Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More

One of the most important empires in history was the Ottoman Empire.  It wasn’t the biggest empire, but it had an outsized impact on the world due to its strategic location and its moment in history.  The Ottomans shocked the world by capturing the city of Constantinople and later almost conquering much of Central Europe. Despite having a six-hundred-year run, as with all empires, it eventually we...

In July 1942, Japanese forces landed on the north shore of the island of New Guinea  Their goal was to cross the island by land and take the strategic city of Port Moresby.  If they had been successful, the entire fate of the war in the Pacific would have altered.  They didn’t take it, thanks to the tenacious resistance put up by Australian forces.  Learn more about the Kokoda Track and how it tur...

Companies that sell products to the public have to follow a fine line.  On the one hand, they need to sell stuff to make money, and the way they do that is by making a good product.  However, if their product is too good, then people might not need to buy it again, or at least not for a long time.  Almost 100 years ago, a consortium of industrialists plotted to make their products worse just so pe...

At the end of the Second World War, Europe was a mess. The economies of most countries were in shambles and the threat of communism loomed over the continent.  In a speech at Harvard University on June 5, 1947, U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall proposed a plan which could help get Europe back on its feet. The plan is widely considered one of the most successful foreign aid programs in his...

There are several rules that should be followed when going to war: Germany should never fight wars against the entire world Don’t invade Russia in the Winter.  Never fight a land war in Asia. There is also one other rule that should be added to that list: Don’t count on Switzerland as an ally. For over two centuries, Switzerland has remained staunchly neutral, even when wars were being fought just...

In 1953, a newspaper delivery boy in Brooklyn, New York, made an odd discovery. One of his customers gave him a nickel that seemed lighter than the others.  When he dropped it, it popped open, exposing a small piece of microfilm. It was the bizarre beginning of the exposure and discovery of a spy ring in the United States that ultimately contributed to one of the most notable events in the entire...

The Second World War saw the development of many new weapons. Perhaps none was more terrifying than the development of long-range strategic rockets.  Rockets had been used in combat for centuries, dating back to their development in ancient China; however, the rockets developed by Germany were a different matter altogether.  They terrorized civilians in England and actually served as the starting...

Alexander Hamilton was a U.S founding father who has been growing in popularity due to the popular musical Hamilton, by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Hamilton was the first U.S Secretary of the Treasury and was foundational in the formation of American finance and government policies that remain in place to this day.  He is featured on the US Ten Dollar Bill and is one of the most famous Founding Fathers wh...

Sometime around the year 1450, a monk living just outside of Venice created one of the greatest maps of the medieval world.  It was an enormous map, even by modern standards, and it had a level of detail that had never been seen before.  It took years to make and was a major advancement in cartography.  Perhaps most importantly, it contained many details that no one had yet verified firsthand.  Le...

Located in Central Java, outside of the modern city of Yogyakarta, lies the world’s largest Buddhist temple, Borobudur.  Borobudur doesn’t get as much attention as other great monuments in the world, but it should certainly be included among them.  Unlike other great monuments, Borobudur has a distinction that no other monument has. It disappeared, quite literally, for several centuries.  Learn mo...

Lego is one of the best-known toy brands in the world.  Known for its fun and complex building process, the small plastic bricks encourage creativity and playability, and have become a staple in most households with kids. However, they aren’t just free-form toys for children. They have also graduated into high-end items for adults. In fact, some sets of these simple toys can now cost thousands of...

Just 60 years ago, Dubai was a sandy, underpopulated port on a minor creek emptying into the Persian Gulf.  Today, it is one of the most important cities in the world. It is a global center for trade, finance, and transportation.  How did a random sandy outpost location in the Middle East end up becoming such an important global city in such a short period of time?  It didn’t happen by accident. L...

For thousands of years, human beings have created works of art. Many of these works are commissioned by rulers, merchants, or religious leaders.  Over time, many of these great works have found their way into the hands of art museums.  Museums allow everyone to enjoy and appreciate art that has been produced around the world over the course of centuries. However, not all museums are created equal....

In the mid-19th century, China experienced its greatest civil war.  It was a conflict that set China on a course that eventually led to China’s Century of Humiliation and the fall of the Qing Dynasty. It wasn’t just a massive civil war; in terms of total lives lost, it was far and away the largest war in history up until that point, and by some estimates, it might even have been as or more devasta...

During the Second World War, the Germans used what they thought was an uncrackable encryption system.  It was a really good encryption system, and for the longest time, the Allies had a difficult time cracking the code.  However, thanks to brilliant code breakers, a powerful computing machine, and German mistakes, the Allies were finally able to break the code.  Learn more about the Enigma Code an...

Located on the Baltic Sea, sandwiched between the nations of Lithuania and Poland, is the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Kaliningrad, as it is today, does not have a deep history. For most of its history, it was known as Königsberg. The reason it exists at all dates back to the Teutonic Knights in the Middle Ages and the aftermath of two world wars in the 20th century.  Today, its status is uniqu...

In the year 1950, the world was halfway through the 20th century.  In the 25 years prior, the world had seen the greatest economic downturn in modern history and the greatest war the world had ever known.  New technologies were being developed, and many previous technologies were making their way into the hands of regular people, radically transforming their lives.  On top of all of that, the enti...

One of the most powerful forces in economics and finance is compound interest.  Not everyone understands compound interest, even though they may reap its benefits or suffer its consequences.  Compounding has the potential to build fortunes and wreck empires. The effects of compounding are also not limited to interest payments. It can apply to a great many things in and out of the natural world. Le...

On May 7, 1915, nearly a year into the First World War, the British steamship RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat off the southern coast of Ireland. Over 1,100 people were killed, many of whom were civilians from the United States who were not participants in the war. Although the loss of life in the attack was great, the sinking of the Lusitania stands out due to its indirect role in encour...

Many people think that the closest the world ever came to nuclear war was during the Cuban Missile Crisis.  To be sure, that was a very tenuous point in history.  However, there is a good argument to be made that the closest the world has come to nuclear war actually took place in 1969. The reason most people are unaware of what happened is that it had nothing to do with the United States.  It was...

In 1913, the United States created its third national bank.  Unlike the previous two, this bank was organized in a completely different manner. It was organized differently, in an effort to avoid the problems of the previous national banks.  Also, unlike the previous national banks, the creation of the Federal Reserve was not done openly and subject to public debate. It was created using secrets a...

Known for its beautiful beaches, vast history, and unique culture, the Dominican Republic is one of the Caribbean's crown jewels. However, it has had a history totally unlike its neighbors. Even Haiti, which shares an island with the Dominican Republic, went down a totally different path.  Today, the Dominican Republic is a relatively stable, prosperous country, yet its past has been marked by vio...

November, the 9th month of the Roman calendar and the 11th month in our calendar, is upon us. It is the month when we think of turkeys, pilgrims, and when the weather gets colder.  It is also the month when people will fight each other to the death for discount television sets on Black Friday.  Most importantly, it is the month where you ask questions and I answer them.  Stay tuned for the 36th in...

Pumpkins are a staple of the autumn season, used in events like Halloween and Thanksgiving as symbols of the holidays and in various culinary dishes.  Pumpkins, which are technically a fruit, not a vegetable, are one of the oldest domesticated plants in the world and have been used for centuries in various ways.  Today, it is the basis for pumpkin spice, which can be found in almost everything. Le...

During the First World War, most of the attention, at least in the West, was focused on the Western Front.  However, the Western Front was not the only front in the war. There were actually multiple fronts, including the Middle East, Africa, the Balkans, and Italy. However, the largest of these non-Western fronts was in the East. In a front extending from the Baltic to the Black Sea. The war in th...