Topic

History

A collection of 342 issues

Not an Austrian Folk Song: The Surprising Hollywood Story of 'Edelweiss'

Often mistaken for Austria's national anthem, 'Edelweiss' is not a traditional folk song. It was written by Rodgers and Hammerstein in 1959 for *The Sound of Music* as a poignant farewell from Captain von Trapp to his homeland, becoming a beloved but misunderstood classic.

The Day the Sky Fell: When China's Air Force Bombed the Forbidden City

In July 1917, the fledgling Chinese Air Force bombed the Forbidden City to crush a coup restoring 11-year-old Emperor Puyi. The raid, using a Caudron biplane, caused minimal damage but effectively ended the last attempt to reinstate the Qing Dynasty.

Miracle at Cabanatuan: The Forgotten WWII Rescue Mission That Succeeded Against All Odds

In January 1945, US Army Rangers and Filipino guerrillas executed a daring raid 30 miles behind enemy lines to rescue over 500 POWs from the Cabanatuan camp. A fighter plane's brilliant diversion ensured the mission's stunning success, making it one of history's greatest rescues.

Fendi's Roman HQ: The Fascist Secret Hidden in Its Architecture

Luxury fashion house Fendi's HQ, the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, is an icon of Fascist-era architecture. But its grand facade hides a chilling tribute: 6 rows of arches for 'Benito' and 9 for 'Mussolini,' a secret embedded in stone.

The Guano Empires: How 17th-Century Persia Built Palaces for Pigeons

In 17th-century Persia, thousands of massive, ornate mud-brick towers were built around Isfahan. Their sole purpose: to house wild pigeons and harvest their nitrogen-rich droppings, creating an enormous and highly valuable supply of fertilizer for the region's prized melon crops.

Walking on Ice Age Earth: 23,000-Year-Old Footprints in New Mexico Rewrite American Human History

Confirmed via new dating methods, ancient human footprints in New Mexico are an astonishing 23,000 years old. This groundbreaking find proves humans inhabited North America during the last Ice Age, shattering previous timelines and forcing a complete rewrite of our understanding of their arrival.

The Nicotine Killer: How a Hungarian Housewife's Poisoned Brandy Exposed Her Secret Murders

Erzsébet Papp, Hungary's "Nicotine Killer," murdered four people with homemade nicotine from 1957-1958. Initially sentenced to life for one crime, a series of accidental poisonings exposed her full killing spree, leading to a retrial and her eventual execution by hanging in 1962.

Riding the Waves: The Glorious, Doomed Story of Brighton's Seagoing 'Daddy Long Legs' Railway

In 1896, Victorian inventor Magnus Volk launched the 'Daddy Long Legs,' a remarkable electric train on 23-foot stilts that traveled through the sea off Brighton's coast. This audacious feat of engineering was a popular attraction but was ultimately defeated by storms and coastal defenses.