Jessica Rotondi

1 week ago | history.com | Jessica Rotondi

By: Jessica Pearce Rotondi From the Aztec gardens to Versailles to the Qing Dynasty’s Yuanmingyuan, great empires planted vast gardens in a show of dominance. Published: May 05, 2025Last Updated: May 05, 2025Gardens have long been a symbol of great civilizations. Many religions envision paradise as a garden—in fact, the word “paradise” derives from an ancient Persian word for “walled garden.” Yet the origins of history’s most famous gardens are far from angelic.

2 months ago | history.com | Jessica Rotondi

Americans consume 7 billion chocolate chip cookies annually—and not just top seller Chips Ahoy! and its numerous packaged cookie competitors. Chocolate chip cookies also represent nearly half of all homemade cookies baked in the U.S. The comforting treat got its start during the Great Depression, when “cookies were a way of maintaining some normalcy while still being affordable,” says food historian Sarah Wassberg Johnson. Here’s how a single recipe captured the nation’s heart and palate.

Jan 16, 2025 | history.com | Jessica Rotondi

If tea was the drink that unofficially launched the American Revolution, then coffee—or “cups of Joe”—fueled the G.I. Joes of World War II. Every American soldier’s C-rations contained coffee. “Soldiers overseas craved a sense of normalcy,” says Sarah Wassberg Johnson, The Food Historian. “Having a hot, comforting beverage that brought pleasure was a big deal.” Coffee increased energy and alertness on the battlefield, improved morale and was even used by medics to help prevent shock.

Nov 19, 2024 | history.com | Jessica Rotondi

John F. Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963, sent shockwaves throughout the world. The 46-year-old president was riding in a Lincoln convertible in a motorcade through Dallas, Texas, next to his wife, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, when a bullet pierced Kennedy’s back and exited his neck. A second, fatal bullet ripped through his skull. The president was rushed from Dealey Plaza to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Sep 30, 2024 | history.com | Jessica Rotondi

Clothing made to support breasts has existed since ancient times. A Roman mosaic from the 4th century depicts women wearing bandeau-style bras called strophium. An Indian play from the same period mentions its heroine wearing something strikingly similar. “No one person invented the corset or the bra,” says , Director of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology.