The Past
All Stories
He was also a eugenicist — but at least he could draw pretty pictures.
The Athenian rich paid their taxes because they craved the social success of being perceived as “useful.”
The shift from steam to electricity was inevitable — but some foresaw it earlier than others.
Seneca thought the use of ice was a “true fever of the most malignant kind.”
“The Da Vinci Code” popularized the idea that Christians stole much of their theology. It’s wrong, especially regarding Christmas.
Ada Lovelace’s skills with language, music, and needlepoint all contributed to her pioneering work in computing.
A Cambridge Ph.D. student has solved a grammatical problem that has befuddled Sanskrit scholars since the 5th century BC.
The most important events in history have nothing to do with politics or wars.
Some of the weirdest characters in Greek mythology were Athenian kings.
When battles raged in ancient cities, their rocks blazed so brightly that they could be reoriented according to Earth’s magnetic field.
The spikes in their mouths would have helped them catch squid or fish.
A new study says the reason cave paintings are in such remote caverns was the artists’ search for transcendence.
The word “turkey” can refer to everything from the bird itself to a populous Eurasian country to movie flops.
For centuries, the only way to travel between the Old and New World was through ships like the RMS Lusitania. Experiences varied wildly depending on your income.
As interest rates rise, the “dead pledge” may live up to its name.
Bathybius haeckelii was briefly thought to be the link between inorganic matter and organic life.
The Knights Templar were not only skilled fighters, but also clever bankers who played a crucial role in the development of Europe’s financial systems.
Marcus Tullius Cicero is widely regarded as one of the most gifted orators in human history. His writings can teach us a lot about the lost art of public speaking.
Today’s scary clowns are not a divergence from tradition, but a return to it.
With almost every shovel of sand shifted in Egypt, another artifact comes to light.
Instead of worshipping Yahweh, the devotees were perhaps dedicated to Mars and Jupiter.
Cooperation was the first technology.
We got lucky with our evolutionary history.
Tracing the origin and development of jaws — and other anatomical features that humans share — sheds some light on how we came to be.
All nations have founding myths, but none are quite like Russia’s.
One award was for a medical procedure that incapacitated thousands of people.