Cincinnati Built An Observatory Any Stargazer Could Use
Today in 1843, former president John Quincy Adams joined thousands to dedicate a public observatory in Cincinnati, a building known as "the birthplace of American astronomy."
Victorians Made Art Out Of Locks Of Hair
A lock of Abraham Lincoln's hair just sold for $81,000 at auction, a reminder that a) people will pay lots of money for lots of things, and b) hair was a pretty important keepsake in the 19th century - people back then even made it into art.
The Very First Computer Bug Was An Actual Bug
On this day in 1947, a team working on a computer at Harvard University discovered the first computer bug: a moth that had gotten trapped in the electronics.
The US Almost Had A 49th State Called Absaroka
In 1939 some ranchers in the West proposed taking parts out of Wyoming, South Dakota and Montana and creating a new state, called Absaroka. It never won approval from Congress but it did have its own license plates and beauty pageant.
Brookeville, Maryland, America’s Capital For A Day
What's In A Name Week continues with the story of Brookeville, Maryland, and how on this day in 1814, this small town gained a prominent visitor - President James Madison - and a new nickname: U.S. Capital For A Day.
When Steel Wire Was The Hip New Way To Record Sound
Before there was digital recording, we had cassettes, reel to reels, phonographs, and even wire recordings! That's a little-known system that was invented at the very end of the 19th century.
The Mullet Is Timeless, And Its Name Comes From The Beastie Boys
The mullet may take you back to the 70s or 80s, but it's a timeless hairstyle. No, really: there's evidence that the ancients were wearing business in the front, party in the back thousands of years ago.
The Woman Who Got Her Lawmaker Son To Cast The Deciding Vote For Women’s Suffrage
Febb Ensminger Burn lobbied her 24 year old in the Tennessee legislature to "be a good boy" and vote for women's suffrage.
Humans Have Their Fingerprints All Over The History Of Fingerprinting
Today is said to be the day in 1858 that a colonial magistrate in India began using fingerprints for identification. But that's just one part of the history of how and why our prints are such a valuable bit of biometric information today.
Canada Was Almost Named “Borealia”
Canada was only one name out of many that were suggested for the new country.