modern history

The Solution To The Unbreakable Code Carved Onto The Kryptos Sculpture At CIA Headquarters Will Soon Be Sold To The Highest Bidder

In 1990, a sculpture known as Kryptos was installed right outside CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia — and it was inscribed with four encoded messages. While the first three codes were all solved within a few years, the final message has remained shrouded in mystery to this day.

By Ainsley Brown • Aug 20, 2025

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The Solution To The Unbreakable Code Carved Onto The Kryptos Sculpture At CIA Headquarters Will Soon Be Sold To The Highest Bidder

In 1990, a sculpture known as Kryptos was installed right outside CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia — and it was inscribed with four encoded messages. While the first three codes were all solved within a few years, the final message has remained shrouded in mystery to this day.

By Ainsley Brown • August 20, 2025

The Strange Story Of Vasile Gorgos, The Romanian Farmer Who Disappeared For 30 Years —Then Returned Home With No Memory Of Where He’d Been

Vasile Gorgos returned to his farm in Romania in 2021, three decades after he'd first vanished, wearing the same clothes he wore on the day he went missing.

By Austin Harvey • Aug 19, 2025

The Strange Story Of Vasile Gorgos, The Romanian Farmer Who Disappeared For 30 Years —Then Returned Home With No Memory Of Where He’d Been

Vasile Gorgos returned to his farm in Romania in 2021, three decades after he'd first vanished, wearing the same clothes he wore on the day he went missing.

By Austin Harvey • August 19, 2025

Hanoi Hannah, The North Vietnamese Radio Host Who Encouraged U.S. Soldiers To Defect During The Vietnam War

From 1965 to 1973, Trinh Thi Ngo, better known as Hanoi Hannah, hosted a radio segment for a North Vietnamese propaganda station that aimed to destroy the morale of American troops.

By Kaleena Fraga • Aug 18, 2025

Hanoi Hannah, The North Vietnamese Radio Host Who Encouraged U.S. Soldiers To Defect During The Vietnam War

From 1965 to 1973, Trinh Thi Ngo, better known as Hanoi Hannah, hosted a radio segment for a North Vietnamese propaganda station that aimed to destroy the morale of American troops.

By Kaleena Fraga • August 18, 2025

The Rise And Fall Of Big Jim Colosimo, The Chicago Mobster Whose Murder Paved The Way For Al Capone

Big Jim Colosimo laid the groundwork for the fearsome Chicago Outfit, which passed into Capone's hands shortly after Colosimo's murder on May 11, 1920.

By Austin Harvey • Aug 18, 2025

The Rise And Fall Of Big Jim Colosimo, The Chicago Mobster Whose Murder Paved The Way For Al Capone

Big Jim Colosimo laid the groundwork for the fearsome Chicago Outfit, which passed into Capone's hands shortly after Colosimo's murder on May 11, 1920.

By Austin Harvey • August 18, 2025

The Tragic Story Of Gary Webb, The Investigative Journalist Who Died By Suicide After Exposing The CIA

Gary Webb was a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, but the media did everything it could to discredit his three-part exposé that revealed links between the CIA, the revolution in Nicaragua, and the crack epidemic that gripped Los Angeles in the 1980s.

By Marco Margaritoff • Aug 17, 2025

The Tragic Story Of Gary Webb, The Investigative Journalist Who Died By Suicide After Exposing The CIA

Gary Webb was a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, but the media did everything it could to discredit his three-part exposé that revealed links between the CIA, the revolution in Nicaragua, and the crack epidemic that gripped Los Angeles in the 1980s.

By Marco Margaritoff • August 17, 2025

The Horrific Story Of Charles Stuart, The Boston Man Who Tried To Blame His Wife’s Murder On A Black Carjacker

Charles Stuart was unhappy in his marriage when he allegedly murdered his pregnant wife, Carol, in October 1989. Then, he claimed that a Black man was responsible for the crime.

By Ainsley Brown • Aug 15, 2025

The Horrific Story Of Charles Stuart, The Boston Man Who Tried To Blame His Wife’s Murder On A Black Carjacker

Charles Stuart was unhappy in his marriage when he allegedly murdered his pregnant wife, Carol, in October 1989. Then, he claimed that a Black man was responsible for the crime.

By Ainsley Brown • August 15, 2025

‘This Beautiful Bubble Of Creativity And Friendship And Sex And Drugs’: Inside Laurel Canyon’s Counterculture History

See 44 vintage photos of when Laurel Canyon was the epicenter of Los Angeles' counterculture in the '60s and '70s.

By Austin Harvey • Aug 14, 2025

‘This Beautiful Bubble Of Creativity And Friendship And Sex And Drugs’: Inside Laurel Canyon’s Counterculture History

See 44 vintage photos of when Laurel Canyon was the epicenter of Los Angeles' counterculture in the '60s and '70s.

By Austin Harvey • August 14, 2025

The Disturbing Story Of David Berg, The Children Of God Cult Leader Who Encouraged Child Abuse

From promoting incest to spreading apocalyptic prophesies, David Berg was one of history's most depraved cult leaders — with as many as 10,000 followers across the world.

By Marco Margaritoff • Aug 13, 2025

The Disturbing Story Of David Berg, The Children Of God Cult Leader Who Encouraged Child Abuse

From promoting incest to spreading apocalyptic prophesies, David Berg was one of history's most depraved cult leaders — with as many as 10,000 followers across the world.

By Marco Margaritoff • August 13, 2025

44 Photos Of Juke Joints, The Grassroots Bars Of The Jim Crow South

In a time of segregation and widespread racism, juke joints offered a brief refuge for Black sharecroppers and rural workers — and left an unforgettable mark on music history.

By Austin Harvey • Aug 12, 2025

44 Photos Of Juke Joints, The Grassroots Bars Of The Jim Crow South

In a time of segregation and widespread racism, juke joints offered a brief refuge for Black sharecroppers and rural workers — and left an unforgettable mark on music history.

By Austin Harvey • August 12, 2025

33 Propaganda Posters From America’s Not-So-Distant Past — And The Chilling History Behind Them

From the xenophobia of World War II propaganda to the perpetuation of racist stereotypes, these posters were distributed in shockingly recent times.

By Ainsley Brown • Aug 8, 2025

33 Propaganda Posters From America’s Not-So-Distant Past — And The Chilling History Behind Them

From the xenophobia of World War II propaganda to the perpetuation of racist stereotypes, these posters were distributed in shockingly recent times.

By Ainsley Brown • August 8, 2025