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George Cassiday in 1930
Washington, D.C.

Bootlegging Room in the Cannon House Office Building

During Prohibition, the U.S. Congress had an "official" bootlegger, with his own Capitol Hill office.
An old pie dish from West Point, with visible knife scratches from years of cadets trying to cut equal pieces.
food

The Politics of Pie Cutting at West Point's Mess Hall

Or, why United States Military Academy cadets fear pastry.
Peggy O'Donnell June 27, 2017
Major Taylor races Léon Hourlier in France in 1909.
statues

The Enduring Legacy of the Worcester Whirlwind

Cyclist Marshall W. "Major" Taylor was the first internationally famous African-American athlete.
Cara Giaimo June 26, 2017
Permanently Closed
The Farrin and McCullough coal hole cover
New York, New York

St. Luke's Place Coal Hole Covers

These ornate manhole covers were used for a now-forgotten purpose.
Parties where playwrights like Moliere read aloud were precursors to rowdy book clubs.
libraries

Even in the 1700s, Book Clubs Were Really About Drinking and Socializing

And "a considerable element of boisterous good humor."
Sarah Laskow June 26, 2017
The site is located at an elevation of over 3300 feet.
North Macedonia

Kokino Observatory

This 3,800-year-old site contains markers used to study the movement of the sun and moon and create a lunar calendar.
Dragon's Teeth from the Alpine Wall
Italy

The Alpine Wall

A line of abandoned, alien-like fortresses dot the mountains of North Italy.
A aerial view of the Masada fortress.
Masada, Israel

Masada

This daunting 1st century fortress was purportedly the site of one of the most dramatic revolts of the Jewish-Roman wars.
Washington, D.C.

Washington Aqueduct Emergency Pumping Station

These abandoned waterworks are crumbling into the Potomac River.
The Shambala.
Urgun, Mongolia

Khamriin Khiid

Mongolian Buddhists believe this monastery in the Gobi desert to be the center of the world's spiritual energy.
A mother tucking her children into bed, 19th century.
victorian

The Once-Common Practice of Communal Sleeping

What's a shared bed between colleagues, anyway?
Adee Braun June 22, 2017
The current view
Washington, D.C.

Georgetown Waterfront

The little-known, 300-year history of the area includes former lives as a bustling tobacco port, parking lot, and industrial dump.
Gainsborough Old Hall
Gainsborough, England

Gainsborough Old Hall

A medieval relic whose great hall once hosted Mayflower pilgrims, one of Henry VIII’s ill-fated wives, and plenty of royal intrigue.
Washington, D.C.

The Sun Building

This nine-story building is the oldest standing skyscraper in D.C.
nazis

Found: An Unprecedented Trove of Original Nazi Artifacts in Argentina

A hidden passage led investigators to a collection of 75 astonishing objects.
Sarah Laskow June 20, 2017
The bell donated by Louis XV, later called the "Liberty Bell of the West"
Chester, Illinois

Liberty Bell of the West

Now nearly abandoned, Kaskaskia was once the capital of Illinois and one of the most important towns on the upper Mississippi.
The Great Train Wreck of 1918
Nashville, Tennessee

Dutchman's Curve

The site of the one of the most deadly train wrecks in American history.
Washington, D.C.

Lincoln Memorial Undercroft

A cavernous three-story, 43,800-square-foot basement that was forgotten about for 60 years.