New research suggests the Mississippian culture, aka the Mound Builders, built at least one of their giant earthen mounds in just 90 days and maybe even as quickly as 30 days. An astonishing feat from a collective point of view. But can you imagine being one of the poor workers who had to carry the dirt?…
It’s been one hundred years since the modern income tax was created, via the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Back then income tax rates ran from 1% for annual incomes over $3, 000 to 7% for annual incomes over $500,000 (that’s $11.6 million in today’s dollars!). Current tax rates run from 10% to 39.6%….
Shakespeare mocked him. The Tudors reviled him. Historians painted him as a bloodthirsty monster. But they couldn’t get rid of him. Now, almost 530 years after his death, a skeleton belonging to King Richard III has been found under a parking lot in Leicester. Here’s more from Fox News: He wore the English crown, but…
A secret treasure trove of gold, silver, and ancient knowledge buried beneath the ancient city of Machu Picchu? Yes, please. Here’s more from Heritage Daily: Thierry Jamin and his team think they have realized an extraordinary archaeological discovery in the Inca city discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911. This discovery was made possible thanks to…
On March 17, 1953, the U.S. military detonated an experimental nuclear weapons test. This test, part of Operation Upshot-Knothole, was designed to calm public fears about such weapons. The raw footage of this test was recently discovered. What does a nuclear weapons test sound like? What was the Operation Upshot-Knothole Nuclear Weapons Test? Operation Upshot…
On January 28, 1671, Captain Henry Morgan led a daring raid on Panama City, which at that time was the richest city in the Americas. In the process, he escaped with one of the greatest hauls in history. What happened to the lost treasure of the Incas? And what does a recently-discovered shipwreck have to…
For the last few days, the Niku VII expedition has been scouring the reef off Nikumaroro, hoping to solve the 75 year old disappearance of famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan. Unfortunately, the expedition appears to be coming to a premature end. But why? Amelia Earhart’s Mysterious Disappearance? We first looked at Amelia…
The Statue of Liberty, complete with pedestal, stands about 305 feet tall. It resides on Liberty Island in New York City. However, it wasn’t always that way. What did the Statue of Liberty look like before completion? The Statue of Liberty? The Statue of Liberty was conceived by Frédéric Bartholdi in 1867. Construction started in late…