Well-researched stories from around the web that bridge the gap between news and scholarship. Brought to you each Tuesday from the editors of JSTOR Daily.

This week in sustainability news: rats v. kiwis, radiation links in midcentury Soviet Union, and an American town with no running water.

Popcorn is probably one of the oldest uses of the domesticated Mexican grass called teosinte, which has been cultivated as maiz for thousands of years.

One historian reconstructs what nighttime was like in early modern Europe, and how the darkness affected people's sleep patterns.

On the 75th anniversary of the premier of Casablanca, let's revisit the art and politics of this venerable American classic.

In the 18th century, whether a person drank punch or tea revealed a lot about gender, stereotypes, sociability, and domesticity.

Postmodernist painter and printmaker Emma Amos makes artwork that references historical figures as well as her family legacy.

Alfred M. Butts first created a word game called Lexico (or Lexiko) for his family in 1931. His business partner renamed it Scrabble.

First Nations' seashell-derived wampum was Massachusetts' first legal currency, used as currency throughout northeastern America into the 19th century.

The cookbooks of the communes of the 1960s and 1970s share the recipes and politics of the era, and still speak to us today about what we eat and why.