Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More

For thousands of years, one country has stood at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Africa, and the Sahara.  It has been ruled by Numidian kings, Romans, Arabs, Ottomans, and European.  Its modern independence came only after one of the most violent decolonization struggles in history, and that conflict still shapes the country today. Learn more about the long and complicated history o...

There is an element so reactive that it was one of the last to be isolated, and chemists were injured or even killed trying to obtain it.  Yet once tamed, it became essential to everything from aluminium production and nuclear technology to medicine, batteries, and nonstick coatings.  Its compounds have also been at the center of major debates over public health and environmental contami...

For centuries, the pope was one of Europe's most powerful figures, ruling the Church from Rome and challenging kings and emperors alike.  Then, in the early 14th century, a bitter struggle with the French monarchy changed everything. For nearly seventy years, the center of Western Christianity shifted away from Rome, creating a wealthy new papal court and a crisis of legitimacy that would out...

For centuries, one seemingly ordinary fish helped feed armies, sustain empires, launch fishing fleets across the Atlantic, and shape the economies of entire nations.  It could be preserved for months, transported enormous distances, and traded almost like a form of currency.  Its abundance helped drive exploration, while its collapse became one of the greatest disasters in the history of...

Buried deep beneath thousands of feet of granite in Colorado is one of the most famous military installations ever built.  Designed during the Cold War to remain operational during a nuclear attack, it features massive blast doors, buildings mounted on giant springs, and systems built to withstand catastrophe.  It has inspired movies, television shows, conspiracy theories, and decades of...

In the 16th century, one ruler transformed a growing principality into a powerful empire, crowned himself with a new title, conquered vast territories, and reshaped the political order of Eastern Europe.  Yet, history doesn’t necessarily remember him as a great leader, as his reign also became notorious for paranoia, executions, brutal repression, and acts of violence that blurred the line be...

For centuries, one of the holiest places in Christianity has been governed by an extraordinarily delicate balance of tradition, property rights, religious rivalry, and international diplomacy. In this place, even the smallest physical change can carry enormous significance, and something as simple as moving an object can risk reopening disputes that date back hundreds of years. The result is one o...

For centuries, one of Asia's most powerful empires controlled the vital sea lanes connecting China, India, and the Middle East.  It grew fabulously wealthy from trade, became a major center of Buddhism, and dominated much of maritime Southeast Asia.  Then its power faded, its cities declined, and eventually the empire itself was almost completely forgotten.  Centuries later, histori...

For decades, audiences around the world have watched a collection of characters survive explosions, outwit hunters, fall from cliffs, and repeatedly bend the laws of physics. What began as inexpensive theatrical shorts became one of animation's most influential forces, creating characters that are still recognized almost a century later. Along the way, a remarkable group of writers, directors, ani...

For most of human history, when a vital part of the body failed, there was little doctors could do.  Then a series of advances in surgery, immunology, and pharmaceuticals made something once considered impossible increasingly routine.  It required solving problems of compatibility, rejection, preservation, and even the definition of death itself.  Today, tens of thousands of people...

Deep in the Amazon rainforest lives a small society that has challenged some of our most basic assumptions about language, numbers, time, memory, and even how human beings organize their lives. For decades, researchers studying them have found features so unusual that they have sparked major debates in linguistics and anthropology. They may offer important clues about which parts of human thought...

In the early 18th century, religion in the American colonies was often orderly, formal, and deeply tied to established churches.  Then a new generation of preachers began drawing enormous crowds, delivering emotional sermons, challenging traditional authority, and insisting that faith had to be personally experienced.  The movement crossed colonial boundaries, divided congregations, and...

Throughout human history, a tiny insect has influenced wars, shaped settlement patterns, halted major engineering projects, and caused more deaths than almost any other animal. For most of history, no one understood why these creatures were so dangerous, or even that they were responsible for spreading disease. Eventually, we learned how to fight back, but our efforts were middling at best. Learn...

At 12:01 PM on Thursday, September 16, 1920, a large explosion went off in the heart of America’s financial industry.  30 people were killed instantly, another eight people died later from wounds, and 150 others were seriously injured. No one was ever brought to justice for this attack, leading people to wonder who the culprit or culprits are to this day. Learn about the 1920 Wall Street bomb...

In the Caribbean, two nations share a single island, yet their histories, languages, economies, and political systems developed along dramatically different paths.  Their border is more than a line on a map. It can actually be seen from space. It reflects centuries of colonization, revolution, foreign intervention, and competing national identities that shaped both sides in very different way...

On June 17, 1972, a seemingly minor burglary at a Washington, D.C. office building set off a chain of events that would shake the American political system to its core.  What began with five arrests soon revealed secret campaign operations, illegal surveillance, hush money, destroyed evidence, and an expanding effort to conceal the truth.  The investigation would consume the country, tes...

Shop the store at Shop. Everything-Everywhere.com Sponsors Hexclad Get 10% off your order at hexclad.com/DAILY Mint Mobile Save 50% on Unlimited premium wireless plans starting at $15/month at MintMobile.com/EED Quince Go to quince.com/daily for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! DripDrop Go to dripdrop.com and use promo code EVERYTHING for 20% off your first order! Square Get up t...

At 11:29:21 GMT on July 16, 1945, the world's first atomic bomb was detonated at the Trinity Test Site in New Mexico.  Fast-forward many decades, and today people are illegally stealing pieces of old, sunken ships for big bucks. These two things might not seem like they have anything in common, but they are actually intimately linked.  Learn more about low-background steel, what it is an...

If you happen to be feeling blue because you feel like a loose cannon, fear not, because I happen to like the cut of your jib. Perhaps if you have a square meal, by and large, you might avoid being three sheets to the wind.  If you know the ropes and don’t cut and run, you might be above board without being taken aback.  Le...

During the decline of the Zhou Dynasty, warfare and clan violence escalated, threatening the stability of civilization and igniting the Warring States Period.  Out of the chaos emerged a prolific itinerant teacher offering a path away from bloodshed and political ruin—teachings that would sustain Chinese culture for more than 2,500 years. His name was Confucius. Learn more about the enduring...

As a young child, she lost both her sight and hearing and seemed cut off from the world around her.  Then, with the help of an extraordinary teacher, she learned to communicate and went on to become an author, lecturer, and one of the most famous women of the 20th century. Her story became a symbol of perseverance, but the life she lived afterward was far more complex than most people realize...

On December 28, 1958, a record-setting audience of nearly 50 million people watched the National Football League championship game. Pro football was on the rise, and investors took notice. They saw the potential to expand the brand into more cities. When the NFL resisted expansion, a group of spurned young investors dared to create an alternative league. Eventually, the NFL took notice and was for...

Rome has been called the Eternal City, but its history has been far from linear. It went from being the largest, most important city in the world to a small backwater, then made a remarkable turnaround to become once again the most important city in Italy. It has been a center of power, religion, and economics, and it has also been used as a quarry for people who wanted materials for their villas....

On Christmas Eve 1989, Norway received a massive Christmas present. After years of failed drilling attempts, Norway announced they had discovered one of the largest oil reserves on Earth. This remarkable find would immediately transform Norway from a quiet, industrial, and fishing-based economy into one of the world’s ten largest exporters of fossil fuels.  Unlike other countries with massive...

Flags are among the oldest and most successful systems of visual communication ever devised.  Long before they became symbols of countries, flags and flag-like objects identified armies, rulers, religious groups, ships, military units, political movements, and individuals.  However, their modern role as symbols of entire nations is actually a relatively recent development. Learn more abo...