Fugu: The Pufferfish That Can Kill You—and the People Who Eat It Anyway
Discover how Japan turned the poisonous pufferfish into fugu, a prized delicacy requiring skilled chefs, strict rules, and remarkable nerve.
Keep readingCheck Out the Latest
-
Radio Flyer: The Little Red Wagon That Hauled American Childhood
Read more: Radio Flyer: The Little Red Wagon That Hauled American ChildhoodDiscover the Radio Flyer wagon’s immigrant-built history, red steel design, and why this simple toy became an American childhood icon.
-
50 Fun Facts About American Inventions, Pop Culture, and Everyday Weirdness
Read more: 50 Fun Facts About American Inventions, Pop Culture, and Everyday WeirdnessCelebrate America’s 250 years with fun facts about inventions, pop culture, toys, snacks, gadgets, and everyday weirdness.
-
Earth Has More Trees Than the Milky Way Has Stars, Which Sounds Fake But Isn’t
Read more: Earth Has More Trees Than the Milky Way Has Stars, Which Sounds Fake But Isn’tEarth has more trees than the Milky Way has stars. Here’s why the fact is true, weird, and more complicated than it sounds.
-
Brother Jonathan: The Forgotten American Mascot Who Came Before Uncle Sam
Read more: Brother Jonathan: The Forgotten American Mascot Who Came Before Uncle SamBrother Jonathan was America’s forgotten national mascot before Uncle Sam, a lanky Yankee symbol who sparred with Britain’s John Bull.
-
Seaman the Dog: Lewis and Clark’s Four-Legged Explorer
Read more: Seaman the Dog: Lewis and Clark’s Four-Legged ExplorerMeet the Newfoundland dog who joined Lewis and Clark, hunted, guarded camp, survived a beaver bite, and nearly got dognapped. It’s the story of Seaman the dog, the four-footed member of a famous exploration team.
-
50 Fun Facts About Animals That Shaped American History
Read more: 50 Fun Facts About Animals That Shaped American HistoryHere are 50 fun facts about animals that shaped American history, from the bald eagle and Sergeant Stubby to Balto, Smokey Bear, spy cats, and goat mayors.
-
George Washington’s Prayer for America at 250: The Warning We Still Need
Read more: George Washington’s Prayer for America at 250: The Warning We Still NeedGeorge Washington’s Prayer for the Nation still speaks to America at 250, reminding the country that liberty requires justice, mercy, humility, and restraint.
-
Lewis and Clark’s Laxative: How Mercury Pills Became Archaeological Evidence
Read more: Lewis and Clark’s Laxative: How Mercury Pills Became Archaeological EvidenceLewis and Clark carried Dr. Rush’s mercury-laced Bilious Pills, a frontier laxative that later helped archaeologists confirm Travelers’ Rest.
-
July 2, 1776: The Forgotten Independence Day That Actually Created America
Read more: July 2, 1776: The Forgotten Independence Day That Actually Created AmericaJuly 2, 1776 was the day America voted for independence. Here’s the messy July timeline behind the Declaration and the birth of the United States.
-
The Bloody Benders: Kansas’ Murderous Innkeepers Who Vanished Into Old West Legend
Read more: The Bloody Benders: Kansas’ Murderous Innkeepers Who Vanished Into Old West LegendThe Bloody Benders lured travelers into a Kansas inn, murdered them, buried them in an orchard, and vanished into Old West legend.
-
The Night Witches of WWII: The Soviet Women Who Turned Bad Planes Into Psychological Warfare
Read more: The Night Witches of WWII: The Soviet Women Who Turned Bad Planes Into Psychological WarfareMeet the Night Witches, brave all-female pilots of the Soviet Union who inflicted terror on the Germans during WWII.
-
Elias Samuel Cooper’s 1857 Surgery Beneath a Beating Heart
Read more: Elias Samuel Cooper’s 1857 Surgery Beneath a Beating HeartIn 1857, Elias Samuel Cooper removed an iron breech pin lodged beneath a man’s beating heart after boredom, gunpowder, and men left unsupervised did their work.
-
The First Phonograph Demonstration: When Science Tried to Strangle Recorded Sound
Read more: The First Phonograph Demonstration: When Science Tried to Strangle Recorded SoundWhen the first phonograph demonstration of Edison’s invention took place in Paris,one skeptical scientist reportedly tried to prove it was fake by grabbing the demonstrator’s throat.
-
50 Fun Facts About the 50 States: One Weird, Wonderful Fact from Every State
Read more: 50 Fun Facts About the 50 States: One Weird, Wonderful Fact from Every State50 fun facts about the 50 states, with one weird, wonderful, or surprising piece of American trivia from every state.
-
George Washington’s Rules of Civility: The Complete 110 Rules in Plain English
Read more: George Washington’s Rules of Civility: The Complete 110 Rules in Plain EnglishThe complete list of George Washington’s Rules of Civility, translated into plain English with historical context and modern lessons.
