In 1932, tens of thousands of World War I veterans peacefully converged on Washington to demand cash bonuses they weren’t scheduled to receive for another 13 years. What they got instead was a violent clash with the US Army. This can happen here. It already did.

Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 22, 1944, the GI Bill of Rights was designed to provide federal benefits for returning World War II veterans. It gave them the opportunity to attend college and get low-interest loans to buy homes; it gave the country something more: hope and dreams of equality.

In 1942, a now-classic image of a young woman in a red-and-white polka dot bandana appeared on a U.S. government-issued war poster. And thus Rosie the Riveter was born, an icon of the American can-do spirit and a persevering symbol of feminism, representing the millions of women who took on jobs typically held by men while the men were off fighting the war.

He was an able diplomat who successfully managed to ward off several deadly diseases and hold a vast empire in decline; yet, he’s mainly remembered today as the frail king with the Habsburg jaw, the final offspring of centuries of aristocratic inbreeding. It’s time to reappraise the legacy of King Charles II, the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire.

In 1680, Juan Carreño de Miranda—Charles II of Spain’s court painter—produced two portraits of Eugenia Martínez Vallejo, an extremely obese 6-year-old child. They earned her the moniker “la Monstrua,” the Monster. She was really just sick.

Originating in 15th-century Spain, limpieza de sangre was a racist legal concept and a complex caste system developed as a way to discriminate between the Old Catholics and the newer Christian converts of known or presumed Jewish or Muslim heritage (conversos and Moriscos).

Originally, handfasting was a humble engagement ritual. A few centuries—and scholarly misunderstandings—later, it became an elaborate Wiccan alternative to white Christian marriages.

The Habsburg jaw, well known, little understood—until a team of researchers detailed the inbreeding behind the royal smile.

Insults never die they just evolve. Medieval insults were surprisingly creative and some are still relevant to frustrations we face in modern life.

Polished obsidian, bronze, and copper were used as mirrors for thousands of years until Justus von Liebig invented the modern mirror in 1835.

For centuries, Europeans participated in a celebratory Dance of The Dead. The Danse Macabre is believed to be the precursor to the celebration of Halloween.

In 536 AD a volcanic eruption coated the Northern hemisphere with ash and produced a fog that plunged Europe into darkness.

Napoleon Bonaparte, “little corporal,” is often depicted as diminutive. Historians lament this fixation, overshadowing discussions on his leadership and impact. But let’s address the elephant in the room—Napoleon’s height—rooted in science and British propaganda.

Since its creation by John Duns Scotus in the 13 century, the Dunce Cap has represented the extremes of high intellectualism, evil, and stupidity.

Read the amazing story of Wojtek, the bear. There are memorials to this bear in two major cities in Europe. He left an impression on all who met him.

Enveloped in tradition for over five centuries, the bundling bag custom has intrigued Western Europe and North America alike. As evidence suggests, it continues to thrive within select New England religious communities, exemplifying enduring cultural practices.

George Everest was a British surveyor and geographer, he is most famous for having the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest, named after him, despite the fact he never really had anything to do with the discovery.