Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More

Chinese civilization has endured for more than 3,500 years, driven by a succession of kings, emperors, and sophisticated bureaucracies. This enduring culture has produced a legacy of profound intellectual and cultural achievements. Among these eras, the Song Dynasty stands out for overseeing a commercial and urban revolution that produced a stunning array of innovations and technologies and define...

Ice cream is a delicious, popular treat served around the world. Yet it hasn’t been around forever.  The creation of ice cream can be traced over centuries and across different empires. What finally brought ice cream to the masses wasn’t its great taste; it was changes in technology, which allowed it to ultimately become the dessert we know and love today. Learn about the history and development o...

One of the most popular genres of literature, film, and television is science fiction. Science fiction is relatively new, and by its very nature, it is always evolving and reinventing itself.  Also, unlike other genres, science fiction isn’t just about storytelling. It is about generating ideas that have had an actual impact on the world we live in. Learn more about the history of science fiction...

Approximately 3,200 years ago, one of the most momentous events in human history took place. Multiple major civilizations during the Bronze Age collapsed within a generation. International trade ground to a halt, almost every major city around the Mediterranean was destroyed, and much of the world entered a dark age. Despite its significance, this event is one of the least known and understood per...

Ranking the “greatest soccer players of all time” often leads to a top three dominated by South Americans: Lionel Messi, Pelé, and Diego Maradona.  While soccer originated in Europe, its arrival in the Americas was a turning point for the sport. How did a game with such a late start in the Western Hemisphere evolve into a cultural sensation, and how did these nations become an engine for the world...

In 1848, a series of Revolutions occurred against European Monarchies across the continent. The revolutions were not part of an organized effort. They were spontaneous and often quite different. Although ultimately unsuccessful, the Revolutions sparked social change across multiple countries, improving the lives of some and strengthening the power of others.  Learn about the Revolutions of 1848 on...

In 1922, archeologist Howard Carter stunned the world by discovering King Tut’s tomb in Egypt. Two years later, his contemporary John Marshall published the results of his excavations of the Indus Valley.  Marshall’s findings reconstructed the timeline of urban civilization in South Asia, revealing cities with overlapping, sophisticated planning and sanitation systems. Although it lacked golden ar...

Swimming was one of only four sports to have appeared at every Summer Olympic Games, beginning in 1896. The sport has been among the most popular events at the Olympic Games since its introduction. In fact, it had the second-highest viewership after Gymnastics in the Paris Olympic Games.  As simple as competitive swimming seems, perhaps no sport has seen greater improvements in performance than sw...

The story of modern Iran is a collision between a monarchy with a history dating back to the Persian Empire and a frustrated nation with massive oil reserves historically coveted by Western powers. Governed by an authoritarian monarch in the mid-20th century who welcomed Western influence, the nation grew increasingly resentful of foreign control over its oil. From this discontent, an influential...

Every February 2nd, a small ceremony takes place in the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.  A crowd will gather to see if a rodent can see its shadow. The results of said shadow seeing are supposed to have implications for the long-term weather forecast.  If all of that sounds a bit absurd, you are not wrong.  … and then there is also a movie about it that really has nothing to do with groundhogs...

February is upon us. It is a time when we in the United States predict the weather on the basis of a rodent seeing its shadow, and we celebrate American presidents by buying linen and mattresses.  We also celebrate romance and sweethearts by honoring a 3rd century Roman bishop who was beheaded.  One thing that does make sense is questions and answers.  Stay tuned for Questions and Answers: Volume...

In 1805, an epic confrontation occurred off the southwest coast of Spain, resulting in one of the greatest naval battles in history.  This monumental sea battle saw the British and French fleets facing each other in one of the most important conflicts of the Napoleonic Wars. When the smoke cleared, the results left the British as the masters of the seas for over a century and radically changed the...

After decades of Belgian rule, Congo gained independence in June 1960 under the leadership of the nation’s first Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba. However, hope was quickly shattered by Cold War rivalries and a fierce internal power struggle.  Lumumba’s vision for a sovereign, prosperous Congo was crushed by forces that prevented the nation from ever realizing its true potential. Learn more about t...

The Roman Empire, at its height, was a juggernaut.  However, during the third century, almost everything fell apart. In fact, for a brief period of time, it arguably did.  It suffered from invasions, plagues, a collapsing economy, lower agricultural productivity, and numerous political assassinations.  They eventually solved their problems, but in the process, the Empire was changed forever. Learn...

Disney is one of the most popular and well-known brands in the world. They are a massive conglomerate of movie studios, television networks, cruise lines, and theme parks. The massive company we know today, however, had much more humble beginnings. It all began with a man and a mouse.  Learn about the foundation of Walt Disney Animation Studios on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Spons...

In 1983, the Nobel Peace Prize honored Polish electrician Lech Walesa for leading the nonviolent revolution of "Solidarity."  The Nobel committee recognized this movement as a powerful, globe-reshaping challenge to communist authority.  Advocating human rights and free unions, Solidarity emerged as the key opposition force in Eastern Europe.  This was not only the beginning of the end of communism...

In the 1930s, the United States was in the grip of the Great Depression, and baseball was approaching its 100th anniversary.  One enterprising business leader in Cooperstown, New York, came up with the idea of establishing a museum and a hall of fame to honor the greatest players in the game.  Since its establishment, the Hall of Fame has become one of the most beloved institutions in the country...

If you know anything about the field of psychology, you’ve probably heard of Sigmund Freud.  Best known as the founder of psychoanalysis, Freud fundamentally changed the field of psychology for decades to come. His impact extended far beyond psychology, and in the process, he became a notable figure in popular culture.  Learn about the life and theories of Sigmund Freud on this episode of Everythi...

In 1932, archaeologist Edgar B. Howard made a major discovery near the town of Clovis, New Mexico.  He found a stone spear point embedded in the rib of a woolly mammoth, which inspired what became known as the Clovis First Theory.  According to this theory, the creators of these spear points, known as the Clovis people, were the first to settle the Americas about 13,000 years ago. Archaeologists a...

The Mali Empire was one of the largest and most influential states in African history, rising in West Africa during the thirteenth century and reaching its height in the fourteenth. Known for its immense wealth, the empire became an economic powerhouse, famed for its vast gold reserves. But despite all its money, like all empires, it eventually fell. Learn about the history, government, and econom...

Few dates in China are as significant as May Fourth, which marks two distinct revolutionary periods in modern Chinese history.   On May 4th, 1919, student protests erupted in China in response to the country’s outrage over being ignored at the Paris Peace Conference. This event became known as the May 4th Movement. Seventy years later, in 1989, a resurgence of movement inspired the Tiananmen Squar...

525 days ago, I began looking at the state of the world every century, then every fifty years, and finally every twenty-five years as the pace of change accelerated.  After almost a year and a half, we have finally reached the present….or at least the world as it was three weeks ago.  The first quarter of the 21st century was a period of dramatic changes, and in some ways, very little change…..and...

The Roman Empire was ruled by a single family for its first century. The family was actually a merger of two of the most distinguished clans in Roman history.  This family included some of the best and worst emperors in Rome’s history. It also included a host of potential emperors who showed great potential but were killed under mysterious circumstances. Ultimately, paranoia and poor leadership ca...

From September 2 to September 5, 1666, one of the largest urban fires in history took place.  The Great Fire of London swept mercilessly through the city, reducing roughly 80% of its buildings to smoldering ruins, possibly killing thousands of people. In the ashes of the inferno, the city reinvented itself, determined to ensure such widespread destruction would never happen again. It also laid the...

One of the most popular music groups over the last half-century is also one of the most unlikely.  They were seldom played on the radio,  they almost never appeared on network television, and they only had one song ever make the Billboard top 100.  Yet, they have more Top 40 albums than any group in history and are one of the best-selling live acts of all time. Learn more about the Grateful Dead’s...