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History

It will be quick and it will be hot.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Hot Food, Fast: The Home Microwave Oven

A serendipitous discovery helped engineers harness radar to create the now ubiquitous timesaving appliance

Hitler used Mercedes cars as part of his stagecraft, presenting a foreboding image of Nazi Germany.

Why Americans Flocked to Catch a Glimpse of Hitler’s Car

At carnivals and state fairs across the country, curious onlookers were drawn to the Fuhrer’s chariot

American South

This Virginia Winery Once Housed One of WWII’s Most Important Spy Stations

Speakeasies are so 2012—this place has actual secrets

An unemployed painter named Richard Lawrence attempted to assassinate President Andrew Jackson in January 1835.

The Attempted Assassination of Andrew Jackson

A madman, a conspiracy and a lot of angry politicians

Group with flags in the forest: Michael Walter, Miklos Roth, Szlama Weichselblatt, Avram Leder, Halina Bryks, Naftali Steinberg, Roman Kniker, Jakob Kahan

This Orphanage Did More Than Find Homes for Children of the Holocaust. It Helped Them Reclaim Their Humanity

Run by the United Nations, Kloster Indersdorf took a revolutionary approach in caring for its charges

Prison Ship Martyrs Monument

The Grisly History of Brooklyn’s Revolutionary War Martyrs

The Prison Ship Martyrs Monument, a crypt in Fort Greene Park, may become part of the national park system

Nicholas II with guards outside the imperial palace.

Russian Revolution

The Abdication of Nicholas II Left Russia Without a Czar for the First Time in 300 Years

Events in Saint Petersburg 100 years ago brought the end to the Romanov dynasty

"Numbers are a human invention, and they’re not something we get automatically from nature," says Caleb Everett.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

How Humans Invented Numbers—And How Numbers Reshaped Our World

Anthropologist Caleb Everett explores the subject in his new book, Numbers and the Making Of Us

New "Don't mess with Texas" trash cans at the Texas capitol building in Austin.

The Trashy Beginnings of “Don’t Mess With Texas”

A true story of the defining phrase of the Lone Star state

Henry Peter Bosse Construction of Rock and Brush Dam, L.W., 1891 cyanotype

Photographs of America’s Eastern Treasures Finally Have Their Moment in the Limelight

A neglected period of American photographic history goes on display at the National Gallery of Art

Illustration titled, “If you want to get rid of mosquitos, drain the swamp that breeds them.” (1909)

History of Now

The Myth That Washington Was a Swamp Will Never Go Away

It makes for a catchy slogan used by politicians of all persuasions, but there’s little truth to it

Thaddeus Kosciuszko

The Polish Patriot Who Helped Americans Beat the British

Thaddeus Kosciuszko engineered the colonial defenses in some of the Revolution’s most critical battles

For years, boys at Fernald State School were subjected to experiments using radioactive tracers in oatmeal.

A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Radioactive Oatmeal Go Down

When MIT and Quaker Oats paired up to conduct experiments on unsuspecting young boys

Frescoes inside the Brömserhof, the building where Siegfried's Mechanical Musical Instrument Museum is housed.

Europe

This Medieval Knight’s Manor Houses Over 350 Mechanical Musical Instruments

From tiny music boxes to the bus-sized Orchestrion, Siegfried’s Mechanical Music Cabinet in Germany’s Rhineland is the perfect musical detour

Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship on the eve of America's entry into the First World War. This picture comes from 1906 and shows the officer staff of the Regiment of Infantry.

Puerto Ricans Got U.S. Citizenship 100 Years Ago—But Their Identity Remains Fraught

Even a century later, those who live in the U.S. territory have little autonomy

How a Soap Opera Virus Felled Hundreds of Students in Portugal

The “Strawberries With Sugar” outbreak is just one example of mass hysteria, which goes back centuries

An 1851 map of the United States shows Texas and the New Mexico, Utah and Indian Territories.

History of Now

For More Than 150 Years, Texas Has Had the Power to Secede…From Itself

A quirk of a 19th-century Congressional resolution could allow Texas to split up into five states

The cartoon by Thomas Nast shows the battles between President Johnson and Congress over Reconstruction.

Document Deep Dive

The Political Cartoon That Explains the Battle Over Reconstruction

Take a deep dive into this drawing by famed illustrator Thomas Nast

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