Every Factbox story
All 51 of them, in the order the archive files them. Each one is about five minutes, told one card at a time on paintings from the world’s museums. The shelf is where you read them.
- How did Cleopatra die? (the snake)
How did Cleopatra die? The snake is in every painting of her, and nobody has ever found it
10 cards · 4 min · free to read - Cleopatra the seductress
The seductress is the most famous story about Cleopatra, but where did it come from?
11 cards · 4 min · free to read - Cleopatra's body has never been found
Queen Cleopatra’s body has never been found…yet
8 cards · 3 min - 7 Deadly Sins Explained
Lust is normalized in society, but deep down, you are seeking union with another.
11 cards · 4 min - The Ark of the Covenant
Ethiopia is the only country in the world that claims to have the Ark of the Covenant, which allegedly contains the Ten Commandments and admits divine power.
12 cards · 5 min - The secret gospel of Mary Magdalene
The secret gospel of Mary Magdalene
11 cards · 4 min - Lincoln's looks / the slavery debates
If Abraham Lincoln were born today, he might have a tougher time becoming president because of his appearance.
9 cards · 4 min - King David and Bathsheba
David slept with somebody's wife, got her pregnant, and killed her husband. And he still gets called a man after God's own heart.
13 cards · 5 min - How did Lincoln not have security?
We all hear that Lincoln’s assassin basically went right up to him at the theater and shot him point blank, but how did Lincoln not have security guards? He actually did have one officer assigned to him that night, but presidential security in 1865 was nothing like it is today. ([National Park Service](https://www.nps.gov/foth/learn/historyculture/faq-the-assassination.htm?utmsource=chatgpt.com))
8 cards · 3 min - Chernobyl
Even though Chernobyl was a huge disaster, few people know what happened that day. On April 26, 1986, workers at Reactor 4 were conducting a safety test that went catastrophically wrong. ([IAEA Archives](https://archives-catalogue.iaea.org/?utmsource=chatgpt.com))
12 cards · 5 min - The death of the Apostle Paul
It's around 67 AD according to Christian tradition, and the Apostle Paul is imprisoned in Rome. He's about to get his head chopped off. Why? ([Vatican News](https://www.vaticannews.va/en/saints/06/29/saint-peter--apostle-of-the-city-of-rome.html?utmsource=chatgpt.com))
9 cards · 4 min - Saint Peter, the first pope
Saint Peter was the first pope according to Catholic tradition and one of Jesus's 12 apostles. But before any of that, he was a fisherman named Simon.
11 cards · 4 min - Three facts about Saint Peter
This is Saint Peter, who was the first pope according to Catholic tradition. Here are three facts most people don't know about him.
8 cards · 3 min - Satan isn't God's rival
Satan isn't God's rival. To explain this, we have to take you back to the beginning.
8 cards · 3 min - Timeline of the Book of Revelation
This is a timeline of the entire Book of Revelation. This final book of the Bible was written by a man named John, who is shown a series of strange visions, odd creatures and terrifying prophecies about what will happen before God's final victory.
12 cards · 5 min - Cyrus the Great
He conquered much of the known world, then became famous for allowing conquered peoples to return home and restore their religions. His name was Cyrus the Great, the only foreign ruler explicitly called God’s “anointed,” or messiah, in the Hebrew Bible.
9 cards · 4 min - The Dead Sea Scrolls
In 1947, Bedouin shepherds discovered ancient manuscripts hidden in caves near the Dead Sea. Among them were copies of books from the Hebrew Bible written roughly a thousand years earlier than the oldest complete Hebrew biblical manuscripts previously available to modern scholars.
9 cards · 4 min - Cleopatra's tomb
We are never finding Cleopatra's body and we are never finding Cleopatra's tomb.
9 cards · 4 min - How Cleopatra died
We are almost certain Cleopatra and two of her trusted servants died on August 12, 30 BCE, as Octavian took control of Egypt. What is disputed is how they died.
9 cards · 4 min - Cleopatra's situationships
One of the greatest lessons we can learn from Cleopatra is that men used to go to war over their situationships.
9 cards · 4 min - The woman who made two powerful men fall
Let's talk about the woman who made two of the most powerful men in the world fall for her. We're talking about Cleopatra.
9 cards · 4 min - Lincoln kept losing
He lost elections, buried the woman he loved, and still saved the nation that never made anything easy for him.
8 cards · 3 min - Galatians 5: the fruit test
If someone showed up at your front doorstep right now with a basket of fruit and asked you to let them in, and you look in that basket and the fruit is rotten. It is gross. Looks like it's been sitting in the sun for 10 days. What are you doing? Let's unpack Galatians chapter 5.
9 cards · 4 min - Mary Magdalene wasn't a prostitute
They called her a prostitute, but she was actually a prophet. Here's what they don't teach about Mary Magdalene.
8 cards · 3 min - Why did they actually kill Jesus?
Why did they actually kill Jesus?
8 cards · 3 min - NASA and the darkness at the crucifixion
NASA has done research connected to the crucifixion of Christ.
8 cards · 3 min - The Gnostics
Why did some early Christians believe the Christian God was evil?
9 cards · 4 min - Cleopatra's four children
Cleopatra had four children. One was executed, three were taken to Rome, and then they basically disappeared from history.
8 cards · 3 min - Lincoln wasn't the only target
Lincoln wasn't supposed to be the only person assassinated that night.
8 cards · 3 min - Why did Jesus need to be betrayed?
Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. But why did Jesus need to be betrayed in the first place?
8 cards · 3 min - Who decided which books got into the Bible?
Who actually decided which books got into the Bible?
8 cards · 3 min - Alexander the Great's missing tomb
Alexander the Great conquered one of the largest empires the world had ever seen by 32. Then he died, his empire collapsed, and eventually even his body disappeared.
8 cards · 3 min - Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc was a teenage peasant who said she heard voices from God. Somehow, within a few years, she was helping lead France to war.
8 cards · 3 min - Satan does not rule Hell
Satan does not rule Hell. In the Bible, Hell is actually part of his punishment.
8 cards · 3 min - Biblical creatures look nothing like paintings
The Bible describes creatures that look nothing like the angels you see in paintings.
8 cards · 3 min - Jesus's brothers and sisters
The Bible says Jesus had brothers and sisters. So who were they?
8 cards · 3 min - What happened to Pontius Pilate?
The man who sentenced Jesus to death basically disappears from the Bible immediately afterward. So what happened to Pontius Pilate?
8 cards · 3 min - The Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch describes fallen angels, giants and forbidden knowledge. So why isn't it in most Bibles?
8 cards · 3 min - What killed Alexander the Great?
Alexander the Great died at 32, and nobody can agree on what killed him.
8 cards · 3 min - Napoleon wasn't short
Napoleon wasn't actually short. So why does basically everyone think he was?
8 cards · 3 min - Joan of Arc's trial reversed
Joan of Arc was burned alive for heresy. Twenty-five years later, the Church basically admitted the trial was wrong.
8 cards · 3 min - Nero didn't fiddle while Rome burned
Nero probably didn't fiddle while Rome burned. For one thing, the violin wouldn't exist for another thousand years.
8 cards · 3 min - The emperor who converted
The Roman Empire spent centuries persecuting Christians. Then a Roman emperor converted, and everything changed.
8 cards · 3 min - Rasputin wouldn't die
Rasputin was poisoned, shot, beaten, thrown into a freezing river and somehow still wouldn't die. At least, that's the story.
8 cards · 3 min - Genghis Khan's hidden grave
Genghis Khan built the largest contiguous land empire in history. Then he made sure nobody could find his grave.
8 cards · 3 min - Jesus's lost years
There is an entire missing period of Jesus's life. The Bible basically jumps from him being 12 to him being around 30.
8 cards · 3 min - Where was the Garden of Eden?
The Garden of Eden supposedly had an address. Genesis actually gives us geographical clues about where it was.
8 cards · 3 min - Christians who said Jesus didn't suffer
There were early Christians who believed Jesus didn't actually suffer on the cross.
8 cards · 3 min - 666 and the Roman emperor
The number 666 wasn't invented as a random spooky number. It may have been a coded reference to an actual Roman emperor.
8 cards · 3 min - The Antichrist
The Antichrist in popular culture is not exactly the Antichrist described in the Bible.
8 cards · 3 min - The Ides of March
Julius Caesar was warned that something terrible would happen on the Ides of March. Then he walked into the Senate anyway.
9 cards · 4 min