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CLASSIC: Are All US Presidents Actually Related?
In 2012 a student in Salinas, California, startled genealogists when she claimed that all Presidents save one were actually related. Could it be true…
1 year, 8 months ago
Post-Presidential Careers, Part Two: Adams, Taft, And More
George W. Bush is super into painting. Barak Obama loves making playlists. Taft decided to join the Supreme Court. In the part two of this week's two…
1 year, 8 months ago
Post-Presidential Careers, Part One: Happy Birthday, Jimmy!
Over here in the US, there's one dream job so exclusive that only 45 people have held it so far: President of the United States of America, not to be…
1 year, 8 months ago
CLASSIC: What's the deal with two-dollar bills?
Despite being pretty rare in comparison to other denominations, the U.S. two-dollar bill is one of the most storied notes in American folklore. So wh…
1 year, 8 months ago
Mark Twain Was a Terrible Investor, Part Two: Typesetters, Steam Pulleys and Tesla
Well, Ridiculous Historians, as our pal Mark Twain settled into a life of literary fame, he still couldn't help himself from making huge investments …
1 year, 8 months ago
Mark Twain Was a Terrible Investor, Part One: The Legend of "Josh"
Today, Mark Twain is widely thought of as one of America's greatest authors -- but he was also, get this, a terrible investor. Inspired by his father…
1 year, 8 months ago
CLASSIC: How James Bond Created a Mexican Dia de los Muertos Tradition
The Day of the Dead is a longstanding traditional celebration in Mexico, and currently hundreds of thousands of people associate it with a gigantic p…
1 year, 9 months ago
What is Karaoke? Part Two: Going Global; Careful What You Sing
As the karaoke phenomenon became a global pastime, it likewise transformed to adapt to cultures outside of Japan. In the second part of this two-part…
1 year, 9 months ago
What is Karaoke? Part One: An Origin Story
Nowadays most people are at least generally familiar with the concept of karaoke -- technology allows you to sing along with your favorite songs, oft…
1 year, 9 months ago
CLASSIC: Did Richard Nixon Unwittingly Smuggle Drugs for Louis Armstrong?
It's become one of the strangest anecdotes in modern American history -- numerous sources will swear to you that, in a last-minute panic before reach…
1 year, 9 months ago