March 15: the history they never taught you.

Kaiser Wilhelm Left This Letter Unopened for Six Months

For six months in 1889, a jewelry box sat unopened on Kaiser Wilhelm II's desk, holding a letter that could have changed the course of European history.

How a Misdated Telegram Almost Started a War

A miscalculated telegraph transmission schedule triggered one of history's most bizarre diplomatic crises, and nearly launched Europe into war over absolutely nothing.

Mushroom Hunters Found the Tsar's Lost Telegrams

Three Russian peasants went foraging for mushrooms and ended 300 years of Romanov rule.

Brain Surgery by Candlelight in Soviet Moscow

The lights died during brain surgery in 1960, and one doctor had to choose between stopping or continuing by candlelight.