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Demystified | Britannica
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Arts</a><a class="btn btn-xs shadow btn-outline-blue btn-sm-outline-none m-5" href="/stories/demystified/World-History">World History</a></div> <div class="m-n10 browse-large-carousel-overrides"> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 card-snap-slider col-100"> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex col-100"> <div class="grid browse-carousel-wrapper rw-track"> <div class="browse-carousel-slide mb-20"> <div class="grid"> <div class="col-25 p-0"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/who-was-the-first-woman-to-run-for-president-of-the-united-states" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/11/113311-131-8848D08B/Victoria-Woodhull-woman-suffrage-US-House-of-1871.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="The Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives receiving a deputation of female suffragists, January 11, 1871, a lady delegate (identified as Victoria Woodhull) reading her argument (cont'd)" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/story/who-was-the-first-woman-to-run-for-president-of-the-united-states" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">Who Was the First Woman to Run for President of the United States?</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Before women could vote, Victoria Woodhull ran for U.S. president. </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-25 p-0"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/who-votes-for-the-academy-awards" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/204689-131-F543F5D1/Alexandria-Egypt-reward-competitions-Bridesmaids-Competition-participation-September-12-2014.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Alexandria, Egypt - September 12, 2014 - Wedding Bridesmaids Competition, reward for Best Bridesmaids for participation in competitions. Prize for victory" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/story/who-votes-for-the-academy-awards" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">Who Votes for the Academy Awards?</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Find out who is in the exclusive Hollywood institution that presents... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-25 p-0"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/why-is-marijuana-illegal-in-the-us" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/38/205238-131-03DDFD5F/Close-up-marijuana-plant.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Close-up of marijuana plant growing outdoors" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/story/why-is-marijuana-illegal-in-the-us" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">Why Is Marijuana Illegal in the U.S.?</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Get the 411 on why 420 was outlawed in the U.S. </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-25 p-0"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/whats-the-difference-between-cane-sugar-and-beet-sugar" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/47/192347-131-62E67449/types-sugar-brown.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Various types of sugar. Organic compound. Glucose. Refined sugar, raw sugar, brown sugar, sugar cubes spoon wood" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/story/whats-the-difference-between-cane-sugar-and-beet-sugar" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">What’s the Difference Between Cane Sugar and Beet Sugar?</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Sugar is sugar, right? </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-25 p-0"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/is-body-language-universal" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/45/213945-131-86FBF710/Frowning-little-girl.-Angry-annoyed.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Frowning little girl. Angry annoyed" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/story/is-body-language-universal" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">Is Body Language Universal?</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> A thumbs-up in Japan doesn’t communicate the same message that... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-25 p-0"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/whats-a-hoosier" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/04/194404-050-D8E580AA/Indianapolis-Indiana-skyline-White-River.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Indianapolis skyline and White River during Autumn" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/story/whats-a-hoosier" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">What’s a Hoosier?</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Learn why people from Indiana are called Hoosiers. </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-25 p-0"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/why-is-elvis-called-the-king-of-rock-n-roll" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/31/233731-131-4ECD78CC/Elvis-Presley-television-show-Elvis-The-Comeback-Special-1968.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Elvis Presley performing on the television show "Elvis: The Comeback Special" (1968)." class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/story/why-is-elvis-called-the-king-of-rock-n-roll" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">Why Is Elvis Called “the King of Rock ’n’ Roll”?</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Discover how the renowned singer and performer earned the title... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-25 p-0"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/was-napoleon-short" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/21/212121-131-06D0C471/Napoleon-Crossing-Alps-Jacques-Louis-David-1800.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt=""Napoleon Crossing the Alps" oil on canvas by Jacques-Louis David, 1800; in the collection of Musee national du chateau de Malmaison." class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/story/was-napoleon-short" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">Was Napoleon Short?</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Find out if the most-known aspect of Napoleon’s legacy is really... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-25 p-0"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/was-bloody-mary-a-real-person" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/99/146799-131-DB873D13/Mary-England.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Mary I of England (1516-1558). Mary Tudor as a young woman, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, half-sis Elizabeth I. Became Queen Mary I of England (1553) known as Bloody Mary for persecution of Protestants. 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But is he just a legend... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-25 p-0"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/do-lie-detectors-actually-work" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/58/195958-131-9F60173C/Polygraph-Lie-Detector-Machine.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Polygraph Lie Detector Machine" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/story/do-lie-detectors-actually-work" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">Do Lie Detectors Actually Work?</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Are they catching liars or something else? </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-25 p-0"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/do-camels-store-water-in-their-humps" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/94/152294-131-DC3E25DB/Arabian-dromedary-camel.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Camel at Khor Rori, Oman; mammal." class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/story/do-camels-store-water-in-their-humps" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">Do Camels Store Water in Their Humps?</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Do camels really come with built-in canteens? </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="browse-carousel-slide mb-20"> <div class="grid"> <div class="col-25 p-0"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/why-do-some-people-call-football-soccer" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/51/190751-131-B431C216/soccer-ball-goal.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="soccer ball in the goal" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/story/why-do-some-people-call-football-soccer" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">Why Do Some People Call Football “Soccer”?</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> You play it with your feet, right? </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-25 p-0"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/whats-the-difference-between-sweet-potatoes-and-yams" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/36/188936-131-85F598EA/Yams-sweet-potato-root-vegetables.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Yams and sweet potato, root vegetables" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/story/whats-the-difference-between-sweet-potatoes-and-yams" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">What’s the Difference Between Sweet Potatoes and Yams?</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> What’s that you’re eating? </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-25 p-0"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/how-are-sports-chosen-for-the-olympics" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/47/190947-131-FCF3F960/Olympic-torch-illustration-sports-summer-games.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Olympic torch illustration surrounded by sports in the summer games" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="/story/how-are-sports-chosen-for-the-olympics" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">How Are Sports Chosen for the Olympics?</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> The ins and outs of what’s in and what’s out. </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="col-25 p-0"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex col-100 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="/story/did-marie-antoinette-really-say-let-them-eat-cake" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/28/188528-131-D58974EF/Marie-Antoinette-Louis-XVI-unrest-monarchy-overthrow-France-August-1792.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Portrait of Marie Antoinette by Jean-Francois Janinet, 1777. 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