Every Roman emperor has a few crazy stories under his belt, but none of them compare to the tales of Caligula. He’s the one Roman emperor historians are fairly sure was certifiably insane. Six ancient Romans wrote about Caligula’s life, and every one of them agreed that he was completely off his rocker. They left

Tales of mythical lands, lost cities, and hidden treasures have regaled generations of eager listeners in nearly every society on the planet throughout the course of history. Some of the earliest of these tales can be traced back to influential literature like the Old Testament, with its description of ancient cities like Sodom and Gomorrah

It is a sad fact that most people live their lives unremarked by history. Though we hope to be remembered by our family and friends, our achievements are often of small note and soon forgotten. There are, of course, a few people whose names will live long after them. And then there are those anonymous

The Black Panther Party, originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was established in Oakland, California, in 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton. The party was set up to act as a defense against the corrupt police in African-American neighborhoods. By the end of 1968, the Black Panthers had established around 38 chapters across

The wheels of justice turn slowly but grind exceedingly fine. After years, even decades, of investigations with no results, it can seem pretty certain that some cold cases will remain a mystery forever. That’s not necessarily true, as we’ve recently seen with the Golden State Killer, now tentatively identified as Joseph DeAngelo. Perhaps it will

We talk about slavery almost as if it was something that only happened in the United States. Slavery is treated as a distinctly American legacy and American shame—but that couldn’t possibly be farther from the truth. Nearly every country in the world participated in the slave trade, and a lot of them took in far

The Jewish people are history’s favorite scapegoats. Through every generation, they’ve been blamed for everything you can imagine—from killing Jesus to controlling the world. Most of it is infuriating, and we’ve all heard the worst stories about how anti-Semitism has brought on some of history’s worst tragedies. There are some lesser-known ones, though, that take