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Text • Michael Nordine

The Library of Congress is America’s oldest cultural institution.

It’s so old, in fact, that it was brought into existence by the same bill that relocated the U.S. capital from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.

The post The Library of Congress is America’s oldest cultural institution. appeared first on History Facts.

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Text • Bess Lovejoy

Only one president had a child born in the White House.

The White House has been home to the children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews of plenty of U.S. presidents, but to date, only one child of a sitting president entered the world at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. On September 9, 1893, First Lady Frances Cleveland gave birth to ...

History Facts Valid
Text • Bess Lovejoy

The CIA trained ravens to drop bugging devices on windowsills.

Most spies don’t work for peanuts, but a few of the CIA’s Cold War recruits worked for morsels of “crow salad.” The agency experimented with some unconventional operatives during the era, including dolphins, cats, pigeons, and, yes, ravens. The raven program grew out of rese...

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Text • Bess Lovejoy

7 Common Foods That Used To Be Status Symbols

Today, foods that signal wealth might include caviar, truffles, or a steak gilded with edible gold. But status is a fickle thing. Many foods now languishing in spice cabinets, supermarket aisles, or neglected crudité platters once served as a way to proclaim their owners’ pr...

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Text • Kristina Wright

The 5 Greatest Years To Be Alive

If you could go back and relive any year of your life, which would you choose? The question gets even harder when considered on the sale of human history. In any era, people’s experiences varied drastically depending on where they lived, who they were, and how much power or ...

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Text • Bess Lovejoy

7 of the Youngest Leaders in World History

Across eras and continents, young people have taken on the responsibility of leadership at ages when most of us are just beginning to learn how to navigate adulthood. Some of these young leaders inherited powerful kingdoms, while others rose through political systems. And wh...

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Text • Nicole Villeneuve

Washington’s guests drank more than 150 bottles of alcohol days before the Constitution was signed.

The Constitution may be one of the most weighty documents in United States history, but the festivities held just days before it was signed were hardly solemn.  On September 14, 1787, George Washington and 54 other guests gathered at Philadelphia’s City Tavern for a far...

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Text • Michael Nordine

There has been only one fully bald U.S. president.

As Richard Nixon learned the hard way in his televised debate with JFK, appearance matters when running for office. That may help explain why, of the 45 men who’ve served as president of the United States, only one was fully bald. That would be Dwight D. Eisenhower, whom the...

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Text • Michael Nordine

Stone Age people ate fish roe.

There is truly nothing new under the sun, including one of the culinary world’s foremost delicacies: fish eggs. People have been eating a food similar to caviar — the cured, unfertilized eggs of sturgeon — since the Stone Age, with research suggesting that our ancient ancest...

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Text • Nicole Villeneuve

The Beatles’ final concert lost money.

In the 1960s, the Beatles went from playing small Liverpool clubs to performing for tens of thousands of screaming fans in the span of just a few years. But by 1966, Beatlemania was starting to show some cracks. That year, on August 29, the Fab Four played their final ticket...

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Text • Michael Nordine

One of the first TV remotes changed the channel with sound.

Changing the channel is easier than ever these days: You can use any number of newfangled remotes, some of which are on your phone and others that are controlled by voice. Back when your parents or grandparents had to walk uphill both ways to school, however, the clicker wor...

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Text • Bess Lovejoy

The Origins of 7 Famous Mythical Beasts

Some monsters have been haunting human stories for thousands of years. Others arrived surprisingly recently, helped along by newspaper headlines, blurry photographs, mistranslations, and the occasional hippopotamus-foot ashtray. In many cases, even cryptids that may seem to ...

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Text • Tony Dunnell

Why Do So Many Old Photos Include Empty Chairs?

W.S. Gilbert, the English dramatist and one half of the Victorian-era theatrical partnership Gilbert and Sullivan, once said, “It isn’t so much what’s on the table that matters, as what’s on the chairs.” Wise words indeed, though in the case of early photography, it wasn’t s...

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Text • Kristina Wright

Why Are Theater Seats Almost Always Red?

You may not have clocked the seats the last time you went to an old movie theater or playhouse, but there’s a good chance they were red. In many theaters, row after row of crimson seats stretch toward the stage or screen, creating a familiar backdrop before the show even beg...

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Text • Tony Dunnell

The Strangest Ways the Postal Service Has Delivered Mail

Now that the future has finally arrived and robots are delivering mail through the streets of major cities, it might seem — to some of us older folks, at least — that things can’t get much stranger. But the U.S. Postal Service has always found innovative solutions to ensure ...

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Text • Tony Dunnell

The Strange Origins of Common Food Superstitions

Humans are superstitious creatures by nature, with many strange habits that seem entirely illogical. We avoid walking under ladders or opening umbrellas indoors in fear of bad luck. We knock on wood to prevent disappointment. We shun the number 13 and we can’t quite decide w...

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Text • Bess Lovejoy

What Did People Use for IDs Before Photos?

In a world without cameras, biometric databases, or even consistent spelling, identifying individuals could be quite a complex challenge. Before photography helped fix identity to an image, societies developed a range of creative methods to determine who someone was — a task...

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Text • Bess Lovejoy

What Was America’s First Suburb?

When you think of the origins of American suburbia, the name Levittown may spring to mind. A symbol of post-World War II optimism and domestic comfort, this Long Island development, constructed between 1947 and 1951, is often credited as America’s first modern suburb. Yet Le...

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Text • Darren Orf

In WWI, France started to build a fake Paris to confuse German bombers.

As an increasing number of attacks came from German planes, Parisians decided to take drastic action.

The post In WWI, France started to build a fake Paris to confuse German bombers. appeared first on History Facts.

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Text • Michael Nordine

Mary Poppins’ ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’ was inspired by the polio vaccine.

When inspiration strikes, you have to just go with it — no matter how unexpected the circumstances.

The post Mary Poppins’ ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’ was inspired by the polio vaccine. appeared first on History Facts.

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Text • Sarah Anne Lloyd

The Greek philosopher Pythagoras was terrified of beans.

The philosopher strictly forbade his followers, the Pythagoreans, from coming into contact with them.

The post The Greek philosopher Pythagoras was terrified of beans. appeared first on History Facts.

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Text • Nicole Villeneuve

Apple pie isn’t from America.

The classic treat actually originated across the ocean, in 14th-century England.

The post Apple pie isn’t from America. appeared first on History Facts.

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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 ...

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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.

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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...

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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 Valid
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...