History Archives

Did the FBI Send MLK a Letter Telling Him To Kill Himself? The anonymous letter purported to reveal secrets about Martin Luther King Jr.’s sex life.

True

Yes, This 2,000-Year-Old Peruvian Skull With a Metal Plate Is Real The soldier's skull had been broken in battle.

True

Was This the Original Mount Rushmore Design Before Funding Ran Out? Initial designs showed the four presidents in their suits.

Mostly True

Captain Sir Mansfield Cumming proposed in 1915 that his British intelligence agents use semen as invisible ink which likely stopped after the smell became an issue.

Did Capt. Cumming Suggest Semen as Invisible Ink in WWI? And don't forget about Dr. Condom, too.

True

The meme started by asking pretty good painting right and then said you just enjoyed one of Adolf Hitler's artworks.

Did Hitler Paint the Art in the ‘Pretty Good Painting’ Meme? The watercolor painting shows a village scene with a townhouse, staircase, trees, buildings, and a...

True

Yes, Jimmy Carter Really Did Once Help Contain a Nuclear Meltdown The more you know ...

True

An ad that claimed Archaeologists Make Huge Discovery Inside Roman Toilet was about old Roman board game called Ludus Latrunculorum.

Did Archaeologists Make a Discovery Inside a Roman Toilet? Long before PVC and cast-iron drain lines, there was stone.

Mostly True

Does This Photo Show a ‘Genius D-Day Invention’? Our research led us to Operation PLUTO.

True

Did People Refer to Gaslighting During the Era of ‘I Love Lucy’? A stray piece of dialogue from the 2021 biopic "Being the Ricardos" set off a...

Mostly False

Did the FBI Once Deem ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Communist Propaganda? Another fascinating chapter in the history of an American holiday classic.

Mostly True

Did 3 Men Die After Being Trapped 16 Days in Sunken Pearl Harbor Battleship? Navy personnel reported hearing tapping sounds apparently coming from the forward hull of the sunken...

True

Did Wired Mag Publish ‘Scary Accurate’ Predictions About 21st Century in 1997? In late 2021, Twitter users shared an old list of 10 problems that could halt...

Correct Attribution