Topic: History

Happy Birthday, OK

Flickr/RJeremy Brooks

Saturday is a big day. OK, the expression, is turning 174.

By Philip Bump

Mar 12, 2013

How Long the Pope Vote Might Last, According to 900 Years of Data

An electoral process that's been around for over 1,000 years provides a lot of data. For those of you interested in historical trends, or those of you betting on voting results, here's the numeric breakdown of what past conclaves have offered.

Comments | 4,138 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Feb 17, 2013

Thanks to 'Lincoln,' Mississippi Has Finally, Definitely Ratified the Thirteenth Amendment

A middle-aged recent immigrant from India recently set into motion a series of events that eventually led to Mississippi finally retifying the Constitutional amendment banning slavery.

Comments | 14,466 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Feb 5, 2013

This Congressman Fact-Checked 'Lincoln' and Won

If there is such a thing as winning at fact-checking, Rep. Joe Courtney gets a gold medal for calling out factual errors in Stephen Spielberg's Lincoln. The Connecticut congressman wants it fixed, too.

Comments | 19,485 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 30, 2013

Those Tragically Torched Manuscripts in Timbuktu Weren't Torched After All

Good news, history fans: Researchers revealed on Wednesday that the vast majority of the 300,000 ancient manuscripts that had supposedly been burned by Malian rebels are actually "safe and sound."

Comments | 1,668 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Jan 28, 2013

Mali Rebels Torch Priceless Ancient Manuscripts Before Fleeing Timbuktu

French troops managed to seize the famous town of Timbuktu over the weekend, but not before feeling rebels continued their assault not just on the people, but on the very culture and history of the region.

Comments | 2,320 Views

By John Hudson

Aug 29, 2012

Todd Akin Would Do Well in Ancient Rome

Rep. Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" remark may be sinking his Senate campaign in Missouri (though he's not down for the count yet), but he'd be doing just fine in the Roman Senate, according to a post by Andrew Solomon on The New Yorker's website.

Comments | 448 Views

By Jen Doll

Apr 9, 2012

Reviewing the 'Mad Men' World by Someone Who Was There

We've enlisted the help of a former '60s-era ad exec to run down the factual inaccuracies and anachronisms of Mad Men. 

Comments | 15,747 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Mar 15, 2012

Guess Who Invented the Term 'American Exceptionalism'

Even though conservatives love to bat around the phrase "American exceptionalism" these days, the phrase itself has very lefty origins.

Comments | 2,242 Views

Winning Isn't Everything: Nine Presidential Losers Who Made a Difference

On this holiday reserved to honor and appreciate the accomplishments of all American presidents, it's also a moment to take stock of what the losers have given us.

Comments | 1,552 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Feb 6, 2012

Researchers Suggest The Constitution Is Passé

On Monday, The New York Times reported on a new study that reveals a sad fact: The United States Constitution is no longer cool.

Comments | 1,379 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 10, 2012

The Contenders for the First Novel Written with a Word Processor

Matthew Kirschenbaum, an English professor and expert on the early days of fiction writing on word processors received a flood of reader messages after The New York Times profiled him a couple of weeks ago.

Comments | 1,207 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Dec 29, 2011

Apple's Original Brand Strategy: Get Ahead of Atari in the Phonebook

Even Apple's historical archives are stashed away in a top secret location: a climate-controlled warehouse somewhere on the outskirts of San Francisco.

Comments | 5,769 Views

By Ray Gustini

Oct 28, 2011

Philip Dick's Heirs Lawyer Up; Scorsese Eyes 'The Snowman'

Today in publishing: Philip K. Dick's estate says the story for The Adjustment Bureau movie was not in the public domain, Martin Scorsese is interested in adapting a gruesome Nordic crime novel of his own, and Neil Gaiman picks the best scary books to tuck into this Halloween.

Comments | 530 Views

By Erik Hayden

Oct 12, 2011

Rick Perry Recalls the American Revolution Happening in the 1500s

The Texas governor slips up while talking at a Dartmouth fraternity

Comments | 3,276 Views

By Erik Hayden

Aug 15, 2011

Rare Manuscript: Butch Cassidy Survived Bolivian Shootout!

The Associated Press circulates a new theory about the exploits of the outlaw

Comments | 8,115 Views

By Erik Hayden

Jun 14, 2011

Quiz: Do You Know More U.S. History Than a High Schooler?

In your favor: most high school seniors aren't very good at the subject

Comments | 3,814 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jun 6, 2011

The Wikipedia War of Paul Revere and Sarah Palin

Palin fans attempt to undermine encyclopedia entries (again). Editors upset (again)

Comments | 19,759 Views

By Ray Gustini

May 10, 2011

Library of Congress Builds 1925's Most Advanced Jukebox

Sneezes, jazz, and William Jennings Bryan speeches, together at last

Comments | 436 Views

By Adam Martin

May 5, 2011

The Last World War I Combatant Has Died

British sailor watched German fleet surrender in 1918

Comments | 33,990 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Apr 20, 2011

British Spy Secrets Still Much Cooler Than American Spy Secrets

Recently declassified CIA documents tell secrets the government no longer cares about

Comments | 3,449 Views

By Erik Hayden

Apr 15, 2011

Post Office Picks the Wrong Statue of Liberty for Stamp

A "super-fan" pointed out that the stamp featured a Las Vegas replica

Comments | 876 Views

By Ray Gustini

Apr 13, 2011

The Most Inappropriate Responses to the Civil War Sesquicentennial

How not to observe the war's 150 year anniversary

Comments | 8,045 Views

By Erik Hayden

Mar 26, 2011

Color Photographs of an Ill-Fated Antarctic Voyage in 1914

Ernest Shackleton's ship lay crippled in Antarctica. A photographer documented it

Comments | 6,006 Views

By Ray Gustini

Mar 11, 2011

Scalia Turns 75, So It's Time To Debate His Legacy

Reading the Supreme Court's most controversial justice doesn't get easier with time

Comments | 517 Views

By Ray Gustini

Mar 3, 2011

Cliché Watch

Sherrod Brown: Hitler Hated Unions, Just Like The GOP

Sen. Sherrod Brown proves Godwin's Law

Comments | 690 Views

By Erik Hayden

Feb 28, 2011

Last Surviving American WWI Veteran Dies

Frank Woodruff Buckles was 110 years old

Comments | 1,207 Views

By Erik Hayden

Feb 23, 2011

Cliché Watch

New Discovery: 'Thunder-Thighs' Dinosaur

Looks a lot like a Brontosaurus, from the drawings

Comments | 171 Views

By Eli Rosenberg

Feb 18, 2011

Strange Bedfellows

The Third Reich In 3D

Newly found films show surprisingly advanced attempts at three-dimensional footage

Comments | 171 Views

By Uri Friedman

Jan 25, 2011

Historian Allegedly Tampered With Lincoln Documents

The National Archives says Thomas Lowry altered the date of an Abraham Lincoln pardon to make it historically relevant

Comments | 345 Views

By Caitlin Dickson

Dec 22, 2010

South Carolina Hosts a Ball to Celebrate Secession--NAACP Not Happy

Is there a way to celebrate the Confederacy that doesn't ignore slavery?

Comments | 54 Views

By Max Fisher

Nov 17, 2010

Was British Colonialism Good or Bad for India?

They were better than the French, at least

Comments | 12,639 Views

By Ray Gustini

Nov 8, 2010

By Alex Eichler

Oct 20, 2010

Lessons From the Virginia Civil-War Textbook Flap

No, thousands of blacks didn't fight for the Confederate cause

Comments | 172 Views

By Heather Horn

Oct 12, 2010

Candidate's Nazi Reenactments Fuel Heated Debate

When is it okay to tromp around in SS uniforms? Is it ever?

Comments | 196 Views

By Max Fisher

Aug 26, 2010

Liberals Fume as Glenn Beck 'Hijacks' Martin Luther King

Beck plans a massive event on the anniversary of King's "dream" speech

Comments | 517 Views

By Heather Horn

Aug 25, 2010

Op-Ed Spotlight: MLK's Son Carefully Marks Off King's Legacy From Glenn Beck

He defends the Fox News host's right to rally, but not his views

Comments | 15 Views

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