Historic Eras
Historic eras—including prehistory, ancient and modern history—represent time viewed through the lens of human events
On the Trail of the Warsaw Basilisk
The basilisk was just a legendary monster–until the day in 1587 that word swept through Warsaw that one was hiding in a cellar in the Polish capital, killing anybody who approached it
July 23, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
The Bra Is 500 Years Older Than We Thought
Victoria has been keeping secrets for a long, long time. Hidden away in an Austrian castle archaeologists uncovered four 600-year old linen bras, a find that shouldn't have been.
July 19, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
How Common Was Cannibalism?
While eating one another is understandable if stranded on a snowy mountain or desolate wasteland, evidence exists that some societies tucked into the practice even if not faced with life-or-death situations, just for the fun of it.
July 18, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
People Wear Pants Because Cavalry Won Wars
People wear pants because cavalry won wars.
July 12, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
In Scotland, Two Mix-and-Match Mummies Contain Parts of Six Corpses
Two 3,000 year old bodies discovered in a Scottish bog turned out not to be two bodies at all. The ancient skeletons are stitched together from the remains of six individuals.
July 10, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
How Ancient Greeks Named Their Puppies
To the ancient Greeks, just like today, picking a name for your new pup was an important step. But the process was a little more peculiar back then
July 09, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Viking’s Most Powerful City Unearthed in Northern Germany
Archaeologists working in northern Germany may have found one of the most important cities in Viking history—Sliasthorp, where once sat the first Scandanavian kings.
July 06, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Today is Actually the 1700th Anniversary of the Bikini, not the 66th
July 5th, 1946 is classically regarded as the birth date of what we now call the bikini. But that version of history misses the long view.
July 05, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Germans un-Kampf-ortable With Reissue of Hitler’s Tome
Starting in 2015, Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf will once again be available to German readers.
July 05, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Timbuktu’s Ancient Relics Lay In Ruins At Hands of Militant Group
The tombs and cultural relics of Timbuktu, a key trade and social center of the ancient world, are being destroyed by an armed group known as the Ansar Dine.
July 03, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Easter Island Drug Makes Mice Happier, Smarter
Out of Polynesia emerges a drug that may have potential for preventing cognitive decline associated with old age. ScienceDaily describes a study just published in the journal Neuroscience: Rapamycin, a bacterial product first isolated from soil on Easter Island, enhanced learning and memory in young mice and improved these faculties in old mice, the study [...]
July 03, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Four Places to Worship Isis That Aren’t In Egypt
Egyptian president Gamal Abdel-Nasser gave Nubian temples to four countries who helped preserve monuments from that era. It's rumored that at least one of them—the temple installed at a museum in Leiden, in the Netherlands—is regularly rented out for Isis worshipping parties.
July 02, 2012 |
By Sarah Laskow
There's a New Breed of Forty-Niners Rushing to the Pacific
Lured by the soaring price of the precious metal, prospectors are heading for the California hills like it's 1849 all over again
July 2012 |
By Abigail Tucker
Greek Subway Dig Uncovers Marble Road from Roman Empire
The vast network of roads built by the Romans spanned from England to India and is considered one of the main drivers of the expansive reach of the Empire. Eighteen hundred years later, Greek workers digging a new subway line in the city of Thessaloniki have stumbled across a 230-foot long stretch of a Roman marble [...]
June 27, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Devastating Colorado Wildfires Most Recent in Decades-Long Surge
Residents have so far been able to stay safe from the fires, but strong winds compounding on record high temperatures, a dry winter, and possibly a recent pine beetle infestation, have rocketed this year's fire season to be one of the most destructive in at least four decades.
June 27, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Saudis to Send Women to London Olympics After All
The 2012 London summer Olympics will be the first time Saudi women athletes will be able to compete. According to the Associated Press, The discussions on sending women to the games have been wrapped in secrecy for fear of a backlash from the powerful religious establishment and deeply traditional society in which women are severely [...]
June 26, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
How Easter Island Statues ‘Walked’ To Their Stations
How were those gigantic Easter Island statues—the moai—moved from the quarry to their final stations? One going theory, popularized by Guns, Germs and Steel author Jared Diamond, has it that they were put on wooden sledges and pulled over a system of log rails. But here’s another theory: the statues, ranging from four to 33 [...]
June 21, 2012 |
By Sarah Laskow
What’s the Difference Between Clinically Dead, Figuratively Dead and Just Plain Dead?
Hosni Mubarak’s heart has stopped beating and he’s not responding to defibrillation. Mubarak is clinically dead. Wait, no—Mubarak is in a coma and now he’s on life support. Just kidding, Mubarak is almost stable. Uncertainty shrouds the 84-year-old former Egyptian president’s condition like smoke from so many hookahs. But confusion also accompanies the various medical [...]
June 20, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Document Deep Dive: How the Homestead Act Transformed America
Compare documents filed by the first and last homesteaders in the United States
May 2012 |
By T.A. Frail and Megan Gambino
Murder in Tibet’s High Places
The Dalai Lama is one of the world's most revered religious leaders, but that didn't prevent four holders of the office from dying under mysterious circumstances
April 10, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
