weird history 101

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! To celebrate Turkey Day this year, Michael and Malorie are discussing the weird history of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and the strangest things that have happened at this famous event. Can Michael guess the year it was started? Does he know it’s strange history? Let’s discuss the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!…

Bonnie and Clyde, a dynamic duo shrouded in mystery and crime. As more and more time passes by after their deaths, the more they get set into legend, and the harder it is to separate out the truths from the legends of this infamous couple. Why were they so beloved? Well, they rose to infamy…

Everyone knows the Bermuda Triangle—the eerie slice of ocean where planes vanish, ships sink without a trace, and explanations always seem just out of reach. But here’s what most people don’t realize: the Bermuda Triangle is far from alone. America is full of strange pockets—regions where the natural order seems to fray at the edges.…

There are moments in life that shift something inside you without asking permission. Standing under the Northern Lights is one of them. It doesn’t matter how many photos you’ve seen or how much science you’ve read. The first time you witness those eerie ribbons of light stretching and swirling across the night sky—green like old…

Here’s a question that’ll mess with your head more than any horror movie ever could: What if the future has already happened? Not will happen. Not might happen. But has—just like your past, just like this moment you’re in right now. Already written. Already there. Just out of sight. It’s not a sci-fi plot or…

Let’s talk about Alice. Not Wonderland Alice, not “who the hell is Alice?” Alice. I’m talking about Alice Ramsey—a 22-year-old from New Jersey who, in 1909, decided to drive across the entire United States. Alone. Well, mostly. More on that in a second. Regardless, she was the first woman to cross America by car. Just…

At some point in the last few years, it became perfectly normal to hear that a tech billionaire launched himself or his wife and her besties (I’m looking at you, Jeff Bezos) into orbit for fun. For no specific reason except to say, “I’ve been to space and you haven’t.” And I get it—space is…

There’s this one spot in Spain that honestly doesn’t make any sense. You’re cruising through the countryside, fields on either side, maybe a sleepy village or two, and suddenly—bam. The Earth changes. Like you’ve driven into a whole other planet. It’s dry, it’s cracked, it’s eerie in a beautiful way. And it’s probably one of…

Everyone’s got that one road trip they dream about—Route 66, Pacific Coast Highway, maybe a leaf-peeping cruise through Vermont. And sure, those are classics for a reason. But if you’re looking to dodge the crowds and see a different side of America—the stranger, quieter, more soulful version—this list is for you. We picked one offbeat…

Most museums try to comfort you. Art museums soothe. Science museums inspire. History museums connect. But the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia? It challenges you. You probably won’t find it on a top-10 list of family-friendly attractions in Philly. But if you’re the type of person who’s ever asked, “What does disease actually do to the…

We talk a lot about getting off the beaten path—but what does that actually mean? It’s easy to say, “I want to go where no one else goes,” until you’re standing in a sleepy village. You find there’s no tourist information booth, no Instagram hashtags, and maybe just one café that opens when it feels…

There’s something about things that glow in the dark that grabs us—like moths to a flame, or maybe just people chasing wonder in a world that can feel way too ordinary. But did you know that there are real places in the world where the ground (or the water, or the caves) actually lights up…

If you’ve ever stared blankly at your computer, wondering how your job became 70% emails and 30% pretending to be busy, you’re not alone. Now imagine a time when “career” meant something very, very different. No offices, no Zoom calls, and no spreadsheets. Just you, your rat-catching stick, and a strong stomach. Welcome to the…

We tend to think of religion as something timeless—set in stone, practiced for centuries, unshakeable. But that’s not really how belief works. History’s full of forgotten faiths. Some of them came surprisingly close to becoming dominant world religions. Others were so mysterious and ahead of their time that they’re still mysteries today. But for one…

You know that feeling when you’re scrolling through Instagram and suddenly stop—because the photo is just too dreamy? A sun-drenched street with cobblestones, faded pastel walls, flower boxes exploding with color, and that warm, glowy kind of light that makes you want to pack a bag immediately? Yeah, these villages are that. They’re the secret,…

Imagine waking up one morning in 1910 and reading that a comet is going to pass so close to Earth that it might set the whole planet on fire. Or kill everyone with cyanide. Or, depending on which newspaper you read, turn the atmosphere into a kind of cosmic soup that no one would survive.…

Let me guess—you’ve hit the big ones. You’ve elbowed your way through the mobs in Yosemite. You’ve waited forty-five minutes for parking in Zion. And maybe you’ve also been photobombed by strangers in matching windbreakers at the Grand Canyon. Don’t get me wrong: those places are iconic for a reason. But if you’ve ever thought,…

Werewolves have been the main characters in things from classic horror movies to teenage love triangles. But the idea that a person could transform into a wild animal—a literal wolf—didn’t start in some Hollywood studio. It didn’t even start with Grimm’s fairytales. The roots go way deeper, way older, and honestly, way stranger. Because as…

There’s something about the word “dangerous” that lights a spark in certain kinds of people. Not the “let’s climb over the fence at the zoo” kind of dangerous (please don’t), but the kind that whispers there’s a story here, if you’re brave enough to chase it. And for travelers who’ve already done the whole “eating…

There’s something deeply, soul-stirringly beautiful about abandoned places. The stillness. The way nature creeps in, like it’s reclaiming what’s always been hers. Abandoned spots have this almost cinematic feel. They’re romantic in a moody, tragic kind of way. And while most people associate these places with ghosts and horror films, there’s something much more layered…

Human evolution isn’t the straight-line, Planet of the Apes-style glow-up we were taught in middle school. It’s messy. Chaotic. There are so many fossils, so many “almost humans,” and way too many “wait… what??” moments. Honestly, the more we learn about how we got here, the less it feels like a neatly solved mystery and…

I know. Giants? It sounds like a story for little kids. But believe it or not, for centuries, stories about ancient, human-like beings who were way taller, stronger, and frankly just… enormous, have popped up in legends around the world. And not just in one place either—we’re talking biblical texts, Native American oral histories, Greek…

So here’s a historical fun fact you probably didn’t expect: In 1797, London basically had a meltdown over top hats. Not taxes, not food shortages, not even politics. Nope—top hats. And before you ask: yes, the very same tall, stovepipe-shaped hats that we now associate with Monopoly men and Victorian ghosts. When they first hit…

Beauty trends have always been a little unhinged. Today, we’ve got snail mucus, vampire facials, and folks icing their faces like they’re prepping to join the NHL. But if you think our modern routines are strange, history would like a word. Across centuries and cultures, people have gone to wild lengths to look good—often with…

So here’s something my brain wasn’t ready for: it snows in the Sahara Desert. Like, actual fluffy, white, movie-scene snow. In the Sahara. The place we all associate with camels, heat waves, and endless sand dunes. Apparently Mother Nature just said, “Let’s make this one weird.” And yes, it’s real. It happens more often than…