The 18th Century Fur Trade Polluted Lake Superior’s Shore With Mercury That’s Never Gone Away
The area’s elevated mercury levels aren’t healthy for fish, birds or humans
For the Kennedys’ Virginia Home, Jackie Had Ideas About Every Detail, Down to the Guest Room Ashtrays
She drew inspiration from French magazines and colors from Colonial America
Legend Says the Ankerwycke Yew Witnessed the Magna Carta’s Signing
The tree on the bank of the River Thames may be 2,000 years old
Neanderthals Divvied Up Chores by Sex
New research on Neanderthal teeth shows differing gender roles
Should You Speculate in Flower Bulbs?
Move over, real estate—there’s a new bubble in snowdrop bulbs
Some Ancient Egyptians Had State-Sponsored Healthcare
Craftsmen who built royal tombs enjoyed sick days, designated physicians and rationed medicine—all paid by the state
Get Ready for a Taste of the Byzantine Empire’s Favorite Wine
Scientists hope the discovery of 1,500-year-old grape seeds may help resurrect the historically famous “Wine of the Negev”
‘Presidents’ Day’ Doesn’t Actually Exist
Despite what furniture stores and car dealerships tell you, officially, we’re really just celebrating George Washington’s birthday
George Washington Used Legal Loopholes to Avoid Freeing His Slaves
One of his slaves fled to New Hampshire to escape becoming a wedding present
Who’s Digging Up Hadrian’s Wall?
Rogue diggers with metal detectors are threatening a priceless archaeological site
The Group That’s Been Celebrating Lincoln’s Birth for Almost 150 Years
The Lincoln Association of Jersey City claims it has the longest record of celebrating Lincoln’s legacy
Nothing Says ‘I Love You’ Like a Bit of Pocket Change
Victorians seduced their sweeties with “love tokens”
Lynchings Were Even More Common in the South Than Previously Thought
A group of criminal justice reformers find 700 more lynchings in the segregated South than previously recorded
An Early Copy of the Magna Carta Was Found Forgotten in an Old Scrapbook
An archivist in England stumbled upon a 715-year-old edition of the charter credited for initiating a new framework of governance
The Library of Congress Now Has Rosa Parks’ Personal Letters
The loan of over 10,000 documents from the Civil Rights icon’s personal life reveals her complexity and inner struggles—as well as one solid pancake recipe
Is This Mummy Dead…Or Meditating?
Some Buddhists claim this well-preserved monk is in a deep meditative state
Notes From Alan Turing’s Code-Breaking Days Found in Roof Insulation
The rare code-breaking documents include sheets used to calculate settings for the machine working on “Enigma”
This Fake Gulag Will Let You Pretend the Soviets Are Still in Power
Barking dogs, harsh guards and brutal imprisonment in a bunker where the USSR never fell
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