society mean you must give up your freedom?
The answer to this question depends on how you define "freedom."
Who were the greatest female classical composers in music history?
For centuries, men prevented women from writing music. These classical composers broke with social norms and made their mark on history.
How “big history” can help historians imagine the future
The strangest thing about trying to predict the future is that our only clues lie in the past.
Experimental archaeology: Marching an elephant across the mountains to test history
Experimental archaeology is the practice of recreating past events using knowledge and tools available at the time. Sometimes, it involves elephants.
How World War I created modern medicine and the welfare state
Before the war, medical experts treated the body as a sum of its parts. Conditions like wound shock and brain damage called for a change in perspective.
How pirates helped turn the tide of the American Revolution
Privateers pillaged British merchant ships in the name of liberty — and profit.
10 must-read classic books for beginners
Here's your gateway to enjoying the best of literature.
If the ancient Romans had Google Maps
OmnesViae is a modern route planner based on the roads of the Roman Empire.
How Bernini sculpted the Roman Catholic Church during the Counter-Reformation
Bernini created art for 8 different popes. In the process, he helped reinforce and redefine Christianity’s visual culture.
The mysterious origins of human sacrifice
Human sacrifice appears to be as old as humanity itself. Still, experts disagree on how and where the practice first originated.
4 categories of pseudoscience — and how to talk to people who believe in them
Pseudoscience is science’s shadow.
Is China’s communism a new ideology or traditional philosophy rebranded?
Did traditional Chinese thought pave the way for the philosophy of Maoism?
A Russian mathematician rewrote world history — and it is bonkers
Searching for truth in unorthodox ways can be a valuable exercise. But Anatoly Fomenko's alternate world history is just plain weird.
If you have a 401(k), you’re an investor. Geopolitics will affect your financial security
Geopolitics is not a magic 8-ball. But making financial decisions — such as those regarding retirement — in a multipolar world without geopolitics is akin to flying blind in a storm.
Ancient technology that was centuries ahead of its time
These astounding inventions show that civilizations of the past were a lot more advanced than we might have thought.
Exotic animals and their strange relationship with ancient Greeks and Romans
To the ancient Greeks, exotic animals were proof of mythological creatures. To the ancient Romans, they were oddities and adversaries.
The strange plan to fight nuclear bombs with giant rubber fortresses
Cold War meets Star Wars in this cut-away of a 1950 “rubber bubble,” the first line of defense against nuclear sneak attack.
Was there an intelligent civilization before humans existed?
Was there an intelligent, technologically advanced species long before humans existed? Could there have been a dinosaur civilization?