Tag Archives: History
Did Ancient Egyptians Actually Put the “Pharaoh’s Curse” on Their Tombs?
It is a classic supernatural horror trope: a team of archaeologists dig through the desert sands to reveal the entrance of an ancient Egyptian tomb, sealed and forgotten for millennia. Carved over the door in hieroglyphics they find an ominous inscription, warning that anyone who dares disturb the tomb will suffer a terrible curse. Undeterred,… Read More »
The Forgotten Nazi Holocaust Plan Before They Decided On the Holocaust
200 kilometres off the coast of Mozambique lies the island nation of Madagascar. With a land area of 587,000 square kilometres, it is the fourth-largest island in the world after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo; and the second-largest island nation after Indonesia. A French colony from 1896 to 1960, Madagascar has long been the world’s… Read More »
The Fascinating Story Behind the Molotov Cocktail and How It Got Its Name
The recipe is simple: take an empty glass bottle, fill it with gasoline or other suitably flammable liquid, and stuff a piece of cloth – preferably also soaked in gasoline – into the neck. To use, simply ignite the cloth and throw. The quintessential improvised weapon, the Molotov cocktail has become a potent symbol of… Read More »
The Forgotten European Pearl Harbor That Laid the Blueprint for Pearl Habor
Air raid sirens blared and curtains of tracer rounds rose into the sky as the ominous drone of aircraft engines grew ever closer. Suddenly, a flight of enemy aircraft swooped low over the sleeping anchorage, unleashing their deadly cargo of torpedoes and bombs onto an unsuspecting fleet. All around, geysers of water and flame erupted… Read More »
The Bizarre Tale of the Spontaneously Exploding Submarines
On the morning of January 17, 1955, Eugene P. Wilkinson, commander of the U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus, transmitted one of the most consequential messages in the history of naval warfare: underway on nuclear power. Prior to this, military submarines were more aptly termed submersibles, with the majority of their time spent on the surface.… Read More »
Crucifying Your Own Son- Who Invented Crucifixion and How Does it Actually Kill You?
It is one of the most widespread and recognizable religious symbols in the world: the anguished figure of a man, naked but for a loincloth and crown of thorns, hands and feet brutally nailed to a wooden cross. The crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth in 33 C.E. is perhaps the single most famous and consequential… Read More »
Who Invented the Lava Lamp?
Has there ever been a piece of home decor that more perfectly encapsulates an era than the Lava Lamp? An icon of the psychedelic and hippie movements of the 1960s and 70s, this mesmerizing tube of undulating, brightly-coloured blobs is the perfect mood-setting accessory for when you just want to lay back in your bean… Read More »
The Incredible Tale of History’s Only Real Sky Pirates
Ah, pirates! As fellow YouTuber The History Guy so famously stated: don’t all good stories involve pirates? For hundreds of years, these raiders of the waves have struck fear into the hearts of sailors and captured the popular imagination with a romantic image of freewheeling, swashbuckling adventure. But while the world of fiction abounds with… Read More »
