The Great Fire of London (1666): Strange Facts Behind the Famous Disaster
The Great Fire of London wasn’t just a disaster—it was full of odd decisions and strange moments. Here are the quirkiest facts from 1666.
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The Iowa Cow War of 1931: A Bizarre Battle Between Farmers, Science, and the State
Read more: The Iowa Cow War of 1931: A Bizarre Battle Between Farmers, Science, and the StateThe Iowa Cow War of 1931 was a bizarre clash between farmers, science, and the government—complete with protests, misinformation, and the National Guard protecting veterinarians testing cows for tuberculosis.
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The Hollywood Accounting Scam: How Blockbuster Movies Make Millions but Lose Money
Read more: The Hollywood Accounting Scam: How Blockbuster Movies Make Millions but Lose MoneyDiscover how Hollywood accounting turns billion-dollar blockbusters into “losses.” Learn the tricks studios use to avoid paying profits and why hit movies often show no net income on paper.
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Thomas Jefferson’s Writing Desk: The Surprising Story of the Desk That Drafted the Declaration of Independence
Read more: Thomas Jefferson’s Writing Desk: The Surprising Story of the Desk That Drafted the Declaration of IndependenceDiscover the surprising story of Thomas Jefferson’s writing desk—the small wooden box used to draft the Declaration of Independence—and the fascinating history behind one of America’s most iconic documents.
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Barbed Wire Telephone: How Farmers Turned Fences Into Phone Lines
Read more: Barbed Wire Telephone: How Farmers Turned Fences Into Phone LinesDiscover how farmers in rural America turned fences into barbed wire telephone networks, connecting entire communities in the late 1800s with ingenuity, frugality, and a surprising bit of electrical know-how.
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How Everyday Things Work: Common Things We Use But Don’t Fully Understand
Read more: How Everyday Things Work: Common Things We Use But Don’t Fully UnderstandWe use them every day—painkillers, gravity, adhesive tape—but do we really understand how everyday things work? Explore the surprising science behind common things we rely on but can’t fully explain.
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The Dead Rabbits Riots of 1857: When New York Decided to Settle Politics the Old-Fashioned Way (With Bricks)
Read more: The Dead Rabbits Riots of 1857: When New York Decided to Settle Politics the Old-Fashioned Way (With Bricks)Gangs, bricks, and urban warfare—explore the Dead Rabbits Riots of 1857 and how New York descended into chaos during one of its most violent street battles.
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The 1876 Centennial Exposition: The Weird Ways America Celebrated Its 100th Birthday
Read more: The 1876 Centennial Exposition: The Weird Ways America Celebrated Its 100th BirthdayStep back in time and discover the weird, fascinating, and surprisingly modern ways America celebrated its 100th birthday at the 1876 Centennial Exposition—from telephones to towering machines.
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The CBS Talent Raid: When William Paley Went Star-Hunting and NBC Realized It Had Left the Vault Open
Read more: The CBS Talent Raid: When William Paley Went Star-Hunting and NBC Realized It Had Left the Vault OpenThe CBS Talent Raid changed broadcasting forever. Learn how William Paley poached radio’s biggest stars from NBC and rewrote media history.
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Gouverneur Morris: The Most Unlikely Founding Father
Read more: Gouverneur Morris: The Most Unlikely Founding FatherMeet Gouverneur Morris—the overlooked Founding Father who wrote “We the People,” dominated the Constitutional Convention, survived a wooden leg, and lived a scandalously colorful life.
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The Honey War of 1839: When Missouri and Iowa Nearly Went to War Over Honey
Read more: The Honey War of 1839: When Missouri and Iowa Nearly Went to War Over HoneyDiscover the Honey War of 1839, the bizarre border dispute that nearly sparked a war between Missouri and Iowa over a surveying error and trees full of honey.
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The Rise and Breakup of NBC’s Radio Empire
Read more: The Rise and Breakup of NBC’s Radio EmpireDiscover how NBC built a color-coded radio empire with Red and Blue networks—and how government regulators forced a breakup that helped create ABC and reshape broadcasting.
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The Invasion of Quebec: When the American Revolution Tried to Make Canada the 14th Colony
Read more: The Invasion of Quebec: When the American Revolution Tried to Make Canada the 14th ColonyDiscover the forgotten 1775 invasion of Quebec, when American revolutionaries tried to turn Canada into the 14th colony—and nearly changed North American history.
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Just How Violent Was the Wild West?
Read more: Just How Violent Was the Wild West?Hollywood shows the Wild West as nonstop gunfights and bank robberies. The real story is different. Discover how violent the Old West actually was.
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Are Stradivarius Violins Really Better? The Science Says Maybe Not
Read more: Are Stradivarius Violins Really Better? The Science Says Maybe NotBlind tests show many musicians can’t distinguish Stradivarius violins from modern ones. Explore the science, psychology, and myth behind the world’s most famous instruments.
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Do You Really Have to Wait 24 Hours to Report a Missing Person?
Read more: Do You Really Have to Wait 24 Hours to Report a Missing Person?Do you really have to wait 24 hours to report a missing person? This article explains the myth, why it persists, and what actually happens when someone goes missing.
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A Buttload is an Actual Unit of MeasurementFebruary 5, 2020
