England’s Obsession with Queen Victoria’s Wedding Cake
Queen Victoria's wedding, and its spectacular cake, caused a frenzy.
How Rotten Tomatoes Changed the Film Industry
In 2008, a panel of film critics gathered to talk about the future of film reviewing as a profession in the age of the internet.
What This 19th-Century Poet Knew About the Future
The Anthropocene requires a new history to explain how humans transform the planet. The work of poet John Clare is a good place to start.
When Gardens Replaced Children
Historian Robin Veder explains that the way we associate female nurturing with gardens goes back to the way ideas about gender and work changed in the mid-nineteenth century.
What Is a Bubble?
Tulip bulbs. Housing. Bitcoin? In every bubble, the value of something is based more on peoples' esteem of it, rather than intrinsic worth.
A Different Kind of Public Health Message
Researchers have found that Americans experience radically different health outcomes depending on their race and socioeconomic status.
Treadmills Were Meant to Be Atonement Machines
America’s favorite piece of workout equipment was developed as a device for forced labor in British prisons. It was banned as cruel and inhumane by 1900.
The Fairytale Language of the Brothers Grimm
How the Brothers Grimm went hunting for fairytales, accidentally changed the course of historical linguistics, and kickstarted a new field of scholarship in folklore.
The Complicated Reality of “Sex Trafficking”
Anthropologist Jennifer Musto looked at how the rise in concern about sex trafficking, particularly in regard to the domestic trafficking of underage girls, actually plays out in policing.
These Lizard-Dolphin Creatures Ruled the Seas for 150 Million Years
Ichthyosaurs gave birth to live offspring, had huge eyes and lived all over the world.