Breaking Down the Speer Myth — In January 1931, twenty-six-year-old architect Albert Speer went to see Adolf Hitler speak at the University of Berlin. Like many educated Germans, Speer was a little sceptical of the Führer’s demagoguery. …

Creating Traditions — Today, millions of people around the world practice a Japanese martial art like Aikido, Judo, or Karate. …

The British wartime PM’s very expensive habit — I may be drunk, madam, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly” is a witty comeback commonly attributed to Winston Churchill. Like many of the quotes linked to him, he may have never actually said it. …

The Inaccurate C.Q.D call, the box office bomb, and the Texas oil millionaire with a trained monkey — About half an hour after midnight on 15 April 1912, Captain Arthur Rostron was drifting off to sleep in his cabin aboard the Cunard liner RMS Carpathia. The ship had left New York City four days before and was making its way steadily to Fiume on the Adriatic coast of…

How Historically Accurate is the Most Parodied Scene in Film History? — Oliver Hirschbiegel’s 2004 film Der Untergang (Downfall) attracted widespread critical acclaim for its depiction of the drama which played out in the Führerbunker during the Battle for Berlin. …

Brenda Hodge’s troubling story and the final abolition of capital punishment in the country — “It is the sentence of this court that you be returned to your former custody, and at a time and place appointed by the Governor-in-Council, that you be hanged by the neck till you are dead, and may the Lord have mercy on your soul”. The jury had not accepted…

What can we learn about the chief god of the prehistoric Indo-Europeans from their descendants? — When the first Europeans began travelling to India in the sixteenth century, they noticed some odd similarities between their native languages and the languages of northern India. For example, look at the numbers seven — eight — nine — ten. In Hindi, they are saat — aath — nau —…

How some British colonies in North America stayed out of the Revolution — An international border runs across North America, from Passamaquoddy Bay on the east coast to Point Roberts on the west. Millions of people cross it, yet few ask why it exists in the first place. Any student of American history knows the country was formed from the thirteen British colonies…

How garbled accounts of Viking voyages reached mainland Europe — One day in Genoa, Italy, in the early 1340s, friar Galvano Fiamma wrote this intriguing passage in his book, Cronica Universalis: “Sailors who frequent the seas of Denmark and Norway say that northwards, beyond Norway, there is Iceland; further ahead there is an island named Grolandia, where the Polar Star…