American History

A View in Louisburg in North America

When Nova Scotia Almost Joined the American Revolution

New England expats felt a strong allegiance to the struggles felt by their American friends to the south

Meet Pedro the “Voder,” the First Electronic Machine to Talk

Pedro was an experiment in reproducing speech electronically, but took on a kind of life of its own

Although ketchup has roots in Southeast Asia, tomato ketchup may be an American original.

There's Something Fishy About the Ketchup You Put On Your Burgers

The red stuff that Americans eat on their French Fries doesn't look much like the 'kôechiap' it's based on

GIFs began as still images in the early days of the Internet before becoming the animated loops that are seen everywhere now.

A Brief History of the GIF, From Early Internet Innovation to Ubiquitous Relic

How an image format changed the way we communicate

Why Does Every American Graduation Play ‘Pomp and Circumstance’?

The song was written for a British king’s coronation and its name is a Shakespeare reference. What gives?

"The Drunkard's Progress" shows how temperance advocates wanted to position alcohol consumption: as a choice leading, inevitably, to ruin and death.

Why Was Maine the First State to Try Prohibition?

The groundbreaking "Maine law" laid the groundwork for other states to experiment with temperance laws

Recent research found that fully one third of humanity can't see the Milky Way because of light pollution

Is Light Pollution Really Pollution?

As countries grow richer, light pollution gets worse–but some are fighting to change that

A McDonald’s in Tangiers, Morocco. The sign is in Arabic.

What Do They Call a Quarter Pounder With Cheese in Casablanca?

McDonalds has been international for 50 years now... and its restaurants have learned how to blend in to the local scene

President Truman receives a birthday cake in the Oval Office in 1951. Six years earlier, his birthday coincided with V-E Day.

No U.S. President Has Ever Died in May and Other Weird Trivia About Presidential Lives

Presidential lives are scrutinized for meaning, even when none is readily apparent

The historical marker in Enterprise, Alabama describing the significance of the statue.

Why an Alabama Town Has a Monument Honoring the Most Destructive Pest in American History

The boll weevil decimated the South's cotton industry, but the city of Enterprise found prosperity instead

The flag of North Carolina includes the dates traditionally associated with the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence and the 1776 Declaration of Independence.

The First Declaration of Independence Drafted in the 13 Colonies Was (Probably) a Hoax

Although some are still very invested in the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, the scholarly community maintains it was never real

“We’ve been taxing work, output and income and subsidizing non-work, leisure and unemployment. The consequences are obvious! To Don Rumsfeld,” Arthur Laffer wrote around the graph, signing and dating his work as well.

The Restaurant Doodle That Launched a Political Movement

How one economist’s graph on a napkin reshaped the Republican Party and upended tax policy

The Maillard Reaction's best-known application is in tasty, tasty food.

Why Food Smells So Good When It’s Browning

A complex chemical reaction called the Maillard Reaction is responsible

Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island with their possessions in 1907.

The Centuries-Long Squabble Over Who Owns Ellis Island

It's actually the federal government, but don't tell New York or New Jersey

Bill Robinson as photographed by George Hurrell in 1935.

Three Ways Bill "Bojangles" Robinson Changed Dance Forever

Robinson worked throughout his career to make life better for black performers

John F. Kennedy meeting with Soviet politician Nikita Khrushchev.

Top Hats, James Bond and a Shipwreck: Seven Fun Facts About John F. Kennedy

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of JFK’s birth, a look at his extraordinary life

Multi-generational fighting over borders between the Calvert family that founded the colony of Maryland (pictured: Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore) and the Penn family that founded Pennsylvania (pictured: Thomas Penn, proprietor of Pennsylvania) led to the creation of the Mason-Dixon line.

This Long, Violent Border Dispute Between Colonial Maryland and Pennsylvania is Why We Have the Mason-Dixon Line

Cresap's War was a conflict that didn't get fully settled for almost 50 years

According to Mary Sawyer's account, the lamb was a female. Sarah Hale's poem says it was a male. Sawyer is probably the source with reason to know.

'Mary Had a Little Lamb' Is Based on a True Story

As a child, Mary Sawyer rescued a lamb. Then it followed her to school one day

Can you tell which it is?

The 1870s Dairy Lobby Turned Margarine Pink So People Would Buy Butter

Margarine or butter? The question has deep roots, and you shouldn't even ask it in Wisconsin

John Frankenheimer's classic The Manchurian Candidate built upon the idea of brainwashed GIs in Korea.

The True Story of Brainwashing and How It Shaped America

Fears of Communism during the Cold War spurred psychological research, pop culture hits, and unethical experiments in the CIA

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