Centuries before the computer, whimsical automata pushed the uncanny boundary between human and machine.

A new exhibit of silhouette artists surfaces Moses Williams, a former slave who created thousands of beautiful works of art but never got credit for them.

A patient was convinced that her runny nose indicated a deeper problem. She was right. Her case brought cerebrospinal fluid into the national spotlight.

During the Cold War, America's libraries helped patrons prepare for nuclear war, from stocking reference materials to providing fallout shelters.

Esquire, 1940: “Salads are really the man’s department... Only a man can make a perfect salad.”

When gay and lesbian people had to invent their own languages with which to talk with each other, camp led the way.

For the frontier women of the 19th century, the experience of childbirth was harrowing, and even just expressing fear was considered a privilege.

At the royal wedding, bishop Michael Curry delivered a rousing address, calling attention to the African American experience in the Anglican Church.

Well-researched stories from NBC News, Aeon, and other great publications that bridge the gap between news and scholarship.

According to current scientific theories, dark matter and dark energy make up most of the universe. But we don't even know what they actually are.