The Gold Dust Trio brought spectacle to wrestling

Carnivals and circuses helped create professional wrestling

Catch wrestling became a fixture of American carnivals, which rose in popularity in the early 20th century. Carnival workers began fixing matches to reduce injuries and earn money from ignorant fans, whom they called "marks."

Gorgeous George was American pro wrestling's first superstar

George owed his popularity to the in-ring persona he created: a haughty, pretentious Anglophile who couldn't believe he had to stoop to fight his opponents. This 1950s film, taken from the "Wrestling From Hollywood" show that popularized professional wrestling in the US, perfectly illustrates what made this "heel" so compelling.

Philosopher Roland Barthes loved wrestling

In his essay "The World of Wrestling," French philosopher/literary theorist Roland Barthes analyzes the "Human Comedy" of professional wrestling, arguing the form is a legitimate dramatic genre.

Wrestling's superstars are capable of electric 'promos'

One convention of pro wrestling is the “promo”—a televised interview that allows wrestlers to develop their personas and articulate their characters’ motivations. The “Macho Man” Randy Savage is arguably the best to ever cut a promo, with his gravelly voice, memorable catchphrases and hilarious non-sequiturs making for great television.

Vince McMahon turned wrestling into a consolidated, national enterprise

In 1982, Vince McMahon purchased the World Wrestling Federation, which would later be renamed World Wrestling Entertainment, and quickly wiped out the WWE’s smaller regional promotions. By the late 1990s, he minted superstars like Chyna, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

The Boswell Sisters were the precursors to the American girl group

The jazz trio, popular in the ‘20s and ‘30s, doesn’t share much in common with the sounds of the well-known pop-oriented girl groups, but the sisters’ prominence in a male-dominated industry provided an early example for later groups. Check out their appearance in the 1932 film “The Big Broadcast,” performing the song “Crazy People.”

Stand-up arrived in the late 19th century

Vaudeville theaters featured family-friendly comics, often working in teams, to execute tightly written comedic back-and-forths. Burlesque, vaudeville’s bawdier offshoot, often featured single comics delivering rapid-fire, joke-filled sets.

Horse diving was a popular attraction for 50 years

The event, which took place in Atlantic City, is exactly as it sounds: horses, directed by (sometimes scantily clad) riders, would jump from diving boards into pools. Although it was a popular spectacle for decades, it fell out of favor by the late 1970s.

Japan's wrestling style is called puroresu

Puroresu has a long history in Japan, much of it traced back to Mitsuhiro Momota, better known as Rikidozan, who was the form’s first superstar and a hero to the country in the wake of World War II.

The origins and evolution of the Triple Crown

For nearly 100 years we’ve referred to the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes as the “Triple Crown.” But where did that term come from? It was popularized by a sports writer in the early 1930s. But this Old Smoke Clothing article, authored by the woman who wrote the book on Sir Barton, explores the British origins and how it gained popularity with Gallant Fox’s win in 1930.

How one Texas Western team changed college hoops

Texas Western, featuring college basketball's first all-Black starting five, stunned No. 1 Kentucky in 1966. Coach Don Haskins shrugged off the issue of race, but he received 40,000 pieces of hate mail after the game. This in-depth history relives the Miners' speed-driven triumph, their snub from Ed Sullivan, and a quiet revolution that sparked integration across the South's courts.

How ancient Roman gladiators got ready to rumble

Before they could lay the smackdown in the arena, gladiators were professionally trained, combining a physical regimen with an education in the rules of the ring. Contrary to popular belief, archaeological evidence suggests most gladiators weren't killed in the action, and women may have fought on rare occasions. This article breaks down a life of a Roman gladiator.

Goldenvoice, Coachella's promoter, began with punk and gangster rap

This documentary produced by Coachella tells the story of Goldenvoice—a scrappy upstart booking punk, hardcore, and gangster rap shows in Southern California—and how it created one of the biggest festivals in the world. Beyond the narrative, though, this is worth watching for incredible performances from the White Stripes, Kendrick Lamar, Amy Winehouse, and more.

Joseph Pulitzer mainstreamed 'yellow journalism'

One way Joseph Pulitzer revolutionized the newspaper industry by developing an approach to reporting that relied on sensationalism and could be a little loose with the facts. Pulitzer and rival William Randolph Hearst pushed that sensationalism to the next level in their competition to attract readers.

Learn more about Niagara’s death-defying daredevils

This podcast from the Niagara Falls Daredevil Museum explores 19th‑ and early 20th‑century Niagara daredevils—like tightrope walker Charles Blondin, barrel-stunter Annie Edson Taylor, and Sam Patch—detailing their feats, dangers, and public spectacle.

Mark Twain coined the phrase 'The Gilded Age'

The writer's 1873 book "The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today" (cowritten with newspaper editor Charles Dudley Warner) satirized the speculative investing and greed that took place following the Civil War. That era is now known as the Gilded Age, a term derived from the novel. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

Ed Sabol's vision of NFL Films impacted how sports were filmed

When the NFL put out a bid to film the 1962 NFL Championship Game, Ed Sabol promised NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle his higher price tag would be worth it. Sabol’s style of fixed high shots, close-ups of players, and fans in the stands revolutionized how sporting events are filmed, influenced moviemakers like Ron Howard, and gave birth to NFL Films.

The 1904 Olympic marathon was a bizarre spectacle

When the Olympics first came to the US, the race was still a fringe event with few established rules. That led to an absurd comedy, with competitors ingesting poison, hitchhiking 11 miles of the course, and occasionally sipping brandy.

Gladys Heldman was a key promoter of pro women's tennis

The photo of the Original Nine holding up their $1 bills after signing their contracts is an iconic image in both the sport and the women's liberation movement. Gladys Heldman isn't in that photo, but she was the promoter behind the tournament and the subsequent Virginia Slims Circuit. This WTA Tennis article dives into her life and her unforgettable contributions to women's tennis.

The true origins of the Western tumbleweed

Tumbleweeds are iconic features of classic American westerns, seen blowing across a desert landscape as a cowboy walks into town. But this species isn't native to the US Southwest. In fact, it was unintentionally imported from Russia. As farmers loosened the ground in the West, they created the perfect breeding ground for the Russian thistle tumbleweed to flourish there. Watch more on its history here.

The musical 'The Wizard of Oz' debuted in 1902

Following the success of ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,’ Baum adapted the novel for the stage. It premiered at Chicago’s Grand Opera House in 1902 and made it to Broadway’s Majestic Theatre in 1903. It then toured the country through 1909. It was also a musical adaptation of the story.

Watch a 1934 short film starring jazz legend Cab Calloway, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance's music scene

Watch one of country music's most infamous performances

Jerry Lee Lewis started in the 50s as a supercharged rock ‘n’ roll star. His career imploded when it was revealed he’d married his teenaged cousin. By the time he was invited to the Grand Ole Opry, he’d reinvented himself as a country troubadour and promised to play by the venue’s strict rules. But as this infamous performance shows, Lewis couldn’t help bringing some of his past to the stage, much to the audience’s delight.

Minnelli's concert with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. was considered 'The Ultimate Event'

Called "The Ultimate Event," the three legendary singers joined for a rare concert tour in the late 1980s. The show was released as a TV special shortly before Davis died from cancer.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Exploring Oskar Schlemmer's 'Triadic Ballet,' a Bauhaus-inspired performance piece

The "symphonic dance of threeness" brought together Bauhaus' varied artistic interests and offered a fable in which collectivism wins. This history and timeline of the work details its origins as well as its near-destruction at the hands of the Nazis, who considered it profane.

Rock expanded to Africa, where it was used as a political artform

The Nigerian rock scene began after Bill Haley’s "Rock Around the Clock" film premiered in the country, inspiring young people to take up electric guitars. The music was also an integral part of the country’s civil war, with conscripted bands entertaining soldiers on both sides of the conflict.

The first robot in literature may have been a 'mechanical man' in 1907's 'Ozma of Oz,' a book in L Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' series.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, and became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

American dance legend Martha Graham, sometimes called 'the Picasso of dance,' refused to perform at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and conceived the piece 'Chronicle' in response to the experience.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.

Graffiti dates back to at least ancient Pompeii, where citizens scrawled messages to one another on public walls

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.