Smart News History & Archaeology

Eggnog is connected to a medieval drink called posset.

The Long, Rich, Boozy History of Eggnog

This December, we’re exploring the drink’s storied history

Anne Frank in 1940, four years before her arrest and deportation.

Trending Today

Anne Frank May Not Have Been Betrayed

New evidence suggests the family was not specifically targeted, but rather discovered during an investigation related to illegal ration coupons

The first edition of A Christmas Carol. The illustration on the left is of Mr. Fezziwig's ball, one of Scrooge's good memories.

Why Charles Dickens Wrote 'A Christmas Carol'

The beloved story sold 6,000 copies in its first week in print and 15,000 in its first year

A photo of Bill Clinton taken in 1993, the first year of his presidency.

Presidents Can Be Impeached Because Benjamin Franklin Thought It Was Better Than Assassination

The founding fathers struggled with the idea of whether the top leader should be impeachable

South Texas is among the most inhospitable places to cross the border—and is now the most popular.

Cool Finds

New Database Helps Families ID People Who Died Crossing the Border

<i>I Have a Name/Yo Tengo Nombre</i> offers a devastating glimpse of those who are gone—and a glimmer of hope to those who want to find them

A modern flight data recorder, a.k.a. a "black box." Despite the name, these recorders are typically painted orange.

On This Day, The Black Box Proved Its Worth

The Park Slope plane crash was a tragedy, but it proved the importance of the flight data recorder

Bei Bei, the National Zoo's youngest giant panda cub, during a veterinary exam when he was less than three months old.

The Long, Adorable History of Pandas in America

Su Lin was the first giant panda to come to America, landing in San Francisco in 1936

Gold armband

Trending Today

Dutch Court Rules Crimean Artifacts on Loan Will Return to Ukraine

Following Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula, Ukraine's government asked that the artifacts be returned to Kiev

Pinball players are no longer scofflaws in the eyes of Kokomo, Indiana law.

Trending Today

Pinball Is Finally Legal Again in This Indiana City

Kokomo, Indiana, has reversed a 61-year-old ban on the game

Photo of Olivia de Havilland (left), Leslie Howard (center) and Vivien Leigh (right) from Gone With The Wind.

Why Do We Love Period Dramas So Much?

Gone With The Wind, the highest-grossing period drama ever, premiered on this day in 1939

Glad tidings! There's a new Christmas song in town.

Researchers Found a Long-Lost Christmas Song

"Crown Winter With Green" has some serious archival cred—and a sad story to tell

The Russian Front of World War II as of 1942.

Cool Finds

The CIA Is Celebrating Its Cartography Division’s 75th Anniversary by Sharing Declassified Maps

Decades of once-secret maps are now freely available online

The stone in front of the home in Braunau am Inn, Austria, where Adolf Hitler was born reads "For peace, freedom and democracy, never again fascism, millions of dead are a warning"

Trending Today

Austria Will Seize the Home Where Hitler Was Born

The government doesn't want the apartment complex turning into a Neo-Nazi shrine

The tea bag made it possible to brew a single cup of tea rather than a whole pot.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Ever Wonder Who Invented the Tea Bag?

Its two competing origin stories are linked by one thing: convenience

An official notice of exclusion and removal posted on April 1, 1942.

Trending Today

75 Years Ago, the Secretary of the Navy Falsely Blamed Japanese-Americans for Pearl Harbor

The baseless accusation sparked the road to the infamous internment camps

Tycho Brahe was extremely wealthy and lived an unusual life that included a pet moose.

Astronomer and Alchemist Tycho Brahe Died Full of Gold

The shiny element was important to Renaissance scientists. Very important

This Christmas, St. Peter's Square has a tree, a nativity scene and a message about refugees.

Trending Today

Pope’s New Nativity Scene Raises Awareness of Worldwide Refugee Crisis

It's a lavish display complete with a plea for racial tolerance

An ancient grape seed found at the Lake Hula site

New Research

The Paleo Diet May Need a Rewrite, Ancient Humans Feasted on a Wide Variety of Plants

Archaeologists in Israel have counted 55 species of plant foods a an early hominid site on Lake Hula

Ellen Willis in upstate New York in 1970

One of the First Female Rock Critics Battled Sexism and Obscurity To Document the 1970s

Willis was The New Yorker’s first pop music critic, but to her, everything was open for criticism

Graves of Franklin Expedition members on Beechey Island

New Research

Thumbnail Reveals the Final Days of Franklin Expedition Explorer

A synchrotron micro-x-ray sheds new light on the cause that led to one crew member's death

Page 224 of 294