1700, Craftsmen in the building industry, including timber felling, stonemasonry and roofing.

When Being an Unemployed Teenager was a Crime

Seventeenth-century teenagers faced criminalization for refusing to take on jobs as live-in farm workers, but many pursued their interests despite the threat.
Burial mound in Moundsville, West Virginia

Native Origin Stories As Tools of Conquest

In the nineteenth century, the Euro-American “Lost Tribes of Israel” theory was one of the most popular explanations for the existence of Indigenous peoples.
From the cover of American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, 2006

The Caricature Who Couldn’t Appear on American Born Chinese

The television adaptation of Gene Luen Yang's graphic novel called for significant changes to the character of Chin-Kee.
An Illustration from Leila; or, The Island

What if Robinson Crusoe was a Girl?

In nineteenth-century England, stranding a (fictitious) girl on an island made a good argument for imperialism.
soldier using tablet computer hands closeup pnk background pixelated neural network concept

As Militaries Adopt AI, Hype Becomes a Weapon

Few things provoke quite the same amount of anxiety as the effect AI could have on warfare.
Circa 1565, Native Americans cure meat for the coming winter.

Spanish Colonists were Desperate for European Food

Spanish colonists in the Americas were terrified that their essential humors would change if they ate local food.
Ralph Kerwineo, 1914

Introducing Ralphero Kerwineo

He just wanted to live an honest life.
The BADGER explosion on April 18, 1953, as part of Operation Upshot-Knothole, at the Nevada Test Site.

How Strong of a Nuclear Bomb Could Humans Make?

The biggest nuclear blast in history came courtesy of Tsar Bomba. We could make something at least 100 times more powerful.
A pedestrian uses the press-button system in order to cross the road in Croydon, London, 1932

Look Both Ways

With the arrival of the automobile, governments had to scramble to find ways to protect and control pedestrian use of the road.
From the cover of the 1977 paperback release of Bear by Marian Engel.

Canada’s Most Controversial Novel

Marian Engel's 1976 novel Bear is famous for its embrace of bestiality, but it also offers a commentary on humans' relationship with the natural world.