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History Facts
Text • Sarah Anne Lloyd

Handkerchiefs were once considered a status symbol.

When was the last time you touched a real, cloth handkerchief? Before disposable tissues became ubiquitous, these pieces of cloth dried our tears, wiped our sweat, and kept our noses clean. For a time, they even did something no ordinary Kleenex could ever do: signal elite s...

History Facts
Text • Kristina Wright

Where Did the Heart Symbol Come From?

We recognize it instantly: two rounded lobes meeting at a point, the universal symbol of love. The heart shape is found everywhere — on greeting cards, jewelry, bumper stickers, and emoji keyboards. It even stars in tourism campaigns such as “I ❤ NY” and drives the $27.5 bil...

History Facts
Text • Bennett Kleinman

I Tried U.S. Presidents’ Favorite Breakfasts and Here’s the Winner

If you’re anything like me, you probably have a usual order at your local breakfast spot. Some folks opt for scrambled eggs and bacon, while others go for pancakes drenched in butter and maple syrup. (I personally prefer a sesame bagel with lox and cream cheese.) U.S. presid...

History Facts
Text • Michael Nordine

10 Essential Films About the Great Depression

There’s never been a period of American history quite like the Great Depression, and hopefully there never will be again. Coming about at the same time movies were becoming an increasingly dominant cultural force, the economic downturn lasting from 1929 to 1939 was, perhaps ...

History Facts
Text • Bennett Kleinman

The shortest war in history lasted 38 minutes.

The Anglo-Zanzibar War lasted a mere 38 minutes, making it the shortest war in recorded history.

The post The shortest war in history lasted 38 minutes. appeared first on History Facts.

History Facts
Text • Tony Dunnell

10 Rare Coins That Are Worth a Fortune

Most of us, at some point, have probably seen a scattering of strange coins — perhaps at a yard sale or tucked away in a dusty drawer — and asked ourselves, “I wonder if those are worth anything?” For many of us, that’s about as close as we get to the fascinating world of co...

History Facts
Text • Sarah Anne Lloyd

John Tyler had 15 children, the most of any U.S. president.

His last child, Pearl, was born in 1860 when Tyler was 70 years old.

The post John Tyler had 15 children, the most of any U.S. president. appeared first on History Facts.

History Facts
Text • Michael Nordine

7 Movies That Will Teach You About History

Generally speaking, historical dramas aren’t known for their historical accuracy, as giving a history lesson and telling a compelling story are sometimes at odds with one another. That doesn’t mean this particular needle can’t be threaded, however, and it isn’t just document...

History Facts
Text • Tony Dunnell

Historical Figures Who Hated Each Other

Will Smith vs. Chris Rock. Nicki Minaj vs. Megan Thee Stallion. Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar — these modern celebrity beefs may grab headlines, but they pale in comparison to some of history’s most notable rivalries. Long before internet feuds and catty celebrity tweets, high-pr...

History Facts
Text • Bess Lovejoy

The Horrifying Ways People Used To Clean Their Teeth

Imagine beginning your morning by rubbing powdered glass and burned hare’s head onto your teeth, then thoroughly rinsing with child’s urine. At various points in history, this might have counted as a meticulous dental routine. People have tried to keep their teeth clean for ...

History Facts
Text • Michael Nordine

There were once riots over wearing straw hats past summer.

In the early 20th century, weather was celebrated with, and heralded by, hats. In the U.S., May 15 (or thereabouts) was Straw Hat Day, when people cheered the arrival of warm weather with light, airy headwear. Felt Hat Day, meanwhile, came on or around September 15, in antic...

History Facts
Text • Bess Lovejoy

There was a WWII factory hidden beneath a fake American neighborhood.

During World War II, pilots flying over Seattle might have spotted a quiet neighborhood near the Duwamish River with tree-lined streets winding past modest houses, tidy lawns, parked cars, and backyard fences. But no one lived there. The entire community was a stage set conc...

History Facts
Text • Michael Nordine

A Roman emperor died from eating too much cheese.

There were about 87 Roman emperors, some more (in)famous than others. One whose life and death is unlikely to inspire any epic films is Antoninus Pius, whose peaceful reign ended when he died after eating too much cheese. Two days before his passing, the 74-year-old was 12 m...

History Facts
Text • Bess Lovejoy

Abraham Lincoln had only about a year of formal schooling.

Abraham Lincoln is remembered as one of the most eloquent presidents in U.S. history, but little of his command of language came from a classroom. By his own estimate, all his formal schooling added together amounted to a bit less than a year, or perhaps about 10 months. In ...

History Facts
Text • Nicole Villeneuve

7 Things You Forgot Happened During the Revolutionary War 

During the American Revolution, 13 British colonies in North America fought for independence from English rule in what became one of the most defining conflicts in history. Certain moments from the Revolutionary War — which spanned from 1775 to 1783 — have certainly bee...

History Facts
Text • Michael Nordine

Navy bean soup has been on the Senate menu every day since 1903.

Though no one’s sure who to thank for the tradition — some say Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho, while others credit Minnesota’s Knute Nelson — one item has been on the menu on the Capitol Building’s Senate Dining Room every day since 1903: navy bean soup. Also known as Senate b...

History Facts
Text • Timothy Ott

What’s the Real Story of Ben Franklin’s Kite Experiment?

It's one of the most well-known moments in American history: Ben Franklin attaching a key to a kite during a thunderstorm to demonstrate the electrical nature of lightning. Yet, like a centuries-long game of telephone, the details of the celebrated 1752 experiment have been exaggerated or misinterpreted through countless retellings, creating a popular myth that may be more fiction than fact.

The post What’s the Real Story of Ben Franklin’s Kite Experiment? appeared first on History Facts.

History Facts
Text • Michael Nordine

In 1941, the U.S. Postal Service moved $9 billion in gold to Fort Knox.

No visitors are allowed at the Fort Knox Bullion Depository, and for good reason: About half of the U.S. Treasury’s gold reserves are stored there, making it one of the most important locations in the country. Also invaluable in its own way is the United States Postal Servic...

History Facts
Text • Sarah Anne Lloyd

Seashells used to be used as currency.

Long before the gold standard came and went, seashells were a hot commodity — so much so that they were the preferred currency in various civilizations around the world. Cowrie shells, which come from small sea snails, were particularly widespread. While there’s some di...

History Facts
Text • Tony Dunnell

Why Do We Have Middle Names? 

Middle names are a strange concept. They often lie silent and unused, only to emerge when we fill out official forms and documents, providing an extra piece of proof as to who we are, despite our near-total disregard for the name in our daily lives. In the U.S., a majority o...

History Facts
Text • Timothy Ott

7 Priceless Facts About the U.S. Mint

With the ratification of the Constitution in 1788 and the Bill of Rights in 1791, citizens of the fledgling United States of America could count on documentation that guaranteed the separation of federal powers and an array of personal liberties. Of course, what good is free...

History Facts
Text • Michael Nordine

‘LOL’ used to be an acronym for ‘little old lady.’

Long before anyone laughed out loud on the internet, “LOL” was in use by virtue of a different phrase: “little old lady.” The acronym was popularized by San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen in the 1960s. Caen used the abbreviation “LOL” in many of his works to refer t...

History Facts
Text • Bess Lovejoy

Who Built the Great Sphinx of Giza?

The Great Sphinx of Giza is one of the most iconic monuments of the ancient world. With the body of a lion and the head of a man, it has gazed across Egypt’s desert sands for thousands of years. But while millions have marveled at its majesty, one question continues to puzzl...

History Facts
Text • Nicole Villeneuve

There used to be a 3-cent U.S. coin called the ‘trime.’

One of the lesser-known coins in the history of U.S. currency is the 3-cent silver piece known as the “trime.” In 1851, Congress lowered the cost of mailing a letter from 5 cents to 3 cents to compete with private mail carriers, and simultaneously authorized the creation of ...

History Facts
Text • Nicole Villeneuve

7 Symbols on the $20 Bill — and What They Mean

United States currency is full of symbolic design choices and cryptic markings. First issued in 1861 as a demand note, the $20 bill is one of the most commonly used denominations. Over the years, the $20 bill has undergone numerous facelifts, from changing portraits and seal...

History Facts
Text • Timothy Ott

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World might not have existed.

According to the 2,000-year-old writings of Greek historians such as Strabo and Diodorus Siculus, the ancient city of Babylon (in modern-day Iraq) boasted tiered terraces of exotic plants of all types that towered several stories above onlookers from the ground. Said to have...

History Facts
Text • Kristina Wright

Why Do We Say Storks Deliver Babies?

You may have heard this story as a child: A baby was on the way, and someone explained that a stork would bring it. Perhaps you pictured a gangly white bird soaring through the sky with a newborn wrapped in a blanket dangling from its beak, ready to deliver the bundle to the...

History Facts
Text • Michael Nordine

Medieval people may have walked differently.

Compared to the Middle Ages, daily life now is considerably easier in countless ways, one of the most important of which is on your feet: modern shoes. Footwear in medieval Europe lacked sturdy soles, and according to one theory, people walked differently as a result.  ...

History Facts
Text • Timothy Ott

5 Eye-Opening Facts About the Dust Bowl

Although the Great Depression was a challenging time for most Americans, a special distinction can be made for those who weathered the unique conditions of the Dust Bowl. Generally encompassing a 300,000-square-mile region of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and ...

History Facts
Text • Timothy Ott

What the U.S. Presidents Did Before Taking Office

A look through the life journeys of all 45 people who have served as U.S. president reveals a general blueprint for ascending to the highest office in the land. Many spent a sizable chunk of their early careers in the military and/or as lawyers, before climbing the political...