Category: HISTORY

June 24, 2015 at 3:11 pm

How a Confidence Man Swindled a Town Into Buying the World’s Smallest Skyscraper

How a Confidence Man Swindled a Town Into Buying the World's Smallest Skyscraper

In 1919, a smooth-talking businessman swindled investors into buying a skyscraper that was designed in inches, not feet.

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June 18, 2015 at 1:54 pm

Historic Photos of Detroit and their Modern Day Equivalent

Historic Photos of Detroit and their Modern Day Equivalent

“Detroit: Evolution of a City” is an incredible study of the growth, decline and revival of the city of Detroit through historic and present-day pictures.

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May 28, 2015 at 4:51 pm

4,000 Years of World History in One Epic Chart

4,000 Years of World History in One Epic Chart

First published in 1931, this ambitious “Histomap” by John B. Sparks attempts to distil four thousand years of world history (starting in 2000 B.C) into one glorious chart.

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May 21, 2015 at 4:32 pm

40 Vintage Life Hacks from 100 Years Ago

40 Vintage Life Hacks from 100 Years Ago

An amazing collection of vintage life hacks from 100 years ago that are surprisingly, still useful today!

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May 13, 2015 at 1:59 pm

23 Thought-Provoking Quotes by History’s Favorite Writers

23 Thought-Provoking Quotes by History's Favorite Writers

Throughout history writers have put our thoughts, fears and insights into words we can cherish, remember and live by. Below is a collection of thought-provoking quotes by some of the most celebrated and revered writers in history. If you enjoy these quote compilations, be sure to check out our previous posts here. …

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April 29, 2015 at 1:54 pm

30 Rare Color Photos of the Russian Empire from 100+ Years Ago

30 Rare Color Photos of the Russian Empire from 100+ Years Ago

Sergey Mikhaylovich Prokudin-Gorsky (August 30, 1863 – September 27, 1944) was a Russian chemist and photographer best known for his pioneering work in color photography of early 20th-century Russia. Around 1905, Prokudin-Gorsky envisioned and formulated a plan to use the emerging technological advances that had been made in color photography to document the Russian…

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April 23, 2015 at 12:05 pm

This Book from 1908 is Dedicated to Blackboard Art and it’s Amazing

This Book from 1908 is Dedicated to Blackboard Art and it's Amazing

In 1908, Frederick Whitney, an artist and teacher in Salem, Massachusetts published Blackboard Sketching, a book dedicated to the art of blackboard chalk drawings. As the book’s forward states: Ability to draw easily and well on the blackboard is a power which every teacher of children covets. Such drawing is a language which never…

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April 7, 2015 at 11:14 am

The Top 25 ‘Pictures of the Day’ for 2015

The Top 25 'Pictures of the Day' for 2015

At the end of every quarter the Sifter highlights the top 25 “Pictures of the Day“, culminating in an epic Top 100 at the end of the year (check out the Top 100 POTDs for 2014!). It’s hard to believe we’re already 1/4 of the way through 2015. I can’t wait to see what…

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March 31, 2015 at 1:14 pm

The Lonely Castle in the Middle of the Desert

The Lonely Castle in the Middle of the Desert

In the desert landscape of northeastern Saudia Arabia you will find Qasr al-Farid aka “The Lonely Castle”. Built in the first century A.D. the Lonely Castle rises four stories; an unfinished tomb carved out of a solitary sandstone outcrop. Because the tomb was never completed, we can see how the façade was chiseled from…

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March 21, 2015 at 4:15 pm

Guy Finds WWII Photos of his Hometown and Reshoots What it Looks Like Today

Guy Finds WWII Photos of his Hometown and Reshoots What it Looks Like Today

Last summer, reddit user MisterBrick found a collection of photos from WWII of his hometown of Dijon, France. As a photo project, he decided to reshoot the pictures to show what the places look like today, 70 years later. If you’re digging this series, you can find many more “then and now” projects featured…

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