History

In April 1961, just three months into his presidency, John F. Kennedy approved one of the most catastrophic military operations in U.S. history. 1,400 Cuban exiles, trained and equipped by the CIA, would invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. They would spark a popular uprising, overthrow Fidel Castro, and install a democratic government. That was the plan. The reality? The invasion failed within 72 hours. Most of the brigade was killed or captured. No uprising occurred. The U.S. was humiliated internationally. Castro’s regime was strengthened, not weakened. ...

In April 1967, a high school history teacher in Palo Alto, California, faced a difficult question from his students: “How could the German people claim they didn’t know about the Holocaust?” Ron Jones didn’t have a good answer. So he decided to show them. What started as a simple classroom demonstration became a terrifying social experiment. In just five days, Jones created a fascist movement so powerful that students were willing to betray their friends, enforce strict rules, and commit acts of violence-all in the name of the group. ...

On January 28, 1986, millions of Americans watched the Space Shuttle Challenger lift off from Kennedy Space Center. Among the seven crew members was Christa McAuliffe, a high school teacher chosen to be the first civilian in space. Students across America watched live from their classrooms, excited to see their teacher reach the stars. Seventy-three seconds into the flight, Challenger exploded. All seven crew members died instantly. The nation was devastated. ...

In February 1637, the Dutch economy experienced one of the most bizarre financial collapses in history. The cause? Flower bulbs. Not gold. Not land. Not ships or spices or any of the valuable commodities that drove the Dutch Golden Age. Tulip bulbs. At the peak, a single rare tulip bulb sold for 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman. One bulb-“Semper Augustus”-was worth more than a luxury canal house in Amsterdam. ...