🕰️ Weekend Editions – Raw, unfiltered stories that don’t make it to the weekday feed
⏰ 7AM Early Drops – Get the daily email hours before everyone else
🔐 Monthly Deep Dives – Weirder, wilder, and MUCH longer history + conspiracy breakdowns
🗳️ Power to Choose – Vote on topics and request what deep dive we dig into

On August 6, 1675, Tsar Alexis I of Russia made a surprising announcement that would change how his nobles looked. The Tsar issued a decree that banned his courtiers from cutting their hair and wearing foreign clothes. This wasn't just about fashion - it was about keeping Russia separate from Western Europe.

The decree was very specific. Courtiers were forbidden to adopt foreign, German, and other customs, cut their hair, or wear robes and hats designed in foreign styles. Even their servants couldn't dress this way. The Tsar wanted to make sure that Russians looked different from Western Europeans, especially Germans and Poles.

This rule came at a time when foreign influence was growing in Russia. Many young nobles had started copying Western fashions, cutting their beards, and wearing European-style clothes. The Orthodox Church also supported keeping traditional Russian appearance, believing that beards reflected a man's piety and connection to God.

The ban showed how much Russia wanted to stay separate from Western culture. However, this wouldn't last forever. Tsar Alexis's son, Peter the Great, would later do the exact opposite - forcing Russians to shave their beards and dress like Europeans. But in 1675, traditional Russian appearance was still the law of the land..

On August 6, 1945, at exactly 8:15 AM, an American B-29 bomber called the Enola Gay dropped the world's first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The bomb was nicknamed "Little Boy" and carried the explosive power of 15,000 tons of TNT. This moment changed warfare forever.

The bomb exploded in a blinding flash of light above the city center. Around 70,000 to 80,000 people died instantly in the blast and the fires that followed. The explosion was so powerful that it destroyed nearly every building within a mile of where the bomb hit. A massive mushroom cloud rose high into the sky, visible for miles.

At the time of the attack, approximately 340,000 people lived in Hiroshima. The city included both civilians and about 43,000 soldiers. Those who survived the initial blast faced terrible injuries from burns and radiation. Many more people died in the weeks and months that followed from radiation sickness - something doctors had never seen before.

This was the first time an atomic weapon had ever been used in war. Three days later, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. On August 15, 1945, Japan announced its surrender, ending World War II. The bombing of Hiroshima remains one of the most significant and controversial moments in human history.

The Last Wooly Mammoth🦣
The last mammoth died only 4,000 years ago on Wrangel Island, well after the pyramids were built. While most mammoths went extinct around 10,000 years ago, an isolated population survived on this Arctic island until about 2000 BCE - meaning they were still alive when Stonehenge was being constructed, overlapping with early human civilizations.

The Smell of Rain🌧️
The smell of rain has a name: petrichor, from Greek words meaning "stone" and "fluid of the gods." This distinctive earthy scent comes from oils secreted by plants during dry periods, and released into the air when it rains, along with geosmin produced by soil bacteria. The combination creates rain's universally recognizable fragrance.

Sea Otter Raft🦦
Sea otters hold hands while sleeping to prevent drifting apart. They form "rafts" by linking paws while floating on their backs, ensuring they stay together as a group and don't get separated by ocean currents while resting. This adorable behavior serves the practical purpose of maintaining family units and social bonds in open water.

Finlands Metal Addiction🎸
Finland has the most metal bands per capita of any country worldwide. With over 630 metal bands per 100,000 people, Finland absolutely dominates the global metal scene, producing more heavy metal musicians per person than anywhere else on Earth. This Nordic nation's exceptional output has made it the undisputed heavyweight champion of heavy metal music production globally.

If you enjoy this edition of Today In History be sure to send it to a friend and force them to sign up because that’s what good friends do. Until next time, stay curious, question everything, and keep uncovering the mysteries of the past.