How the Berlin Wall Became a 100-Mile Bike and Pedestrian Trail
Joe Baur Freelance travel writer It’s impossible to make out the tourists from the locals on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Mauerpark––the 37-acre linear green space formerly part of the…
This Russian Family Lived Alone in the Siberian Wilderness for 40 Years, Unaware of World War II or the Moon Landing
Mike Dash; Updated by Ellen Wexler Siberian summers do not last long. The snows linger into May, and the cold weather returns again during September, freezing the taiga into a…
How ‘Blackbirders’ Forced Tens of Thousands of Pacific Islanders Into Slavery After the Civil War
No Pacific Islander was safe from the “blackbirders,” slave traders who lured, coerced or outright kidnapped tens of thousands of people for forced labor in Australia and Fiji in the…
Before the Yule Lads Evolved Into Icelandic Versions of Santa Claus, They Terrorized Children Into Following the Rules
In Icelandic folklore, 13 merry but mischievous brothers known as the Yule Lads take turns visiting children on the 13 nights leading up to Christmas Day. On each of these…
Ancient Britons May Have Built Stonehenge to Symbolize Unity
Around 5,000 years ago, prehistoric people in what is now southern England began constructing the circular formation of massive standing and stacked boulders now known as Stonehenge. The monument is…
Scientists Say Bakers Were Making an Early Version of Focaccia Bread 9,000 Years Ago
Focaccia, with its flaky crust and rich olive oil flavor, is a beloved staple—but just how far back does the delicious bread’s history stretch? While experts know it was made…
Why the Creator of One of the First ‘Lie Detectors’ Lived to Regret His Invention
In order to catch liars, the ancient Chinese would sometimes give the accused a mouthful of uncooked rice during interrogation—and then ask the person to open wide. Dry rice would…
How This Self-Taught Guitarist Became a Music Legend
When Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten was around 8 years old, she would slip into her older brother’s room when he was at work, take his banjo off the wall and toy…
Giant Pandas Are Coming Back to Washington, D.C.
Meilan Solly Senior Associate Digital Editor, History For the past six months, the giant panda habitat at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (NZCBI) has sat empty, a…
How This Caribbean-Born Artist Became the Toast of 18th-Century France
Born to a formerly enslaved mother in Guadeloupe, Guillaume Lethière (1760-1832) moved to Paris as a teen with his plantation-owner father and launched his artistic career during the tumultuous years…