Two Families Once Escaped East Germany in a Hot Air Balloon
What price would you pay for freedom, and what dangers would you put your family through for a chance at a better life? Peter Strelzyk…
The Surprising Origins Behind These 9 Military Superstitions
The US military is made up of the country’s finest men and women. They’re willing to risk their lives for their countrymen and will take…
The ‘Wild’ History Behind America’s Counterintelligence Service
William “Wild Bill” Donovan is widely known as the “father of American Intelligence.” His determination to create a centralized counterintelligence unit paved the way for…
Igor I of Kiev: History’s Mysterious Viking Prince
Igor I of Kiev ruled from 913, until his death in 945. While his reign was relatively long, numerous aspects of his story remain a…
Project Stargate: When the CIA Tried to Harness Psychic Energy Against the Soviets
Project Stargate sounds like something out of this world – and it kind of is. No, it doesn’t refer to wormholes or the exploration of…
David Dushman: Last Surviving Soviet Solider to Liberate Auschwitz Dies at 98
David Dushman was a 21-year-old serviceman with the Red Army when he took part in the liberation of Auschwitz in January 1945. The last surviving…
How Marie Curie Brought X-Ray Technology to the Front During World War I
Marie Curie is considered one of the most accomplished scientists of the 19th and 20th centuries. Her discovery of radium and polonium helped win her…
The Gross – But Life-Saving – Chocolate of World War II
Chocolate lovers tend to obsess over the treat’s yummy taste. However, it hasn’t always had such a great one. In fact, few know that Hershey’s…
Iva Toguri D’Aquino: The ‘Tokyo Rose’ Who Tried to Help the Allies and Was Convicted of Treason
Many Americans found themselves stranded abroad during the Second World War. One such individual was a woman named Iva D’Aquino (née Toguri). She spent a…
Cold War-Era Double Agents Who Could Easily Outfox James Bond
The best-known spy of all time is James Bond, a fictional British agent developed by Ian Fleming during the height of the Cold War. While…
These Large Military Aircraft Make Us Wonder How They Ever Got Off the Ground
As with every list about extreme machinery, equipment designed for the military typically ranks high in comparison to its civilian counterparts, which often have far…
The CIA Probably Wishes These Facts About the Agency Remained Classified
With secrecy being one of the CIA’s primary objectives, it’s not exactly surprising that us everyday citizens know rather little about the agency’s activities, even…