Egypt’s Oldest Known Art Identified, Is 15,000 Years Old
Source: National Geographic News
Thousands of years ago, rock paintings and etchings were the way to make your voice heard. This article proves the message is still being heard today.
History
Two Perspectives: Description of the people in hiding
Source: Miep Gies
Read this interesting account of the eight people in hiding in the Secret Annex from the perspective of Miep Gies and compare it to Anne Frank’s account.
In the 1800s, a freed slave built bridges across the South
Source: Atlanta Magazine
Horace King, a freed slave in early 1900’s was known for his sophisticated bridge-building technique. With the man who freed him, John Goodwin, he built covered bridges across what became the Confederate States of America.
Play Ball!: Colonial Games and America’s National Pastime
Source: Colonial Williamsburg Journal
Historians research the origins of baseball, which may reach further in the past than is commonly recognized.
Invention of the Telegraph
Source: Library of Congress
Read about the successes and setbacks Samuel F. B. Morse encountered while inventing the telegraph.
2016 Is a Leap Year. Why Do We Have Them?
Source: Forbes
Every four years (with an exception at the turn of most centuries), a quirk of the calendar gives us an extra day. Learn why 2016 is one of those years.
Alexander Gardner: The mysteries of the Civil War’s photographic giant
Source: The Washington Post
Chances are, if you’ve seen a Civil War-era photograph, it was credited to photographer Mathew Brady. However, that photo was most likely actually taken by Alexander Gardner, who went on to document the American West.
Josephine Baker—A French and American Hero
Source: Articles on History
Rising from poverty in St. Louis to become an entertainment superstar in her adopted home of Paris, Josephine Baker could easily have enjoyed a life of leisurely wealth. Instead, she aided the French Resistance during the Nazi occupation of World War II and later spoke out for American civil rights.
Pol Pot’s Shadow
Source: PBS Frontline
In the 1970s, the Khmer Rouge, led by the dictator Pol Pot, took over the southeast Asian nation of Cambodia. The regime uprooted and destroyed countless lives, killing nearly two million of its own people. Cambodians today have yet to come to terms with the horrors of that time.
Why Are Shirt Buttons on Different Sides for Men and Women?
Source: Mental Floss
Read about some interesting theories related to fashion for men and women. Did nobility dictate the differences in fashion?