JSTOR Daily Suggested Readings

Suggested Readings: Human Origins, a Rat Disaster, and the Confederate Flag

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.
Danish Expedition

The Fantastic Disaster of the Arabia Felix Expedition

The Danish expedition to the Arabian Peninsula of 1761-1767 was a bungle of mismatched egos and wretched conditions. There was only a single survivor.
Young Egyptian protesters

Could Youth Unemployment in the Middle East Be Dangerous?

Nearly half the population in the Middle East is under 25 years old, and their unemployment rate hovers at a staggering 30%.
Godey's Lady's Book

The Women’s Magazine That Tried to Stop the Civil War

Godey’s Lady’s Book, one of the most influential American publications of the nineteenth century, tried to halt the Civil War.
Bigfoot signage

How Consumerism Created Bigfoot

People have long told stories about wildmen, creatures who straddled the line between human and animal. But Bigfoot himself first appeared in the 1950s.
Everest basecamp

Mountain of Trash: Everest’s Environmental Disaster

We often picture the Himalayas as pristine. In reality, Everest's snows cover empty oxygen tanks, wrappers, cans, and an array of debris left behind by climbers.
Canadian Flag

How Canada Learned From the U.S.A.’s Mistakes

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Canada as a nation. They that took as their model of democracy lessons from both Britain and the US.
Condoms

A Short History of the Condom

Dating back to at least medieval times, the condom has taken a winding path to social acceptance.
Fallingwater

Frank Lloyd Wright at 150

Frank Lloyd Wright remains the most famous American architect even though he was born just two years after the end of the Civil War.
Lichtenstein Crying Woman

What Really Made 1950s Housewives So Miserable

Where did the image of the quietly desperate stay-at-home mother come from?