Fashion is constantly changing and reflects the unique socio-political realities of an era. However, some fashion trends in history could definitely be called ‘weird’, and we’re here to talk about them. Curiously, some of these would likely fit into a more modern idea of fashion, even if they were flatly out of place in their…
Author: Himanshu Sharma
Climate change, human activity, and other environmental factors are causing some of the world’s most beautiful natural tourist destinations to disappear at an alarming rate. From coral reefs to glaciers to pristine islands, many of these places are also unique natural habitats, often sustaining endemic forms of life not found anywhere else on Earth. 10.…
At the peak of its power, the British empire encompassed about one-fourth of the world’s area and population, making it by far the largest empire in history. Like every other successful empire before it, a large part of that was acquired on the battlefield, thanks to a formidable navy, technological improvements like cannons, and a…
Wars aren’t always won by traditional units fighting in strict formations, even if they still do the bulk of the work. Military commanders throughout history have experimented with unusual, specialized units that don’t fit into any conventional military role, often to great success. 10. Ghost Army The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops – or the ‘Ghost…
Espionage played a crucial role during the Second World War. Spies and covert operatives were extensively deployed by every major power across the front, including the USSR, USA, Britain, and Germany. Apart from the usual listening jobs and assassination missions, these agents were also responsible for training local resistance movements in the occupied regions, as…
There are countless stories of people being punished for something they didn’t do throughout history, due to factors like faulty eyewitness testimony, coerced confessions, and flawed forensic evidence. As you can guess, they often have devastating consequences for the accused. In some cases, innocents have even paid the ultimate price for their suspected crimes. 10.…
Coming up with an idea for a new business is never easy. While most people take the traditional route and stick to tried-and-tested concepts, a rare few dare to think out of the box. That may not always be a good idea, as some of the most unusual business ideas in history have also been…
The Victorian era was a transformative period in British history. Under Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837 to 1901, the empire grew to be the largest industrial powerhouse in the world. It was a time of unprecedented advances in the arts and sciences, along with social improvements like the rise of the suffragette movement. Weirdly enough,…
Like every other major world power, the United States has been involved in many small and large-scale conflicts in its nearly 250-year-old history. Other than the more significant ones like the world wars, though, most people in and outside America have hardly heard of them, either because they happened a long time ago or due…
French efforts to expand its overseas empire go as far back as the 16th century, though it wasn’t until 1605 that a settled outpost was established in what is now Nova Scotia, Canada. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, it would grow to be one of the largest and wealthiest empires in history, with colonies…
The history of timekeeping goes as far back as ancient civilizations like Sumer and Egypt. Egyptians were the first to divide the day into fixed units of time, allowing them to develop more advanced methods of measuring time than ever before – like the sundial. From there, civilizations like China, India, Greece, Babylon, and others…
While Covid has received global attention due to its high death count and infection rates, it’s still only one of the many epidemics of infectious diseases currently ongoing around the world. Many of them fly under the radar due to being limited to small populations or certain regions of the world, even if some -…
The Golden Age of Islam refers to a nearly six-centuries-long period of renaissance in the Islamic world, beginning with the foundation of the Abbasid Caliphate in the eighth century and ending with the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258. It was a time of unprecedented developments in the fields of geometry, medicine, astronomy,…
At the moment, some of our best minds are trying to find a habitable, Earth-like planet as a Plan B, in case things go really bad here. We don’t have many contenders so far, as it’s difficult – almost impossible – for all the right conditions to come together like they do here on Earth. …
The Second World War was easily the most devastating war in history. Some official records place the total number of dead close to 60 million, though the real toll may be far higher. Not everyone died in combat, either – more than 45 million of them were civilians, as everyday folk around the world bore…
We usually tend to focus on only the dark and gruesome parts of history, though it’s not been all bad. Among all the wars, diseases, and other tragedies of history, there have also been quite a few times of unprecedented peace and prosperity. These are sometimes referred to as a ‘golden age’ by historians, when…
Throughout the history of slavery, revolts have usually been brutality crushed in order to set an example for the others. Despite that, uprisings have been a regular part of slave societies for as long as one can remember, going as far back as ancient Rome and Persia. 10. Stono Rebellion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pND-9KhM1Xw The Stono rebellion of…
Space travel is fast coming up as a potential solution to every problem facing Earth, though how achievable is it, really? While recent advances in fields like robotics, artificial intelligence, navigation, communications, rocket design, and others have allowed humanity to explore further into space than ever before, we’d still need to solve many problems before…
In popular imagination, the 20th century was a time of technological progress and relative peace around the world, when we built the computer and finally reached space. Look closer, though, and this rosy view doesn’t seem to be accurate, or at least not for everyone. While it’s true that some parts of the world experienced…
Science and warfare are intrinsically linked. Throughout history, many scientific innovations and discoveries have changed the battlefield in fundamental ways – from antibiotics that massively reduced the number of soldiers dying to disease, to drones that have entirely changed how modern wars are fought. 10. Barbed Wire Barbed wire was originally invented in the 1870s…
Engineering is the practice of applying scientific and mathematical principles to real-life situations. While scientists usually get all the credit for all of humanity’s scientific achievements, it’s actually engineers who build the things that make all that possible – from intricate lab equipment to large-scale city projects. Some of the best engineers ever also happened…
History is full of examples of battles that have changed the world – for good or worse. From the WW2 battle at Stalingrad to Napoleon’s infamous defeat at Waterloo, some of them are still remembered as turning points in the course of history. Most, however, remain forgotten outside the countries that fought them, either due…
It’s often claimed that we’re living in the most peaceful time in history. That even if news reports of violent incidents are clearly going up, it’s only because of a wider dissemination of information through smartphones and social media than any real rise in violence. While it sounds intuitive, this school of thought is actually…
CRISPR-Cas9 is a gene-editing mechanism derived from a naturally-occurring set of DNA sequences found in bacteria. While still in its infancy, the technology has garnered a lot of attention in the past few years due to its accuracy and flexibility, as well as its relatively-low cost. You can even buy your own CRISPR-Cas9 kit for…