3899 Items Tagged

History

Library theft was made a criminal offense in 1982.

The Rare-Book Thief Who Looted College Libraries in the '80s

By passing as a professor, James Richard Shinn made off with over $100,000 worth of books.

Susan Falciani July 20, 2017

STS-1, the Space Shuttle <em>Columbia</em>, launching on April 12, 1981, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA Just Released Hundreds of Historic Space and Aviation Videos

Watch the first space shuttle take off and an experimental aircraft set a speed record.

Kelsey Kennedy July 20, 2017

The Osmington White Horse, which depicts King George III, is the only carving to feature both horse and human.

England’s Centuries-Old Fascination With Carving Giant Horses Into Hillsides

The country's unbridled enthusiasm for the trend even inspired the creation of the term “leucippotomy.”

Kerry Wolfe July 20, 2017

Spring Lane, which was named after the Great Spring.

Boston, Massachusetts

The Great Spring

A tiny plaque marks the location of the water source that facilitated the birth of modern-day Boston.

Yippies overtake the Disneyland attractions.

How a Group of '70s Radicals Tried (and Failed) to Invade Disneyland

The Yippies' takeover did not quite go to plan.

Kristin Hunt July 19, 2017

Historical plaque with Original Town Plan

Saint Andrews, New Brunswick

Loyalist St. Andrews

A small Canadian town founded as a refuge for Loyalists following American Independence.

Casselman's River Bridge today

Grantsville, Maryland

Casselman River Bridge

This beautiful stone arch bridge wasn't even expected to stand for one day, but people have been crossing it for centuries.

Lübbenau/Spreewald, Germany

Gurkenmuseum (Cucumber Museum)

A museum honoring Germany’s cucumber mecca offers a great dill of gherkin history.

Glass floors reveal layers of underlying history.

Museo Faggiano

One man's quest to fix his toilet unearthed over 5,000 artifacts spanning more than 2,000 years of history.

Horton, IBM 360, and Walden, in a publicity shot.

The Computer That Ran for School President

In 1975, the Pro-Apathy Party had an IBM 360 at the top of its ticket.

Sarah Laskow July 18, 2017

Two <em>kerusi rotan bulat</em>, Malaysia, 2017.

Tracing the Elusive History of Pier 1's Ubiquitous 'Papasan' Chair

The bowl-shaped seat's conflicted heritage incorporates the Vietnam War.

John Kelly July 17, 2017

One of the many floors of spinning machines

Lonaconing, Maryland

Klotz Throwing Company

A remarkable time capsule of American manufacturing deep in Maryland coal country.

Chauffeurs relaxing next to a Minerva, France.

The Insolent Chauffeurs of America's Early Automobile Era

The media criticized drivers for off-the-clock joyrides, corruption, and running people over.

Joseph Hayes July 14, 2017

The 15th Century Merchants house that started it all.

Stoke Heath, England

The Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings

A slightly surreal menagerie of structures that were lovingly spared from demolition and reconstructed in a field.

Smoking the Fool, the prelude to the contest.

The Haxey Hood

One of England's oldest ongoing games is basically a town-wide scrummage that aims to push a leather tube into a local pub.

Villa Hugel

The monumental home of Prussia’s eccentric "Cannon King."

The Hjemkomst Viking Ship

Moorhead, Minnesota

Hjemkomst Viking Ship

This replica of an 8th century burial ship actually sailed to Norway before returning home to Minnesota.

Marine map of Scandinavia, drawn up at Venice in 1539.

Here Be Dragons

Five real places to see the winged legends of medieval Europe.

Meg Neal July 13, 2017