How Tree Ring Records Can Help Predict Droughts
Inside the trunks of trees lies a wealth of data on climate that goes back generations.
Discovering the “Gay Lifestyle” through 1970s Magazines
The gay men's magazines QQ and Ciao! were unabashedly liberated, but they still catered to an exclusive audience.
The Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestries Depict a “Virgin-Capture Legend”
They’re big in elementary school, but unicorn tableaux also have a complex iconographic history that combines religious and secular myths.
The Unicorns of JSTOR
These rare creatures have by turn—and somewhat paradoxically—been associated with purity, fertility, seduction, healing, sacrifice, immortality, and divinity.
Who Invented the “Mexican” Food of the United States?
The debate over what counts as authentic Mexican food may be moot when there are 7,000 Taco Bells around the world.
Monkey Chatter, Alcohol, and a Russian Treat
Well-researched stories from Atlas Obscura, The Guardian, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.
The Bayonet: What’s the Point?
According to one scholar, the military sees training in this obsolete weapon as helpful on the modern battlefield.
Library Fires Have Always Been Tragedies. Just Ask Galen.
When Rome burned in 192 CE, the city's vibrant community of scholars was devastated. The physician Galen described the scale of the loss.
Uplifting the Masses with Public Parks
Created in Victorian England, the earliest public parks were on a civilizing mission.
Community Cookbooks and the Women Who Wrote Them
Before "local" became a foodie obsession, small groups of women published collections of their own recipes. And still do!