What it takes to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is located in Arlington National Cemetery

Dedicated on Armistice Day in 1921, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier serves as a symbolic memorial for unidentified fallen service members. It has been guarded continuously since 1937 at Arlington National Cemetery.

The controversy behind the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

It's now a standard stop for tourists visiting Washington, DC, but before it was built the Vietnam Veterans Memorial triggered an internecine battle between the war's veterans, some of whom believed the planned memorial was offensive. This short documentary recounts the controversy and the ultimate triumph of the memorial, which helped change the country's impression of the war and its soldiers.

The National Guard serves both state governors and presidents

Roughly 430,000 trained military personnel act as a strategic reserve for the US military, deployed domestically during natural disasters or unrest as well as overseas. It consists of the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard, overseen at the federal level by the National Guard Bureau.

Abraham Lincoln's missing bodyguard

The night President Abraham Lincoln was shot, his bodyguard John Frederick Parker was late for his shift—and reportedly left his post to drink at the bar. Infamous assassin John Wilkes Booth entered the booth at Ford's Theater where the president sat while Parker was absent, leading to one of the United States' greatest political tragedies. Read more about the troubled history of Parker here.

Everything you need to know about the Tomb of Saint Peter

The Tomb of Saint Peter lies in Vatican City, a city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy. This comprehensive video explains the history of the apostle’s burial site and the brand-new technological developments surrounding it. Start your journey in Ancient Rome, learning how the Vatican got its name, and end with Microsoft’s AI technology that allows curious people from all around the world the ability to tour and interact with the space.

Who cleans the London Underground at night?

The London Underground, also known as the Tube, services millions of people every day. After the transit system closes each evening, a crew of workers known as “fluffers” gather to clean the underground tunnels. This article sheds light on these unnoticed cleaners, covering the difficulties of their jobs and the bizarre things they’ve encountered, from ghosts to nesting pigeons.

Mall Santas can make five-figures for just six weeks of work

The annual gig requires more dedication than most would expect. Mall Santas undergo training at Santa University, receive a bodyguard, and must stay in character.

See how the National Archives protects America's founding documents

This "60 Minutes" segment takes viewers behind the scenes at the National Archives, showcasing how experts use conservation science, security, and technology to preserve cornerstone records—such as the original Declaration of Independence—for future generations.

Ten lesser-known duties of the US president

The president of the United States is one of the most powerful positions in the world, but what exactly do they oversee? In addition to the obvious tasks of commanding the military, signing laws, and shaping national policy, this article highlights the lesser-known responsibilities of the American president. Naming national monuments and managing the White House beehive are just a few of the jobs you may be surprised to learn about.

10 items that could have saved your life in the trenches

Soldiers settled into trenches to defend themselves against shrapnel and bullets, but weapons such as mustard gas crawled along the ground and settled in these low-lying areas. Here are 10 items that could have helped you survive the trenches, according to this article.

Permanent staff at NPS dropped nearly a quarter in 2025

Despite record-level visitation in recent years, NPS staffing reductions have affected maintenance, scientific research, and search-and-rescue operations most acutely, functions visitors don't typically see. According to the NPCA, some visitor centers have reduced hours, lifeguard positions have gone unfilled, and rangers report covering multiple roles simultaneously.

A day in the life of a Roman soldier

In 15 CE, Roman legionary Servius Felix was eight years into a 25-year career as a warrior for the Empire. Born to a poor farmer who hoped to retire and receive several acres of land, Servius served amid fights with Germanic tribes from the north. He hopes to marry a woman back home and mourns the loss of his fallen friends.

Hundreds of women secretly joined the Union and Confederate armies during the war

Hear the story of women who disguised themselves as men to enlist in both Union and Confederate armies—serving as soldiers, medics, and spies.

A brief guide to espionage

Spies have one of the most challenging and dangerous jobs in the world, risking their lives and legacy to extract secrets in the interest of their country. This in-depth explainer breaks down one of the profession's oft-ignored aspects: The...

One man in Arizona works to defend Earth from catastrophic space rocks

David Rankin, an observer and operations engineer at the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey, spends his days scanning for solar system objects that could collide with our planet. The job requires employees to work long shifts to help prevent asteroids from destroying our planet.

What it's like to go inside the Great Pyramid of Giza

Tourists can actually enter the ancient wonder, taking a 15-minute jaunt through tight spaces some describe as uncomfortable. The focal point of the journey is the chamber of the dead pharaoh, historically significant but not always visually compelling. The author describes it as a cool bucket list item but wouldn't repeat it.

BTS has finally completed their mandatory military service

The world’s biggest boyband went on hiatus in 2022, leaving millions of fans—fittingly known as the BTS ARMY—waiting hungrily for their return. South Korean law states that all young, able-bodied men between 18 and 28 must serve between 18 to 21 months in the military. A revision was made to the law in reaction to BTS’s success in 2020, stating that K-pop stars or entertainers could postpone their military service until they turn 30.

The crew of the ISS creates unique memorials for deceased colleagues

The continued human occupancy of the International Space Station since 2000 has led to the development of social and cultural elements by crew members, which the ISS Archaeology Project has catalogued. Records of handmade cakes, decorations, and memorabilia highlight the human aspect of living in space.

The identity of the Tank Man in the iconic photo from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests remains unknown and was possibly killed.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

Tombaroli steal precious items from ancient people's tombs in central Italy

The tombaroli, or tomb-robbers, raid ancient Etruscan tombs in the dark hours of the night to recover vases, statuettes, mirrors, ornaments, jewellery, and other objects in gold, bronze, and terracotta. Read a firsthand account of a tombarolo who made a living handing stolen items to middlemen who sold them to wealthy buyers abroad. The lives and practices of tombaroli are also explored in the 2023 film "La Chimera."

Explaining the icy mystery of the Dyatlov Pass deaths

A decades-old mystery from Soviet Russia could be explained by studying the science of snow. After nine students died on a hiking trip in the Ural Mountains, Soviet investigators found six had perished from hypothermia while three others died from blunt force trauma. The mystery confounded officials for years, and rumors of yeti attacks and similar theories abounded until researchers proposed a new potential culprit: an avalanche.

Fort Knox was built to be a secure facility for the US Treasury's gold reserves

The gold reserves were previously used to back the US dollar under the gold standard. Although the US went off the gold standard in 1971, Fort Knox continues to store a large portion of the nation's gold reserves.

The Third Amendment bars the forced housing of soldiers in private homes

The amendment was designed to address a specific grievance of the Colonies and remains the only Bill of Rights provision that has never been directly tested by a Supreme Court ruling on its merits.

Michelin judges act as anonymous restaurant inspectors

Go behind the scenes with Gwendal Poullennec, international director of The Michelin Guide and the man who oversees all those anonymous inspectors. This short video dives into who the inspectors are, the training process, and what they look for in a meal.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

How to conserve a Yup'ik mask

The Met’s YouTube channel is a treasure trove of information about the museum and its collections. In this short video, conservationist Caitlin Mahony works with Yup’ik dancer Chuna McIntyre to understand the significance and proper display of a native Alaskan mask that’s over a century old. McIntyre helps illuminate the stories behind many of the mask’s decorative elements and explains how it would be used in traditional Yup’ik ceremonies.

Each player gets a full celebratory day with the Stanley Cup if their team wins, but not without supervision

During a player's special day, they aren’t just given the Cup and told to return it in 24 hours. Since 1995, it has been accompanied by the Keeper of the Cup.

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.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

Watch the cumbersome, but necessary, precautions healthcare workers must take to care for and protect themselves while caring for Ebola patients.

The concept of phantom limbs, the perception that amputated limbs are still present, dates back to a French military surgeon in the 16th century.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

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

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Crows are believed to have intelligence on par with a seven-year-old child and demonstrate complex behaviors, from problem-solving with tools to recognizing human faces.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

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.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day