Click here and here to read the fascinating, sad, true story about integration, jazz and the arrest of Ella Fitzgerald.

Do you think that things were better in the fifties? Do you feel that now, we're living in an immoral, STD-riddled age where people are rude to each other? Then you may have written an editorial for The Washington Times.

Archeologists have discovered evidence of a 4,200-year-old henge. It consisted of 24 massive timber obelisks, almost the same size as the standing stones at Stonehenge, and was located just 900 meters to the north-west of the site.

A penis-shaped object has been found in Sweden that some archeologists believe might been a Stone Age dildo. However, there is a chance it's an oddly-formed carving tool. Measuring just 4 inches, we sort of hope it's the latter.

Historians have begun to suspect that Botticelli's Venus and Mars were not in the throes of passion, but instead high on Datura stramonium (shown bottom right corner), a plant that makes you feel like stripping down and going nuts. [Telegraph]

Reminding us that tattooed women are nothing new is this great article from Bizarre Magazine on painted ladies circus acts. Our favorite? Bro-slappin' Annie Howard, who was arrested for hitting a dude who dared question her tats. More: [BizarreMag]

The Onion's list of ways the Pill changed women's lives includes gems like "women are now able to learn math" and "heralds the start of all '60s montages." But what about the all-important period control?

Kanye West has posted pages from a vintage book — published in 1900 — on his website. The story is called Ten Little Nigger Girls.

Using the memoir of the Goebbels family governess, Emma Craigie retells the finals days in Hitler's bunker - from 12-year-old Helga's POV. Helga was sensitive, spirited, and suspicious, but she also holds the unfortunate title: "Hitler's favorite little girl." [Telegraph]

Is there anything more American than a Thin Mint? Or more delicious than a Tagalong? Get schooled in the history of the Girl Scout Cookie with this quick slide show. And then celebrate with a box - or three. [TheBigMoney]

Opium! Lurid pulp fiction! Rags to riches and a schoolgirl crush on Thoreau! According to a new film, Louisa May Alcott's life was a lot more interesting — and a lot more depressing — than Little Women.

TMZ has unearthed a photograph which supposedly shows JFK living large on a boat with several naked women. According to experts, it was most likely taken during Kennedy's Mediterranean vacation in August, 1956, not long before the election. [TMZ]

• French experts believe Diane de Poitiers, mistress of 16th-century king, Henry II, was killed by her desire to stay youthful. Forensic experts found evidence of chronic gold intoxication - meaning she probably drank gold in attempts to stay pretty.

"A valuable commodity with seemingly endless uses, the woman has played a crucial role throughout human history...disobedience on the part of women was not taken lightly; physical punishments and restrictive harnesses were often employed to curb any independent behavior." [TheOnion]

A new book explores the ancient city of Cahokia, which lay along the Mississippi. Along with elaborate infrastructure, archeologists have uncovered evidence of large-scale human sacrifice, including two prominent men surrounded by the sacrificed corpses of 53 "lower-status women." [Salon]

A Girl Scout troop from Louisiana took a day trip to listen in on Sotomayor's confirmation hearing, financed by the sales of their famous cookies. "This is history," said troop leader Virginia Castle. "We are sitting in on history." [DoubleX]

Whatever the outcome of the 2008 election, we can all still honor the fact that we are allowed to vote in the first place! On June 4th, 1919, Congress approved the women's suffrage amendment, and sent it to the states for ratification. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony had been working explicitly since 1869…

What is it about Converse shoes everyone always has to fetishize? America is asking itself on the hundredth anniversary of the company, which is not actually a company but a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nike Inc., not that you care, because you understand; these things happen. As Hank Stuever says: "It is not an angry…

Charlie Wilson's War, which opened on Friday, is a movie I think everyone should see. Not because Julia Roberts delivers a shoddy Texas accent or because Philip Seymour Hoffman steals every scene he's in or because Tom Hanks is the lead and Americans love Tom Hanks even more than deep-fried crucifix-shaped guns. But…

A few months back a curious thing happened to a big luxury brand executive: she began questioning what the crap the point of all those logos was. So she quit her job at Yves St. Laurent and got a new job working someplace slightly less offensive so she could go all existential in today's Huffington Post: