Recent Posts
How The Automat Paved The Way For Fast Food In The Early 1900s

How The Automat Paved The Way For Fast Food In The Early 1900s

Automats were efficient vending machine-style restaurants that signaled to many Americans that the future in dining had arrived. So what happened to them?
Inside The Whiskey Rebellion That Shook The Newly-Formed United States To Its Core

Inside The Whiskey Rebellion That Shook The Newly-Formed United States To Its Core

After the Revolutionary War, most Americans were ready for peace. But in 1791, a tax on distilled spirits sparked rebellion once again as thousands took up arms against their newly-founded country in the Whiskey Rebellion.
Meet Benny Binion, The Murderous Texas Gangster Who Turned Las Vegas Into ‘Sin City’

Meet Benny Binion, The Murderous Texas Gangster Who Turned Las Vegas Into ‘Sin City’

From running the rackets in Dallas to revolutionizing casinos in Las Vegas, Benny "Cowboy" Binion was perhaps the most notorious gambler in American history.
The Bizarre Story Of Tulip Mania, When The Dutch Bought Bulbs For The Price Of A House

The Bizarre Story Of Tulip Mania, When The Dutch Bought Bulbs For The Price Of A House

As tulip prices shot up by 1,000 percent in the 1630s, Dutch investors scrambled to buy up bulbs still in the ground. But months later, the bubble burst.
How Alice Ball Ended Leprosy’s Centuries-Old Reign Of Terror — At Just 23

How Alice Ball Ended Leprosy’s Centuries-Old Reign Of Terror — At Just 23

When Alice Ball made the discovery that brought leprosy patients back from certain death, she wasn't just young — she was also a black woman in Jim Crow-era America.
Meet The Public Universal Friend, American History’s First Genderless Preacher

Meet The Public Universal Friend, American History’s First Genderless Preacher

After surviving a near-fatal fever at 23, the Public Universal Friend awoke claiming to be reborn a genderless prophet of God who preached women's rights and abolition.
Here’s What Happened To The Surviving Members Of The Donner Party

Here’s What Happened To The Surviving Members Of The Donner Party

Over 40 people survived the Donner Party's doomed expedition. But what happened to them after their rescue in 1847?
How Pizzagate Turned Comet Ping Pong Into A Global Pedophile Sex Ring

How Pizzagate Turned Comet Ping Pong Into A Global Pedophile Sex Ring

The true story of how partisan U.S. politics, Jeffrey Epstein's 2008 conviction, Russian bots, and good old-fashioned witch hysteria launched the Pizzagate conspiracy theory.
The Story Of Taboo-Breaking Badass Annette Kellerman, ‘The Perfect Woman’

The Story Of Taboo-Breaking Badass Annette Kellerman, ‘The Perfect Woman’

Meet Annette Kellerman, the early 20th-century pioneer who broke swimming records, dove off 90-foot cliffs, and became the first woman to appear nude in a major motion picture.
Stagecoach Mary Fields: America’s First Black Postwoman Who Was A Gunslinging Badass

Stagecoach Mary Fields: America’s First Black Postwoman Who Was A Gunslinging Badass

They say Mary Fields had "the temperament of a grizzly bear" and a quick hand on the draw, but it would be her devotion to her community that made her a legend across the Wild West.
James Armistead Lafayette, The Slave And Double Agent Who Helped Win The American Revolution

James Armistead Lafayette, The Slave And Double Agent Who Helped Win The American Revolution

James Armistead Lafayette collected intel that helped George Washington win at Yorktown. But after the war, he had to fight for his freedom.