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John of Bohemia, the Blind King Who Charged Into Battle
We recount the epic tale of John of Bohemia, a 14th-century king who charged into the Battle of Crécy at age 50 - despite having been blind for the past ten years.
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Published on 6 years, 1 month ago
Kakigōri: The Story of Japan's Famous Shaved Ice
While this Japanese delicacy isn't the world's only icy dessert, it's certainly one of the most unique -- that iconic, delicate texture sets it apart. Kakigōri tastes like a treat fit for aristocrats…
Published on 6 years, 1 month ago
John Edmonstone: The Man Who Trained Darwin
Born into slavery in the 1700s, John Edmonstone gained his freedom in 1817 and moved to Edinburgh, where he stuffed birds for the Natural Museum and taught taxidermy to a young Charles Darwin. Tune i…
Published on 6 years, 2 months ago
The Death of Luxury Air Travel
Flying in an airplane is an enormous privilege, but nowadays it's often seen as an inconvenience more than anything else -- the crowding, the lines, the security check and so on can certainly take th…
Published on 6 years, 2 months ago
The Bizarre Capitulation of Stettin
When French General Antoine Lasalle first arrived at the Prussian-held city of Stettin in 1806, his odds of successfully capturing the community seemed laughably low -- Prussian Lieutenant General Fr…
Published on 6 years, 2 months ago
John Wilkes Booth's Brother Saved Abraham Lincoln's Son
Sometime in 1864 or 1865, Robert Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln, had a close call with death in a subway station when he was saved at the last minute by an honest-to-God celebrity -- Edwin…
Published on 6 years, 2 months ago
John Clem: The 12-year Old Civil War Hero
Although most soldiers in the U.S. Civil War were between 18 and 39, an estimated 20% of the soldiers were underage -- and thousands of those children were under the age of 15. John Lincoln Clem was …
Published on 6 years, 2 months ago
Christopher Columbus Was Such A Jerk That Even Spain Turned Against Him
For decades in the West, Christopher Columbus was often inaccurately portrayed as a pioneering explorer, his life, times and crimes sanitized in the public record. Schoolchildren learned rhymes about…
Published on 6 years, 2 months ago
The Kaiser’s Plan to Invade the United States
Kaiser Wilhelm II was nothing if not ambitious, and he had grand geopolitical plans to increase German influence across the planet. In his mind, there was one big roadblock in the way — the pesky Uni…
Published on 6 years, 2 months ago
How Uncle Tom's Cabin Became One of the Most Popular Books in China
Published in 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin quickly reached international acclaim, becoming the best-selling novel of the 19th century, and the second-best selling book after the Bible. While this antislave…
Published on 6 years, 2 months ago