A Brief History of The United States Copyright Law
American copyright law is a fascinating patchwork of lofty ideals, corporate lobbying, technological panic, and…
Louis Botha and the first government of the Union of South Africa
When Louis Botha formed the first government of the Union of South Africa in 1910,…
The Bronze Age: Wild, Glamorous, and Doomed
The Bronze Age is the historical era that politely taps you on the shoulder and…
Neuschwanstein Castle
If fairytales had a headquarters, it would probably be Neuschwanstein Castle. Sitting dramatically on a…
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong was not just a man. He was a paradox in motion, a walking…
Mohenjo-daro: The Bronze Age City That Outsmarted Ours
Mohenjo-daro is what happens when ancient people outdo your modern city planning, make you question…
Dracula: History’s Most Persistent Neck Enthusiast
Dracula. The name alone has more baggage than a Ryanair flight to Transylvania in peak…
Henry Kissinger: The Mighty Man of Realpolitik
Henry Kissinger. There, now you’ve either clenched your jaw or raised an eyebrow. Possibly both.…
The Inventor of the Guillotine Regretted Everything
Joseph-Ignace Guillotin really thought he was doing everyone a favour. Picture it: a French doctor,…
The Dancing Plague of 1518
In the sweltering summer of 1518, Strasbourg, that fine medieval city snug between what we…
France Gave the Statue of Liberty in Pieces
France gave the Statue of Liberty in pieces, and the head went on a promotional…
Francisco Pizarro: The Gold, the Greed, and the Sword
Francisco Pizarro: this was a man whose life read like a particularly bloody adventure novel,…
Romania’s Child King: A Crown Too Early
Romania’s Child King sounds like the title of a Brothers Grimm story that never made…
Why Some Countries Drive on the Left (And Others Don’t)
It all starts with horses. Naturally. Before cars came along and ruined everything by belching…
What Did Plague Doctors Wear: Fashion for the Apocalypse
What did plague doctors wear? Picture a man in a long black coat, leather gloves,…
The Oracle at Delphi: When Gods Spoke in Riddles
Once upon a time, when the world was a lot smaller and gods had the…
What did Tudors eat for breakfast?
What did Tudors eat for breakfast? Depends who you ask. If you time-travelled back to…
What is medieval battering ram?
What is medieval battering ram? It’s not a metaphor, it’s not a riddle, and it…
How NASA was created
Right, so let me tell you a tale that starts not in a sleek rocket…
Why There’s a British Post Box in Antarctica
You haven’t really lived until you’ve queued behind a man in a parka and snow…
Jonathan Swift: The Grumpy Genius
Say the name Jonathan Swift and you might hear a faint chuckle roll across the…
The Time London Had a Beer Tsunami
On an otherwise perfectly average Monday in London—17 October 1814, for those who appreciate a…
Suleiman the Magnificent: Myths and Reality
You know you've made it in history when people start calling you "The Magnificent." Suleiman…
The Shortest War in History
Of all the headlines that could have appeared in the late Victorian papers, one might…
The Esperanto Experiment: When the World Tried a Universal Language (and Politics Ruined It)
Creating peace through grammar might sound like something out of a satirical novel, but once…
Bicycles and women’s rights: Two Wheels and Scandalous Ankles
Today, the bicycle is mostly a symbol of fitness or leisurely Sunday rides through the…