Snake oil wasn't always a scam.Chinese immigrants who came to the United States brought with them actual snake oil to help with the pains and inflammation brought on by strenuous railroad construction.

Incredibly enough the mayor of New York City, Fernando Wood, suggested in 1861 that New York City secede and declare itself a free city because of its lucrative ties to the cotton industry.

There's much about the events leading up to and the Boston Tea Party itself that is misunderstood.

If all other manners of conflict resolution are exhausted a duel is the last resort.

Many know the research conducted around the first atomic bombs as the "Manhattan Project," but was it really based in New York City?

Did you know that NASA went out of its way to embrace the unlucky number thirteen?

The two-day weekend wasn't always the case. What caused the 20th century weekend we've all come to know and love?

In 1932 Rear Admiral Harry Yarnell mounted a simulated attack on Pearl Harbor utilizing carrier-based airplanes to expose how vulnerable it was to a carrier-borne attack. The Japanese took notice.

In the fourth century A.D. Christmas supplanted the Roman Saturnalia festival, but the tradition of wild celebrations continued.

Before it was a federal penitentiary Alcatraz housed a military prison, and it was a lot easier to escape. Learn more about Alcatraz including how some prisoners made it off The Rock.

There are many myths surrounding the tragedy of the sinking of the Titanic, in particular with regards to the ship's captain, Edward Smith.

From the War of 1812 to the renovation of 1948, the White House underwent several dramatic changes, but can you separate its facts versus fiction?

Many myths and confusion surround the history and our understanding of slaves' flight from the South.

The United States Bullion Depository, or the more commonly-referred to Fort Knox, is filled with as many misconceptions as it is gold.

It wasn't John Glenn's reentry into the Earth's atmosphere in Friendship 7 that caused the most concern for his Earth-orbiting mission but liftoff in the surprisingly fragile Atlas rocket.

Many myths endure about Pocahontas, mainly because of the tales told by her contemporary, colonist John Smith.

A small anecdote from the crossing of the Mayflower to America reveals that an indentured servant, John Howland was swept off the deck of the ship during a storm, and that had he not been saved US history would have taken a different turn.

Witness how childhood boredom escalated into the mass hysteria that led to the Salem Witch Trials.

There were actually two boats of Pilgrims that left England for the US, and Plymouth Rock was not the first place the Mayflower disembarked.

There are several facts and fictions associated with New York City's Empire State Building, like that one about a penny dropped from the top having the ability to kill someone on the sidewalk.

The two-day weekend wasn't always the case. What caused the 20th century weekend we've all come to know and love?

Halloween in the early-to-mid-20th century was not a sweet nor pleasant holiday, but an excuse for pranks and general mischief.

Just as with their flags there are many misconceptions about pirates and how they operated.

The negative characterization of Edgar Allan Poe as a paranoid drug addict with the darkest of minds can be traced back to one man who was a rival of Poe's. There is no proof of drugs and his "darkness" is only inferred because of the scary stori ...

Was President John F. Kennedy really interested in going to space? And how close we were to not being the first to get on the moon?

Al Capone, a.k.a. Scar Face, was heavily involved with criminal activities before Prohibition, but the ban on alcohol served only to offer him the opportunity to amass enormous wealth. In the end it wasn't brute force that brought him down.

Air Force One has all kinds of weapons to defend itself... right? And a special skin to protect it? Find out!

Many myths endure about Pocahontas, mainly because of the tales told by her contemporary, colonist John Smith.

While Edison is surely one of our greatest inventors, his greatest contribution may have been perfecting existing inventions instead of creating that many new ones.

Benjamin Franklin was inquisitive but never crazy enough to fly a kite in an electrical storm as is often depicted.

The Wright brothers' famous "first flight" was actually their 4th flight of the day, as they had not maintained their flyer in the air long enough to their satisfaction.

There's much about the events leading up to and the Boston Tea Party itself that is misunderstood.