L.M. Montgomery was just as optimistic and hopeful as Anne Shirley—but as the years wore on, life dealt her a series of heartbreaking blows.

In his tragically short but illustrious career, John Cazale became a propelling inspiration for not one, but two of Hollywood’s hottest stars of all time.

Seventeen-year-old Ritchie Valens had a huge singing career ahead of him—until a simple coin toss brought it to a tragic end.

Behind the big parties and big hairpieces, however, the history of Louis XIV is accompanied by a scandalous canon of intrigue, intimacy, wine, colonial violence, war, and fashion.

These days the world's most innovative scientists don't really get as much attention as they should. That's because real, profound genius often comes hand-in-hand with being absolutely bonkers. From making their employees sample soup to test their loyalty to forbidding followers from eating beans, find out which famous scientists were certified crazy, and what they did to gain that reputation.

Catherine of Braganza and Charles II’s relationship went from fear to hatred to love—which makes their tragic ending all the more heartbreaking.

England Facts: Before public restrooms in London, men would walk the streets with long cloaks and chamber pots, offering privacy for people who had to go.

New York City is one of the most iconic places on earth—but the city that never sleeps still has its fair share of chilling secrets.

Treachery is always painful. Religions, families, friends, countries—they’ve all felt the sting of betrayal, and can suffer from it for decades and even centuries.

For some reason, people still believe these historical myths to be true, even though they’ve been proven wrong.

If your parents—or you—were the type to carefully pack away old toys in the attic or basement once you grew out of them, well, you’re in luck. A whole bunch of the toys we grew up with are worth a bunch of money now. Here’s a selection…starting in the $100 range and going all the way up to $3.2 million!

Author Tom Wolfe called the 1970s the “Me” Decade and the “Third Great Awakening.” People were trying to move past the push-pull of wars and social movements that had defined the previous decades—and while there might not have been any kind of grand awakening, a lot certainly went on. How much do you remember?

How many of these common misconceptions did you think were true?

How many of these common misconceptions did you think were true?