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ANCIENT HISTORY
View All PostsCommissioned by Emperor Vespasian in AD 70, the Roman Colosseum utilized hidden trapdoors and advanced hydraulics to stage brutal gladiator spectacles.
Was Ancient Rome a secret democracy? Beyond the Senate, how did the vote and veto of the Roman popular assembly influence politics?
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HISTORY
View All PostsIn the United States, Independence Day is celebrated annually on July 4th with “pomp and parade,” but has America been getting it wrong for 250 years?
The British Empire was the largest empire in history, with territory on every continent. Unsurprisingly, some British colonies fly under most people’s radars.
PHILOSOPHY
View All PostsRoman Emperor Marcus Aurelius used daily Stoic dawn rituals to prepare for the day and withstand the stress of war and governing an Empire.
In Star Trek, Doctors McCoy and Pulaski were hesitant to use the transporters. Davidson’s Swampman thought experiment might show they were right to be afraid.
ART & ARTISTS
View All PostsThe so-called Blue period of Pablo Picasso was partially triggered by the death of his friend Carles Casagemas.
Jean Dubuffet quit art twice before finally finding his voice through the studies of works by untrained artists and the rejection of conventional beauty.
TRAVEL & CULTURE
View All PostsThe Renaissance revolutionized the way the West looked at the world and created its art. Check out the seven museums where its greatest masterpieces live.
In 1875, silver panics and epidemics struck Utah frontier settlements, turning boomtowns into ghost towns that are spooky tourist spots.

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View MapsReligion
View All PostsThe only ghost story in the Hebrew Bible is controversial, as it sees King Saul summoning a ghost contrary to his own edict against necromancy.
From slave to convict to pope, Callixtus I championed radical forgiveness, challenged social and religious norms, and forever changed the early Christian Church through mercy.
Stories
View All PostsKatherine Johnson was an American mathematician who worked as a 'human computer' at NASA during a time of great advancement in space exploration.
All but one of the so-called Seven Wonders of the Ancient World disappeared long ago, but you can still visit these lesser-known ancient wonders.





































