Simone Scully

For years, people hungered for the perfect red. The color has a long human history: Mesoamerican scribes used it to record their history, while the Old Testament paints it as the color of sin. In Europe, monarchs draped themselves in rich reds to…

In 1918, it is estimated that about 500 million people — or about one third of the world’s population — caught influenza, otherwise known at the time as the “Spanish Flu." It was the deadliest flu outbreak in recorded history, with between 50 million…

When an English immigrant named Ann Trow Sommers first arrived in New York City in 1831, she had no idea how notorious and vilified she’d soon become. In a matter of years, she’d craft a whole new identity for herself as Madame Restell, a prominent…

The current 2019-2020 flu season is on track to be one of the worst in a decade. According to the CDC, between 19-26 million people have caught the flu since October and between 10,000-25,000 people have died. But as bad as the seasonal flu is this…

New York harbor was once the oyster capital of the world. In fact, what lobsters mean to Maine today, oysters meant to New York just a few centuries ago. Archeologists have found middens — ancient piles of shells — dating back to 6950 B.C, suggesting…

When U.S. Marine Sam Johnson was on patrol in Iraq, he and his team came across a pressure plate IED. It hit the front of his vehicle. Fortunately, everyone survived the traumatic experience. Sam sustained some injuries to his knees, but after a…

Today, we know that washing our hands is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs. But how we came to know that is pretty fascinating. Image via iStock. Handwashing is actually a relatively new practice —…

While on the campaign trail, President-elect Donald Trump made it clear what he plans to do to regulations. "I would say 70% of regulations can go," he was quoted as saying at a town hall meeting. According to his website, his vision for regulations…

History is full of women who bravely fought to make a difference in the world. As activists, journalists, or fighters, women have stepped up to combat social injustice and defend their freedoms. Others worked their way into “boys clubs,” helping to…

Perched on cliffs or hidden deep in caves, the world is full of ancient sites that have stood for thousands of years. From cave paintings depicting early human life, to burial grounds, to mysterious henges, here are 33 amazing prehistoric sites…

Lee Prince/Shutterstock On August 25, 2016, the U.S. National Park Service will celebrate its 100th birthday. From the founding of the first park — Yellowstone — to today, the park service has protected and preserved large swaths of wilderness, from…

Photographer Dheera Venkatraman, 31, travels every year, but rather than book ‘touristy’ trips, he tries to find a “new” way to explore the world. “When I travel, I see what others have done, and then do something new, instead of repeating the same…

Just over 100 years ago, on the 28th of June, 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was assassinated in Sarajevo. That set into motion a chain of events that, within several weeks, culminated in the European great powers declaring war…