Documents That Changed the World

26. "We Can Do It!" Poster/Rosie the Riveter, 1943 06.04.2014 ↓

That poster--isn't what you think. She's not Rosie the Riveter, and the lives she's led, as, feminist icon, symbol of wartime solidarity, cultural nostalgia touchstone, are almost all entirely wrong

25. Alaska Purchase Check, 1868 19.03.2014 ↓

Seward's Folly, enabled by a single piece of paper exchanged for $7.2 million, adding vast new territories to the US, and telling us about how money moves, and how people feel about how that's changing (researched/produced/co-written by Andrew Kyrios)

24. Zapruder Film, 1963 13.11.2013 ↓

486 frames, likely the most scrutinized film of all time, dissected, debated, debunked, and the harbinger of things to come as events are increasingly documented and shared

23. Rosetta Stone, 196BCE 05.09.2013 ↓

Undoubtedly one of the great document stories of all time, which help us to think about permanence, durability, and what can happen when media outlast messages

22. Mental Disorder Diagnosis Manual, 1952 08.08.2013 ↓

Are you crazy? Maybe yes, maybe no, but either way, this book lays out what mental disorders are, and aren't, and reinforce the power that we give names of all kinds

21. The Book of Mormon, 1830 20.07.2013 ↓

Joseph Smith: led to long-buried golden tablets revealing lost truths...or the most successful humbug even known? Words, faith, a backstory that defies logic, and the power of belief

20. Einstein's Letter to Roosevelt, 1939 06.07.2013 ↓

A two page letter from a great mind to a great leader about a great subject matter, the beginning of the Atomic Age and one of the oldest forms of writing

19. First X-Ray, 1895 13.06.2013 ↓

A shadowy skeletal hand gives us the first good look inside ourselves, and we've not been the same since

18. Riot Act, 1714 09.06.2013 ↓

If you don't say it out loud, it doesn't work--magic spells, wedding ceremonies, and how to stop a riot, 18th Century style

17. IQ Test, 1905 15.05.2013 ↓

The origin of standardized tests, the quantification of intelligence, and measuring and numbering of us all (written/researched/produced/recorded by Eli Gander-Rood)

16. Space Needle "Sketch", 1959 (Live) 02.03.2013 ↓

How an icon gets conceived, how ideas get recorded, the value of cocktail napkins (real and virtual), and the story of how stories get started

15. Pope Benedict XVI's Resignation, 2013 14.02.2013 ↓

Moving on gracefully (or not), the history of papal resignations, and why it helps to have it all written down

14. Rules of Association Football (Soccer), 1863 09.02.2013 ↓

What makes sports sports, why the rules matter, how football got the way it is, and the basis of creativity

13. "Letters of Transit", 1942 30.12.2012 ↓

You must remember this: Casablanca, passports, exit visas, fictional documents, Rick, Ilsa, Sam's piano and the words that move us

12. What is the Third Estate?, 1789 12.11.2012 ↓

The priest, the pamphlet, the Revolution, and lightning in a bottle, all in the right place at the right time

11. Robert's Rules of Order, 1876 20.10.2012 ↓

Bringing order to chaos, one meeting at a time

10. Protocols of the Elders of Zion, c1900 29.09.2012 ↓

Fraud, plagiarism, hate, and the power of belief no matter what

9. AIDS Memorial Quilt, 1987 19.09.2012 ↓

Love, loss, and the stories a quilt can tell

8. The 18 1/2 Minute Gap, 1972 04.09.2012 ↓

Watergate, the Nixon White House, and the benefits of unsolved mysteries

7. Gutenberg Indulgence, 1454 23.08.2012 ↓

What Gutenberg printed first, the unexpected effects all his works had, and how it's all about to happen again

6. Internet Protocol, 1981 15.08.2012 ↓

The simple genius that makes the Internet happen

5. The 19th Amendment, 1920 19.07.2012 ↓

Where exactly is the Constitution? Chances are, what you think...is wrong

1. The Gregorian Calendar, 1582 18.07.2012 ↓

The power of one person, the power of one document

3. Mao's Little Red Book, 1964 17.07.2012 ↓

Words matter, and who says them does too