History vs. Myth

March 15, the Ides of March, has become synonymous with betrayal, lost loyalty and unwelcome surprises. But should this day still make us wary?

By Laurie L. Dove

In comparison to his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, Hades ended up with a mixed bag, ruling over both the dead and everything under the earth, including seeds, grains, gold and silver. But it's not as though the Greek god got the short straw.

By John Donovan

When Gov. John White left Roanoke to gather supplies from England, he was astonished at what he found when he returned. The colonists were gone, their houses were gone and the only clue to their whereabouts was a tree carved with the word "CROATOAN."

By Josh Clark & Nathan Chandler

Al Capone was one of the most notorious gangsters in American history, ruling the streets of Chicago with an iron fist. So why did it take tax evasion to bring him down?

By Oisin Curran

If you have kids, you may have noticed that the price for a lost tooth has skyrocketed. But do all you tooth fairies out there know where the idea of exchanging money for teeth came from?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Hercules was forced to repent for murdering his family by performing a series of 12 seemingly impossible tasks, or labors. Here's how he rocked every one of them.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Regarded as the goddess of wisdom and war, the patron of Athens is also considered the goddess of all things crafty and was the favorite of the Greek god Zeus.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god of the dead and protector of the gates to the underworld, was said to oversee every aspect of the process of dying and mummification.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Tom Horn had a wild reputation and even murdered a few people. But there's doubt as to whether he really shot young Willie Nickell, the crime for which he was hanged. In fact some say his ghost is looking for justice.

By Nathan Chandler

Hell-Cat Maggie, Gallus Mag and Sadie the Goat sure have colorful names. They're alleged to be members of various 19th century New York gangs. But did any of them really exist?

By Dave Roos

Trump's recent inquiry into the possibility of the United States buying Greenland made us wonder if countries can actually buy and sell each other.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Jimmy Hoffa mysteriously disappeared on July 30, 1975 and hasn't been seen since. We talked to one expert with an ingenious theory about what might have actually happened.

By Dave Roos

The ancient city of Babylon was a byword for wickedness in the Bible. But what is the real story? And how did Saddam Hussein try to bring it back?

By Dave Roos

A bad LSD trip can drive a person to suicide. So why would the CIA use American citizens as guinea pigs for its drug research?

By Josh Clark

You probably know that Aphrodite was the ancient Greek goddess of love. Here are seven other facts you may not know about this enduring symbol of passion.

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

Apparently, Kansas is the state whose name is mispronounced.

By Dave Roos

Is he a jolly little man in jammies or a monster carrying a sack of eyeballs? European legend says the Sandman is probably both.

By Jesslyn Shields

What does 'Massachusetts' mean? Why are there two Dakotas when one would have been plenty? Find out what you really know about the names of America's states and where they originated with our quiz.

By Nathan Chandler

Not all conspiracies are bogus. Some have managed to be real, and the work of the government.

By Diana Brown

After President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, the FBI left no stone unturned during its investigation. At one point, the investigation led to a most unlikely place.

By Bryan Young

Human bones were found in the basement of Benjamin Franklin's London home. Lots of human bones. Was one of America's most venerated Founding Fathers a criminal of the worst kind?

By Diana Brown & Mark Mancini

A popular meme says that the U.S. Constitution notion of democracy really came from the Iroquois Great Law of Peace, except that the Native Americans' version was more inclusive. How true is this?

By Patrick J. Kiger

U.S. pilots at the time called them foo fighters, but were these UFOs weapons of war being developed by the Nazis? Many still say yes.

By Diana Brown

Conspiracy theorists claim the Smithsonian Institution holds the truth behind the ancient people that once thrived in the Grand Canyon — and they weren't Native Americans.

By Diana Brown

The ancient Greeks have been warning us about the rise and fall of technology as far back as Talos, everyone's favorite mythological man of bronze.

By Robert Lamb