Entertaining Stories from the Past
Explore recent history and the events that shaped our contemporary world.
7 articles in this category
In summer 1858, the Thames became so polluted that Parliament couldn't meet. The stench forced London to build modern sewers, transforming public health infrastructure worldwide.
A Tonight Show joke about toilet paper shortages led to actual nationwide panic buying that lasted for weeks.
Young women who painted radium dials in the 1920s were told the paint was harmless. Their horrific deaths led to landmark worker protection laws.
Once the world's fourth-largest lake, the Aral Sea has shrunk to 10% of its original size in one of history's worst environmental disasters.
In 1970, Oregon officials faced a beached whale problem. Their solution involving dynamite became one of the most infamous decisions in local government history.
How Australia lost a war against 20,000 emus in one of history's most bizarre military campaigns.
How Australia lost a war against 20,000 emus in one of history's most bizarre military campaigns.