WEIRD HISTORY
The archaeological site, now open to tourists, offers clues about the mysterious empire that built it and its more famous sister city of Petra in Jordan. Once a thriving international trade hub, the archeological site of Hegra (also known as Mada’in Saleh) has …
In truth, massacres, disease and American Indian tribal politics are what shaped the Pilgrim-Indian alliance at the root of the holiday. Chief Ousamequin shares a peace pipe with Plymouth Governor John Carver. (California State Library ) – By Claire Bugos SmithsonianMag.Com 2019 Nov …
His path to fame and notoriety began by exploiting an enslaved woman, in life and in death, as entertainment for the masses. Hugh Jackman in “The Greatest Showman.” (20th Century Fox) – By Jackie Mansky SmithsonianMag.Com 2017 Dec 22 – Some five decades …
Archaeologists think the vessel was likely a 19th-century merchant ship. Researchers will continue studying the timbers in an effort to determine their age and origin. (Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program) – By Livia Gershon SmithsonianMag.Com 2020 Nov 19 – Erosion on a Florida beach …
A couple in Alsace, France, stumbled onto a capsule containing a cryptic note dated to either 1910 or 1916. A couple hiking in the Alsace region of northeastern France spotted the tiny aluminum message capsule in a grassy field in September. The note, …
Disputed findings suggest some residents of the “Lost Colony” settled 50 miles west of their original home. Two new research ventures appear to support the idea that Roanoke’s colonists split into two or more groups after abandoning the North Carolina settlement. (Public domain …
How superstition collided with public health concerns to create a modern monster. Vampires came when folk tradition filled the void of scientific knowledge. In this illustration, men gather at a gravesite to kill a purported vampire. (Leemage / Corbis via Getty Images) – …
Children in the live audience of ‘Howdy Doody’ were seated in what was known as the peanut gallery. NBC Television via wikimedia.org – By Roger J. Kreuz, Associate Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of Memphis 2020 Nov 09 – “No comments from …
24 feet tall and three feet wide, these giant spires dotted the ancient landscape. Digging up a Prototaxites fossil (University of Chicago) – By Colin Schultz SmithsonianMag.Com – From around 420 to 350 million years ago, when land plants were still the relatively …
How an Indian export became part of the fabric of American life. The classic Turkey red, sported by everyone from Rosie the Riveter to Tupac Shakur. (National Museum of American History) – By Laura Hilgers Smithsonian Magazine | Subscribe 2020 Nov – Long …