Historyisn’t just about dates and dusty pages; it’s also about the stories that shape our understanding of the world. But while some make it into textbooks, many interesting ones don’t. Thankfully, social media is helping to bring these lesser-known moments to light, giving us new ways to connect with the past.One Instagram page that does this brilliantly is‘History Uncovered.’We’ve combed through their posts and gathered some of the most fascinating facts and photos below. Scroll down to check them out and upvote your favorites!More info:Website|PodcastThis post may includeaffiliate links.
Historyisn’t just about dates and dusty pages; it’s also about the stories that shape our understanding of the world. But while some make it into textbooks, many interesting ones don’t. Thankfully, social media is helping to bring these lesser-known moments to light, giving us new ways to connect with the past.
One Instagram page that does this brilliantly is‘History Uncovered.’We’ve combed through their posts and gathered some of the most fascinating facts and photos below. Scroll down to check them out and upvote your favorites!
More info:Website|Podcast
This post may includeaffiliate links.
Meanwhile, she raised a family — including a son who grew up to be actor Jack Black — and wrote children’s books encouraging young girls to aspire to careers in STEM
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The small French village of Chambon-sur-Lignon has just received a surprise $2.4 million gift in the will of a 90-year-old Austrian man named Eric Schwam who passed away on Christmas Day. Shocked officials soon learned that Schwam was paying the town back for saving him and his family 80 years earlier. He’s asked that the town use the money to fund education initiatives and scholarships for the local children
But despite his impeccable record, the United States Air Force still discharged him after he came out to his officers. Not to be deterred, Matlovich became a fierce advocate for the rights of the LGBTQ community and was featured on the cover of a 1975 issue of “TIME” magazine, making him a symbol for gay service members and gay Americans at large. And when Matlovich died of HIV/AIDS complications in 1988, he had this inscribed on his headstone: “When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for k*lling two men and a discharge for loving one.“
Today, while we strive to ensure history is as accurate as possible, it doesn’t mean it can’t be shared through engaging storytelling. In fact, it’s this method that often brings the past to life.
Three minutes before United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11, passenger Brian Sweeney used an Airfone to leave a heartbreaking final voicemail message to his wife Julie. At the time, she was in the middle of teaching a high school class, so she missed his call. Though Julie was soon pulled away from her students to learn that her husband had died in the attacks, she didn’t realize that he had left her a message until she got home.
Mamie Till-Mobley had never intended to become an activist, but she knew that her child was far from the only victim of lynching in Jim Crow America. And she felt that a public funeral would force people to confront the ugly reality of racially-motivated m*rders. Over Labor Day weekend, nearly 100,000 mourners viewed the boy’s body in an open-casket service in Chicago. Till-Mobley also permitted a photographer to take pictures of Emmett’s face and distribute them to African American magazines and newspapers so people across America could see him as well.
Our brains love stories. When we encounter one we particularly like, we experience something known as‘narrative transportation,’where the story becomes so immersive that we almost feel like we’re living it. This phenomenon explains why we can get lost in a good book or movie, barely noticing time passing. Stories engage multiple senses, creating real changes in our brain’s chemistry and connections.Two key areas of the brain are especially active during storytelling: the prefrontal cortex, which handles cognition and understanding, and the amygdala, which processes emotion and long-term memory. As the prefrontal cortex absorbs information, the amygdala assigns emotional weight to it, helping to cement these details in our long-term memory. This combination enhances both learning and recall.When we engage with a story, our brain releases a blend of uplifting chemicals. This mix includes dopamine, which fuels motivation and focus; oxytocin, which fosters empathy and emotional connection; and endorphins, which promote feelings of happiness and relaxation. Together, these chemicals create a deep emotional response, making the experience of the story not just memorable, but meaningful.
Our brains love stories. When we encounter one we particularly like, we experience something known as‘narrative transportation,’where the story becomes so immersive that we almost feel like we’re living it. This phenomenon explains why we can get lost in a good book or movie, barely noticing time passing. Stories engage multiple senses, creating real changes in our brain’s chemistry and connections.
Two key areas of the brain are especially active during storytelling: the prefrontal cortex, which handles cognition and understanding, and the amygdala, which processes emotion and long-term memory. As the prefrontal cortex absorbs information, the amygdala assigns emotional weight to it, helping to cement these details in our long-term memory. This combination enhances both learning and recall.
When we engage with a story, our brain releases a blend of uplifting chemicals. This mix includes dopamine, which fuels motivation and focus; oxytocin, which fosters empathy and emotional connection; and endorphins, which promote feelings of happiness and relaxation. Together, these chemicals create a deep emotional response, making the experience of the story not just memorable, but meaningful.
Luckily, his friend and fellow lineman J.D. Thompson was close enough to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until paramedics arrived. Thanks to Thompson’s quick thinking, Champion survived the incident, and even reported to work the following week.Unbeknownst to Champion and Thompson, a photographer for the Jacksonville Journal was standing just below them to capture this daring rescue. From the ground, Rocco Morabito snapped one of the most moving images in history — “The Kiss of Life.“
Writer Gary Greenillustrateshow storytelling helps us remember important information:“When someone says, ‘Guys, don’t eat the red berries,’ and somebody comes along and finds red berries and says, ‘Now, what did Grandpa say? Did he say, eat the berries or did he say don’t eat the berries?’ But if Grandpa told me a story once about the little girl who ate the red berries then I know I’m not eating the red berries.”This example perfectly captures why storytelling has been vital throughout history. For generations,our ancestors used it to pass down knowledge, values, and sometimes life-saving information.In the modern world, stories continue to be powerful tools for learning. Because of course, when we have a choice between memorizing dates or reading through pages of dry text, and discovering something through stories, speeches, photos, or other records, we’re naturally more drawn to the latter. That’s why many of us prefer exploring history through sources like ‘History Uncovered.’ And honestly, that’s exactly how learning should be—fun and enjoyable.
Writer Gary Greenillustrateshow storytelling helps us remember important information:
“When someone says, ‘Guys, don’t eat the red berries,’ and somebody comes along and finds red berries and says, ‘Now, what did Grandpa say? Did he say, eat the berries or did he say don’t eat the berries?’ But if Grandpa told me a story once about the little girl who ate the red berries then I know I’m not eating the red berries.”
This example perfectly captures why storytelling has been vital throughout history. For generations,our ancestors used it to pass down knowledge, values, and sometimes life-saving information.
In the modern world, stories continue to be powerful tools for learning. Because of course, when we have a choice between memorizing dates or reading through pages of dry text, and discovering something through stories, speeches, photos, or other records, we’re naturally more drawn to the latter. That’s why many of us prefer exploring history through sources like ‘History Uncovered.’ And honestly, that’s exactly how learning should be—fun and enjoyable.
During an exploration of a dinosaur graveyard in southern Patagonia, paleontologists found over 100 eggs in a massive nest — and some still had embryos inside. Furthermore, this discovery offers the first indisputable evidence pointing to the fact that some dinosaurs lived in herds. These 193-million-year-old findings prove that dinosaurs had a complex social structure and even shared in raising the whole community.
Meanwhile, the Egyptians are also believed to have invented toothpaste, although their formulation consisted of rock salt, pepper, and mint
She was sentenced to five years in San Quentin, which still housed female inmates at the time. Despite Boronda’s gruesome crime, her incarceration was reportedly a “quiet” one
James Dougherty was 21 years old when he married a teenage Norma Jeane Baker — who would go on to become one of the most famous women in modern history. At the time, however, Baker was just 16 and set to return to an orphanage unless she found a husband quickly. Her foster mother set her up with Dougherty, but though their relationship began as one of convenience, the pair soon “loved each other madly.” Just two years after they wed on June 19, 1942, Dougherty was deployed to the Pacific Theater of World War II. While he was gone, a photographer discovered Norma Jeane Baker working in a factory — and soon, Marilyn Monroe was born. Dougherty was on a ship in the Yangtze River outside of Shanghai when he was served with divorce papers. Monroe wanted to sign a contract with 20th Century Fox, and it stipulated that she couldn’t be married, because the executives didn’t want her to get pregnant. Their divorce was finalized in 1946, and Dougherty remarried shortly after to a woman who wouldn’t let him watch any of his ex-wife’s films. Although Monroe moved on as well, famously marrying Joe DiMaggio and then Arthur Miller, Dougherty was still devastated when she died in 1962. “She was too gentle to be an actress,” he later lamented. “She wasn’t tough enough for Hollywood.”
“If you visit Fayette County in Pennsylvania, you will find a small, obscure cemetery where members of the Lincoln family are buried, including Abraham Lincoln’s great uncle Mordecai, who served in the Revolutionary War, and his son Benjamin. Mordecai Lincoln is my 5th generation great-grandfather, which makes me a third cousin of the President.“
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was actually the hilt of a sword. The weapon is 15 inches long — about half its original size — has a T-shaped handle, and dates to between 900 and 1050 C.E. What’s more, X-rays revealed an inscription on the blade that suggests it may be a famed Ulfberht sword, a weapon of exceptionally high quality that has never been seen in the Rogaland area before.
As extreme drought in Brazil causes the Amazon’s water levels to drop to historic lows, dozens of ancient rock carvings have been revealed on previously submerged rocks along the river’s banks. Carved between 1,000 and 2,000 years ago, these haunting engravings of anthropomorphic faces vary in shape, size, and expression, while their original purpose and meaning remain shrouded in mystery.
Archaeologists in Egypt just discovered the existence of a previously-unknown queen named Neith after unearthing a pyramid built in her honor at Saqqara. She was likely named after the goddess Neith, who was worshipped from the Predynastic Period until the Romans took control of the kingdom. She was the goddess of creation, wisdom, weaving, war, and many earlier Egyptian queens were named after her due to her importance
Symbols of fertility associated with the gods Mithras and Mercury, eggs were often offered up as sacrifices in this manner during the Roman era. But unlike the others, the “Aylesbury egg” has somehow remained completely intact after nearly two millennia. Researchers have just used CT scans to discover that its yolk, albumen, and air sac have been preserved, making it the only specimen of its kind in the world.
In the mid-1990s, Hahn painstakingly collected tiny amounts of radioactive material from everyday objects around his house and almost had a working “breeder” reactor in his back shed when he caught the attention of local and federal authorities, prompting an FBI and Nuclear Regulatory Commission response. Remarkably, it would not be the last time Hahn tried to build a homemade nuclear reactor.
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A human face carved into a granite boulder. The carving is about the size of a sheet of paper and dates back at least 3,000 years, but it may be even older. Experts believe that the site was part of a ritual complex during the Bronze Age or early Iron Age, but they’re still uncovering more about this “incredibly rare” discovery
The Roman city of Hadrianapolis, in what’s now northern Turkey, was founded in the 1st century B.C. and named after a Roman Emperor. Today, it’s known as the home of the “Mona Lisa of Roman Mosaics” and for its stunning ruins, including churches, a theater, and a military garrison. And archaeologists have found a breathtaking part of Hardianapolis’s military history, with this fragment of a Roman soldier’s iron face mask that dates back 1,800 years
In 1781, Franklin submitted an article titled “Fart Proudly” to the Royal Academy of Brussels, which was one of the most respected scientific organizations in Europe. In it, Franklin demanded to know why the academy was “putting absolutely no effort into figuring out how to make my farts smell better?”
With a guest list that included Audrey Hepburn and Salvador Dalí, dinner plates covered in fur, and a dessert that looked like a naked woman, the night was equal parts opulent and bizarre
Until 1916, visitors were allowed to climb up the torch and enjoy spectacular views like this one, but for more than a century, the torch has been closed to the public — and the little-known reason for that is far more dramatic than most people realize. On July 30, 1916, a group of German saboteurs set fire to what was then the United States' largest munitions depot on Black Tom Island, right in the shadow of Lady Liberty. The blaze set off a massive explosion that shattered glass windows across Manhattan and Brooklyn and created an earthquake-sized rumble that woke people up as far away as Maryland. The explosion also caused shrapnel to hit the Statue of Liberty, causing permanent damage to the torch
He’d tried to claim it was an accident, but his inconsistent story and an incriminating map found in his vehicle ensured his conviction. What’s more, Toni’s death was eerily reminiscent of the death of Harold’s first wife, Lynn, 17 years earlier. In 1995, Harold claimed he’d been changing a flat tire on a remote stretch of road in Colorado when Lynn dropped a lug nut and reached beneath the Jeep to retrieve it at the same moment that the vehicle fell off the jack, crushing her. Although Harold insists that he’s completely innocent and has never k*lled anyone, Lynn’s family now finds it hard to believe that her death was just a tragic accident.
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While studying a manuscript about ancient Christian stories at the Vatican Library, scientists used ultraviolet photography to find a never-before-seen Syriac translation of the Bible’s chapters 11 through 12 from Matthew. And experts say it offers far more detail than the modern version of the New Testament
“Mommy, I can’t catch my breath. Help me. Help me.“ Early in the morning hours of December 20, 2009, Brittany Murphy collapsed on the balcony of her Hollywood Hills home. Her mother was on the scene but didn’t think much of it at first, knowing that Brittany had been fighting an illness for the last few weeks and had a flair for the dramatic. But then, hours later, Murphy fell for a second — and final — time. After more than a decade, questions still remain about what exactly happened.
At 7 feet and 4 inches and 550 pounds, André the Giant’s immense size meant he possessed a superhuman ability to consume vast amounts of alcohol that would k*ll almost anyone else. In fact, Hulk Hogan claims that he watched Andre drink 108 12-ounce beers — in just the span of 45 minutes
Among the other finds were hundreds of silver and bronze Roman-era coins, bronze eagle figurines and bells, and a precious red gemstone with a lyre carved on the surface.But archaeologists are most excited about the gold ring, which shows Jesus as the “good shepherd,” one of the first images associated with Christianity and one that’s rarely found on jewelry.
It took him, his mates, and the U.S. Coast Guard several hours and several dozen blasts from a gun to finally reel in this “devil fish.“As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote at the time, it was “a harrowing three-hour struggle to decide whether the fishing party was capturing the fish, or the fish was capturing the boat and its four occupants.“
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