The world’s first vending machine
The world’s first vending machine didn’t dispense crisps, fizzy drinks or even those clunky plastic…
Seven Wonders: Then and Now
Humanity loves a list. We rank everything: best albums, worst outfits, top ten dog breeds…
Stari Most: The Bridge That Brought Mostar Back Together
The city of Mostar has a flair for drama. It always has. Maybe it's the…
The Soviet space dog, Laika, Who Chased the Stars
Some stories sound like they were tailor-made for tearjerker film scripts. You know the type:…
The Eiffel Tower almost destroyed
If you've ever stood beneath the iron lattice of the Eiffel Tower and craned your…
John Wilkes Booth: Drama Turned Tragedy
If history were a theatre production, John Wilkes Booth would be that overly dramatic understudy…
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…
The medieval recipe for flying
The medieval recipe for flying sounds like it should involve a bubbling cauldron, a witch’s…
The Belfry of Bruges
The Belfry of Bruges: just say the words and you can almost hear the bells…
The Time Switzerland Accidentally Invaded Liechtenstein: A Neutral Blunder with No Casualties but Plenty of Apologies
Some countries have wars. Some have border skirmishes. And then there's Switzerland and Liechtenstein—two nations…
Dutch Tulip Bubble: How a Flower Sparked the World’s First Financial Crash
The 17th century was a wild time in the Netherlands. Picture windmills spinning over flat…
The Global Toothbrush Revolution: How One Man Changed Dental Hygiene Forever
Some revolutions begin with a bang. Others begin with bad breath. And in this case,…
History of the ice trade empire
In the age before humming refrigerators and supermarkets stocked with frosty tubs of Häagen-Dazs, keeping…
The Great Paris Flood of 1910 – When Parisians Traded Trains for Boats
If you think delayed trains and soggy croissants are the peak of Parisian inconvenience, allow…
The Victorian Obsession with Mummies: When Unwrapping a Corpse Was a Social Event
Victorians did many things with great enthusiasm—empire-building, tea-drinking, moustache-twirling—but few were quite as peculiar as…