Plant of the Month: Sunflower
With the invasion of Ukraine, it seemed like sunflowers suddenly appeared on the political landscape. Yet they’ve long held symbolic and economic value in Europe.
J. B. Jackson and the Ordinary American Landscape
Jackson’s creative mind analyzed the landscapes of everyday life to understand the modest worlds—present and past—of regular people.
Jean-François Champollion Deciphers the Rosetta Stone
On September 27, 1822, the French philologist announced that he’d decrypted the key that would unlock Egypt’s ancient past.
The Wright Brothers: Babysitters Extraordinaire
Wilbur and Orville Wright may not have been “first in flight,” but they were first in taking care of their nieces and nephews on the weekends.
September 1922: The Great Fire of Smyrna
A hundred years after the cosmopolitan city burnt to the ground, the truth about who started the fire and why remains a point of contention.
A Tale of Two Times: Edo Japan Encounters the European Clock
In country that followed a time-keeping system with variable hours, the fixed-hour clock of the Europeans had only symbolic value.
Temperance Melodrama on the Nineteenth-Century Stage
Produced by the master entertainer P. T. Barnum, a melodrama about the dangers of alcohol was the first show to run for a hundred performances in New York City.
Plant of the Month: Corpse Lily
The largest flower on the planet—a gigantic, pungent parasite—reveals deep genetic mysteries and unique conservation challenges.
Caroline Herschel Claims Her Comet
Couching her petition in a mix of modesty and expertise, Herschel became the first woman to have a scientific paper read to the Royal Society of London.
Keeping Time with Incense Clocks
As chronicled by Chinese poet Yu Jianwu, the use of fire and smoke for time measurement dates back to at least the sixth century CE.