Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More

Located off the Southeastern coast of Africa is the island nation of Madagascar. It is a massive island nation known for its beautiful and diverse wildlife. Madagascar is a unique country, both in its history and geography, housing many unique species that are not found anywhere else in the world.  Despite the nation's abundance of resources, it faces numerous challenges, including high poverty ra...

Like many ancient civilizations, the Romans had a vast pantheon of gods.  Unlike other civilizations, the Romans were very flexible in where their gods came from.  In particular, they adopted many of their gods from the Greek pantheon. It wasn’t just a matter of copying them. They would often rename the gods and alter their mythology to align with Roman virtues. When it came to religion, the Roman...

On March 13, 1964, at 2:30 am, a woman named Kitty Genovese was returning home from work. As she arrived outside her apartment, a man approached her with a knife. Genovese ran towards her apartment but was stabbed and killed.  The murder itself is not what made this event noteworthy. It is known for the number of witnesses who heard the attack but did not call the police or intervene.  When this w...

In 1946, a former Soviet tank mechanic who had formal training in engineering or manufacturing submitted a design for a new gun in a competition.  His design was selected, and it became the new rifle for the Soviet military.  However, it didn’t just become a weapon for the Soviet Union; the design spread and within decades was being used all around the world in almost every armed conflict.  Learn...

On February 1, 1908, the political fortunes of Portugal changed forever.  The royal family was returning to Lisbon, traveling in an open horse-drawn carriage.  While they were traveling, in broad daylight, and in front of dozens of witnesses, two radicals gunned down both the king and the heir apparent, throwing the Portuguese monarchy into chaos.  The effect of what happened almost 120 years ago...

Some of the most venerated objects in many different religions are holy relics.  Relics offer a tangible connection to significant figures in various religious traditions, and they are often highly prized and sought after. In the Middle Ages, relics became a big business, and if a church had the right relics, it could boost a local economy. It became such a big business that many people began to q...

One of the biggest problems that humanity has faced for thousands of years is heat.  Excessive heat made it difficult to work in the middle of the day. Heat was especially problematic in the tropics, where a shockingly large percentage of humanity lived.  As cities became more developed, excess heat, all year round, became a limiting factor in how tall buildings could get.  All of these problems w...

On May 19, 1884, a small yacht containing four men set sail from England to Australia.  On July 5th, the ship was hit by a massive wave and capsized.  The crew escaped the shipwreck on a lifeboat, but was left in a horrible situation. They were hundreds of miles from land, with no fresh water, and a single pound of turnips for food. Three weeks later, on July 25, food was out, and the men were sti...

Some of the most important battles in history, the ones that changed the course of civilizations, are often very small battles.  In 1532, a battle, really just a skirmish, took place, which completely changed the future paths of Peru, Spain, and the entire continent of South America.  Despite the importance of this battle, few people have ever even heard of it.  Learn more about the Battle of Caja...

Australia is unique among the countries in the world. It is a continent, a country, and an island all wrapped up into one.  Australia is also home to some of the most bizarre species in the world, most notably its large number of marsupials, which comprise 70% of all marsupial species worldwide. Why do Australia’s animals differ so significantly from those of the rest of the world, and what led to...

Located in the heart of Central America is the Republic of Costa Rica.  Costa Rica is situated between Panama and Nicaragua and shares a similar colonial history with other countries in Central America.  However, over the last 100 years, it has taken a radically different path. A path that has allowed the country to avoid most of the problems that have plagued the rest of the region.  As a result,...

Throughout World War II, Nazi Germany was a formidable force due to its military strength and success. A large reason for this success was its intelligence network. What most people don’t know is that the Nazi head of military intelligence was actively working against Adolf Hitler. Through a series of active and passive measures, he went from a loyal Nazi to a double agent. Find out about Wilhelm...

On July 14, 1789, in Paris, France, one of the most iconic events of the French Revolution took place.  Thousands of French citizens stormed a prison to liberate the weapons from its armory and to free any political prisoners who were held within. It is considered to be the start of the revolution and the beginning of the end of the French monarchy.  Learn more about the Storming of the Bastille a...

More often than not, in competitive sports, when a team or player has a significant lead, the outcome is often just a formality.  While that is usually the case, it isn’t always the case.  On rare occasions, sometimes very rare occasions, a huge lead does not guarantee victory.  A team that is down can beat the odds and come from behind to win.  In the rarest of cases, those come-from-behind victo...

Everything in the universe, from galaxies to the atoms in your body, is driven by just a few fundamental forces.  It took centuries for physicists to identify these forces, but once identified, they believed that some of these forces were merely different manifestations of the same underlying phenomenon.  Once they realized this, some physicists felt that all the forces in nature could be explaine...

In August of 1964, an event occurred off the waters of North Vietnam that would have repercussions that would echo in US foreign policy for decades.  Two alleged confrontations between US Navy vessels and North Vietnamese ships set off a chain of events that resulted in a dramatic escalation in the United States’ involvement in Vietnam and a subsequent backlash that would change military policy to...

Between 1791 and 1804, the only successful slave rebellion in human history occurred. The revolution was an insurrection of enslaved Africans against French colonial rule in the Caribbean colony of Saint-Dominge.  The success of the revolution led to the establishment of a free state known as Haiti. Yet, despite achieving their freedom, the aftermath of the Haitian Revolution has led to long-term...

In 1885, the Russian Tsar Alexander III commissioned an Easter gift for his wife. It was a rather unusual gift. He asked one of the finest goldsmiths in the country to create a jeweled egg. However, it wasn’t just to be an expensive bauble. Inside the egg was to be another exquisite surprise.  This began a tradition that would last for over 30 years and resulted in some of the finest and most valu...

One of the most important inventions of the 20th century was the transistor.  Prior to the transistor, electronic devices were large and bulky and dependent on vacuum tubes.  Vacuum tubes were large, fragile, power-hungry, and prone to failure. The transistor not only replaced the vacuum tube in many applications but also enabled the miniaturization and reliability required for modern electronics,...

In the 5th century BC, the Greek world found itself in the middle of one of its greatest wars. This wasn’t one of their existential conflicts against the Persians; this was a war of Greeks against Greeks.  An alliance of city-states led by Athens fought a coalition led by Sparta for control of the Greek world.  Over nearly 30 years, the two city-states fought for supremacy, leaving a lasting impac...

The Guillotine has become infamous for being the main weapon utilized during the Reign of Terror and a modern symbol of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.   It has been responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people since its invention in April of 1792. Of all the ways to execute people, why did they create an elaborate contraption when simpler methods were available? Learn...

One of the most important inventions in human history was artificial lighting. With the electric lightbulb, the night could be illuminated, allowing people to extend the productive hours in a day and to work in places that were otherwise difficult or impossible.  While the incandescent bulb was a breakthrough, it wasn’t actually very efficient. It wouldn’t be until decades later that a radically m...

The 19th Century wasn’t a good one for China. It was marked by the nation being taken advantage of by foreign powers and the signing of lopsided treaties.  The 20th Century started out promising, but eventually devolved into a series of warlords and a civil war between two major forces for control of the country, on top of the Japanese occupation of most of the country.  When the dust settled in 1...

Michigan and Ohio are two states renowned for their intense rivalry.  When you think of the rivalry between the two states, you may automatically think of the rivalry between the University of Michigan and Ohio State on the football field.  However, their rivalry extends far beyond that. In 1835 and 1836, the two states came close to going to war over a border dispute.  The results of that dispute...

The months of the year are named after Roman god, and some are named after their placement in the year. However, the first month to be named after an actual person was the month of July, which was named after Julius Caesar.  What is surprising isn’t that the name of the month has stuck for over 2000 years, it's that more rulers didn’t try to name months of the year after themselves.  Many more rul...