The Warrior Queen Rome Paraded Through the Streets in Chains of Solid Gold
In the third century AD, the Roman Empire was in crisis. Emperors were murdered one after another, armies fought each other, plague spread, and enemies attacked from every side. Historians call this period the Crisis of the Third Century. In the chaos, one woman saw an opportunity, and she took it. The Queen of Palmyra…
The Last Woman Executed as a Witch in Britain
For nearly two centuries, fear of witchcraft swept across Scotland. Between the late 1500s and early 1700s, thousands of people, most of them women, were accused of making pacts with the Devil, casting spells and harming their neighbors. Many were tortured until they confessed. Hundreds were executed, usually by being strangled and then burned at…
One Slave Killed His Master, So Rome Executed All 400 Slaves in the House, Including Women and Children
Ancient Rome is often remembered for its grand buildings, powerful armies and great laws. But beneath the marble and glory was a society built on slavery. Hundreds of thousands of enslaved people worked in Roman homes, fields, mines and workshops. They cooked, cleaned, nursed children, kept accounts, and served their masters day and night. In…
The Rancher Had No Sons, So His Daughters Claimed the Land Themselves
In 1862, in the middle of the Civil War, the United States government made one of the most remarkable offers in its history. Under the Homestead Act, any adult citizen, or anyone who intended to become one, could claim 160 acres of public land in the West for almost nothing. The deal was simple, but…
Why Victorian Women Knelt Before Men in the Parlor: The Flirty Secret Games of the 1900s
At the turn of the twentieth century, falling in love was a serious business. Courtship followed strict rules, and young people were watched closely by parents, aunts and chaperones. A young woman could not be seen alone with a man who was not a relative or her fiancé. Even holding hands in public could start…
Too Many Cowboys and Not Enough Women: How the Wild West Shipped In Brides by the Boatload
In the 1860s, the Pacific Northwest was a land of forests, rivers and opportunity. Thousands of men had come west to cut timber, work in mills, fish and build new towns. One thing was missing: women. In the little frontier town of Seattle, men vastly outnumbered women. Some estimates put the ratio at around nine…
The Secret U.S. Program That Arrested Thousands of Women Near Army Camps Without Trial
The American Plan: The Secret Program That Locked Up Thousands of Innocent Women In 1917, the United States entered World War I. Millions of young men were drafted and sent to training camps across the country. Military leaders had a fear that had nothing to do with German soldiers: venereal disease. Officials worried that sexually…
The Hollywood Star Who Went to Vietnam to Entertain the Troops, and Ended Up Saving Lives
“Colonel Maggie”: The Star Who Went to War for the Troops During the Vietnam War, thousands of miles from home, American soldiers lived with heat, mud, exhaustion and constant danger. Many of them were barely out of high school. For a few hours at a time, the USO, the organization that brought entertainment to the…
You have one hour to convince a non-fan that Star Trek is worthy and thought provoking entertainment. Which single TV episode best encapsulates what Star Trek is all about and would most likely win them over?
I can answer that question from direct personal experience. This was the first TNG episode I watched, and it caught me hook-line-and-sinker. Within a few weeks, I had bought the VHS back catalogue of all previous seasons and fell in deep. It’s almost a clichéd answer amongst Trek fandom, but it is the fifth-season TNG…
Which Game of Thrones actress will have the biggest career after the show ends?
The only real answer here is Emilia Clarke. She’s the only one among the cast who has anything resembling a rising career headlining profitable movies. It’s not amazing, but it’s the best we’ve got from the upcoming cast of Game of Thrones. Frankly, none of them look to have particularly promising careers, but if I…
