The Petrodollar System
On August 15, 1971, US President Richard Nixon ended the gold convertibility of the US Dollar and simultaneously ended the Bretton Woods System, which had governed international monetary policy since ...
18 Touko 202211min
How Worried Should We Be About Asteroids?
About 66 million years ago, a massive asteroid collided with the Earth near the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. This impact ended the era of the dinosaurs and resulted in one of the greatest species exti...
17 Touko 202213min
Saint Peter's Basilica
In the early 4th century, the Roman Emperor Constantine ordered the construction of a church on the burial site of Saint Peter. It was the greatest church in Christianity. Centuries later, that build...
16 Touko 202213min
Pitcairn Island (Encore)
On April 28, 1789, the crew of the HMS Bounty engaged in a mutiny against their despotic captain, William Bligh. After sending the captain out on a rowboat, the rest of the crew sailed to an uninhabit...
15 Touko 202211min
The Library of Alexandria
Sometime during the reign of Ptolemy I or Ptolemy II, the Egyptian state decided to build an institution dedicated to accumulating all human knowledge in the City of Alexandria. As the city grew, thi...
14 Touko 202213min
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th is a day associated with bad luck and ill omens. However, why is this particular combination of day of the week and day of the month considered bad luck? If you think you know why F...
13 Touko 202213min
King Tutankhamen
In 1922, British archaeologist Howard Cater stumbled upon one of the most pristine tombs of an Egyptian Pharaoh ever found. The tomb of King Tutankhamen. That discovery because a pop culture sensati...
12 Touko 202211min
The Vice President of the United States
At the 1787 Constitutional Convention, the delegates worked hard to create a document that would govern their new country. At the end of the convention, they had a session titled “Leftover Business....
11 Touko 202213min
