In a fenced-off field near Langdon, North Dakota stands a strange and enigmatic object: a 24-metre high truncated concrete pyramid, looming over the prairie. Scattered around its base are other strange forms cast in concrete and steel, and a cluster of low, prefabricated buildings, now empty and slowly rusting away. These are the remains of the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard […]

On December 26, 1991, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the world’s second-largest superpower and flagship for state communism for 74 years, suddenly ceased to exist. The Cold War, the four-decade- long ideological struggle between East and West, was finally over. But while December 26 marked the official birth of the newly-democratic Russian Federation, the dissolution of the Soviet Union […]

The world of aviation abounds with thousands of unique aircraft designs, from tiny ultralights to giant military transports. Yet no matter how advanced or outlandish these designs get, nearly all fall into one of only two basic categories: fixed wing or rotary wing. But the history of aviation, like that of all technologies, is riddled with false starts and dead […]

It’s 2024! Where’s my flying car? So goes the lament of many a 21st century citizen, disappointed that our world does not yet resemble an episode of The Jetsons. Along with personal jetpacks, moon bases, and robot butlers, flying cars have become emblematic of the shiny high-tech future we were promised but which never came to pass. As we’ve covered […]

In Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 historical revenge fantasy Inglourious Basterds, U.S. Army Lieutenant Aldo Raine, played by Brad Pitt, recruits the titular Basterds – a squad of Jewish soldiers – to wreak havoc behind Nazi lines during World War II. In the process, they cross paths with a parallel British mission and a revenge plot by a French Jewish woman and […]

Ah, the Bikini! What event more definitively announces that summer has arrived than the appearance of this classic swimsuit at beaches and poolsides across the world? An icon of women’s fashion, the bikini has permeated pop culture like few articles of clothing, giving us such lexical gems as bikini season, bikini bottom, and bikini wax. But while ubiquitous today, when […]

History books often remember underground political groups like the Communist party or the Social Democrats, espionage groups like the Red Orchestra, or militaries from America and Britain as the primary resistance against Nazi forces. But you may be surprised to learn that, in fact, the most vocal and visible resistance came from young people, mainly teens and those in their […]

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” This speech, delivered to Congress by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, is one of the most famous of the 20th century, and marked the official entrance of […]

Coca Cola. Pepsi Cola. 7-Up. Sprite. Orange Crush. Mountain Dew. Fanta. Irn-Bru. Fresca. Whether they are called pop, soda, soft drinks, or something else entirely, these sugary, fizzy drinks are absolutely everywhere, ranking fifth among the world’s most popular beverages after water, tea, fruit juice, and coffee. In the United States alone, some 45 billion litres of soda are consumed […]