On this day: December 31

Ted Bundy’s Midnight Escape

The Houdini of Serial Killers While awaiting trial in a Colorado jail, Ted Bundy pulled off his most audacious escape.

Freedom’s Eve: The First "Watch Night"

Waiting for the Stroke of Midnight On December 31, 1862, enslaved and free African Americans gathered in churches and private homes for what became known as "Watch Night."

A Dinner Party Inside a Dinosaur

The Victorian Height of Eccentricity To celebrate the completion of the world’s first life-sized dinosaur sculptures at the Crystal Palace, sculptor Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins hosted a surreal banquet.