Ada Blackjack

Ada Blackjack’s Secret Weapon

Memories of her son helped Blackjack to become the sole survivor of an ill-fated expedition to Wrangel Island.
Delhi Durbar of 1903

The Delhi Durbars

Elaborate demonstrations of British royal ceremony fused with Indian tradition, these assemblies were meant to assert political dominance over Indian subjects.
the god Thor dressed up as Freyja, with artificial breasts, a necklace (Brísingamen) and a keychain. Loki, also dressed as a woman, is fixing up Thor's headgear.

That Time Thor and Loki Cross-Dressed

Why the Old Norse gods disguised themselves as a bride and bridesmaid before visiting Thrymr, king of Jötunheima.
A line of five Asian American dancers, each wearing a tutu, kicking out their left legs as they perform the can-can at the Forbidden City nightclub in San Francisco, California, circa 1945.

Americanism, Exoticism, and the “Chop Suey” Circuit

Asian American artists who performed for primarily white audiences in the 1930s and ’40s both challenged and solidified racial boundaries in the United States.
A Ship in a Rough Sea by Cornelisz Verbeecq, 1620s

Earthsickness At Sea

Early European circumnavigators thought that their long absence from land during sea voyages made them sick. (Spoiler alert: it was scurvy.)
two tyrannosaurus rex fighting on a yellow colored background

Five Things You Probably Have Wrong about the T. rex

How well do you really know Tyrannosaurus rex, the so-called Tyrant Lizard King?
A collection of iron nails found in association with Roman material from between 50 and 400 CE.

Recycling… In Fifth-Century Britain

Once the Roman Empire crashed, so too did metal production in Britain. Luckily, scavenged metal could be reforged or used as is (because they needed spoons).
Soviet political leader Joseph Stalin (1879 - 1953) at work in his office, with a portrait of Karl Marx hanging on the wall over his head, April 1932.

Getting Pickled With Joseph Stalin

The Soviet dictator was notorious for hosting drinking parties where vodka loosened the inhibitions of associates and got them to reveal their secrets.
Asia Poppers, who portrays colonist Tryphosa Tracy, prepares fritters in her one-room house November 25, 2003 at Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The Countercultural History of Living Museums

In the 1960s and ’70s, guides began wearing period costumes and farming with historical techniques, a change that coincided with the back-to-the-land movement.
Timorebestia

Monster Worms, Modern Sufis, and the Origins of Life

Well-researched stories from Vox, The Conversation, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.