Well-researched stories from Quanta, Scientific American, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.

In early 20th-century New York, men accused of "ruining" women under eighteen could avoid prosecution by marrying them.

A wave of academic periodicals devoted to theory started appearing in the 1970s. Criticism wasn't far behind.

Men dominated the underground papers of the 1960s. Feminist journalists like Robin Morgan and Sheila Ryan called them on their sexism.

They were mocked for their obsession with movies. But the fan culture they constructed help build Hollywood.

A bottle of bitters from about 1918 had significant amounts of alcohol and lead—and not a trace of the supposed active ingredient.

In Victorian England, the circus appealed across an otherwise class-divided society, its audiences ranging from poor peddlers to prestigious public figures.

In a case study from Italy, researchers found that biodiverse soil had good economic results for farms.

The rise and fall of the iconic sandwich has paralleled changes in Americans' economic conditions.

The disgust response acts as a behavioral immune system, protecting us from disease, but produces strong reactions to perceived out-groups.