Stuff you Missed in History Class
Stuff You Missed in History Class
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Who was the real Robin Hood?
Robin Hood-style characters have been showing up in literature since ...
Robin Hood-style characters have been showing up in literature since the 14th century. Historians disagree about whether there was any truth to the legend, and we're wondering: Was Robin Hood real, and if so, who was he?
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The Phoenician Alphabet
The Phoenicians were great ship-builders, sailors and textile experts. But ...
The Phoenicians were great ship-builders, sailors and textile experts. But they're most known for developing the alphabet that many modern alphabets are descended from. What drove a merchant culture to switch from cuneiform to a new writing system?
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Boxer Rebellion
"It was a culture clash of epic proportions. The Boxer ...
"It was a culture clash of epic proportions. The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising, was a gruesome, violent slaughter of Chinese Christians and foreigners – followed by a gruesome, violent slaughter of the Boxers. "
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Heaven on Earth: the Brook Farm Community
In the 1840s, Boston’s West Roxbury suburb -- which was ...
In the 1840s, Boston’s West Roxbury suburb -- which was completely rural at the time -- was home to an experiment in transcendentalist utopian living: the Brook Farm community. The idea was to create an environment of balance and equality.
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Russia's Vladimir the Great
"Vladimir I is often credited with bringing Christianity to Russia, ...
"Vladimir I is often credited with bringing Christianity to Russia, though he actually embraced paganism first as Grand Prince of Kievan Rus. Wishing to unite Russia under one religion, Vladimir changed the spiritual path of his country forever. "
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India’s Karni Mata Rat Temple
Though it's most famous for its rats, the story of ...
Though it's most famous for its rats, the story of this temple starts with Hindu goddess Durga and Karni Mata, a 15th-century mystic believed to be her incarnation. The reason for the rats in Karni Mata's temple is a combination of legend and devotion.
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China’s Empress Dowager Cixi
After becoming a concubine for Emperor Xianfeng at the age ...
After becoming a concubine for Emperor Xianfeng at the age of 16, Cixi rose to power when he died and her young son inherited the throne. She governed China from behind a screen for more than 45 years, and eventually sealed the fate of the Qing Dynasty.
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Cannibalism at Jamestown
On May 1, 2013, forensic evidence confirmed what survivors had ...
On May 1, 2013, forensic evidence confirmed what survivors had reported: Colonists at Jamestown resorted to cannibalism during the winter of 1609-1610, known as the Starving Time. But the colony of Jamestown was troubled from the start.
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Here, Kitty Kitty: The Domestication of the Cat
The human culture shift to an agricultural lifestyle started the ...
The human culture shift to an agricultural lifestyle started the domestication of animals. Cats naturally moved in to help with rodents. Today, there are 600 million cats living with humans, and another estimated 600 million living independent of people.
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The Hindenburg Disaster
The Hindenburg tragedy is one of the world’s most infamous ...
The Hindenburg tragedy is one of the world’s most infamous air disasters, but the dirigible had many successful flights prior to its final voyage, including 10 round trips between Germany and the U.S. Tune in to learn more.
