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 […]

From humble beginnings to near orphan at 7, to one of the wealthiest people in America, to one of the first the British targeted as being someone no pardon would be given, to President of Congress and beyond, John Hancock led a rather interesting life as we’ve been covering in this 5 part Hancock series. With a peace treaty finally […]

In 1775, the members of the Second Continental Congress and their President John Hancock were in a bit of a conundrum. On the one hand, Act after Act of the British Parliament were making it clear Parliament not only considered themselves the de facto rulers and governing body of the colonies, but that any push back against Parliament would result […]

“Listen, my children, and you shall hear, Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five: Hardly a man is now alive, Who remembers that famous day and year.” These are the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his famous 1860 poem Paul Revere’s Ride, which is where most of popular history’s perception of this […]

As covered in our video: Hancock: The Rise of the Merchant Prince, while remembered today primarily for his John Hancock on the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock’s importance to the American Revolution was vastly more than history tends to give him credit today, including his public protests against the Stamp Act, among others, helping to sway the masses, as well […]

“The troops of George the third have crossed the Atlantic, not to engage an enemy, but to assist a band of traitors in trampling on the rights and liberties of his most loyal subjects… Some boast of being friends to government; I am a friend to righteous government, to a government founded upon the principles of reason and justice; but […]

In 1824, the United States was emerging from the period of the so-called “Era of Good Feelings” during the James Monroe Presidency where there was a relative de-emphasis on party politics thanks to the Democratic-Republican Party more or less existing unchallenged during this time. But the good feelings were about to be gone, and a new era was rising where […]

With great dictatorial powers, comes a great risk of ceasing to continue to breathe long before your elderly years, with the odds increasing markedly if you also just so happen to make enemies out of not just countless nations of the world, but within a relatively large percentage of your own population through brutality and oppression. Something the Führer of […]

Ever wonder what the first known religion is? Well, wonder no more. To begin with, according to anthropologists Hervey C. People and Frank W. Marlowe, religion can be broadly defined as “a set of beliefs and behaviors based on a shared worldview that separates the sacred, or supernatural, from the profane.” With that broad interpretation in mind, possible, though not […]

On Christmas Day, 1914, the guns of the Western Front suddenly fell silent. All along the line, tens of thousands of soldiers lay down their weapons, climbed out of their trenches, and wandered into no-man’s land. Men who just hours ago had been actively trying to kill each other suddenly began fraternizing like old friends, exchanging food and gifts, recovering […]

When we think of Sparta, the first thing that comes to mind is the Spartan warrior. Unlike other historical warrior peoples like the Samurai, the Spartan warriors were pretty close to our imagined conception of them. They were manly warriors who were very muscular, fought wearing red capes, and holding big shields. They were the face of Sparta, to the […]