The League of Nations
The first world war, known simply as the Great War at that time, was the most horrific war the world had ever seen. When the conflict ended, there was an effort to make sure that such a thing never ha...
10 Okt 202215min
The Kidnapping of Charley Ross
Most children growing up are admonished not to take candy from strangers. It is good advice, but it isn’t advice that comes from nowhere. It comes from a particular incident 150 years ago that shocke...
9 Okt 202212min
Trial By Combat
In the TV series Game of Thrones, there were four different seasons where disputes were determined with trial by combat. As fictional as the Game of Thrones universe is, the idea of resolving legal d...
8 Okt 202214min
The Rise and Fall of Department Stores
For most of human history, if you wanted something, you had to make it yourself or know the person who made it. Eventually, merchants began to sell more and more goods in one store to make it conveni...
7 Okt 202211min
Airport Codes (Encore)
If you’ve done your share of flying, you are probably familiar with the three-letter airport codes which identify every commercial airport in the world. Airports like DFW, LGA, and HOU are easy to fi...
6 Okt 202211min
How Barbed Wire Shaped the West and the World
When Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act of 1862, there was a rush of people who moved west to claim the free land that was offered. However, there was a problem. Creating physical divisions for...
5 Okt 202211min
Broken Arrows: When Nuclear Weapons Go Wrong
Nuclear weapons are the most devastating things humans have ever created. They are so powerful and terrible that nations that have them strictly control how they are used and handled. That being said...
4 Okt 202211min
The Seven Days of the Week
Most of our major divisions of time are based on some sort of natural event. A year is one orbit of the Earth around the sun. A month is one orbit of the Moon around the Earth. A day is one rotation ...
3 Okt 202212min
