Still Life

Thanksgiving Is a Feast of Things Forgotten

Thanksgiving is a feast so complex and semiotically dense that things are very often forgotten and rarely go according to plan.
Bayeux Feast

Bringing Ancient Meals to Life

Recreating ancient meals--complete with 2500-year-old booze--is no easy feat.
Tang ad

There’s Class Inside That Glass of Tang

A scholar examines kitschy American foods as an entree into a conversation about class in the United States.
Julia Child's French home

Vacationing with Julia Child

Want to get away this summer? Come daydream with us to the kitchen of Julia Child, in the south of France...
Old photo of a couple at Niagra

How American Tourism Began

American tourism took the scenic route over the course of the twentieth century. A growing middle class and car ownership helped.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) shoots against Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the first half of Game 2 of basketball's NBA Finals in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, June 5, 2016. (Ezra Shaw, Getty Images via AP, Pool)

Curry v. James: Superstar Culture in the NBA

A casual viewer of the NBA finals might be led to believe the event is really a showdown between Stephen Curry and LeBron James.
Cubes of red jello on white background

How Jell-O Wobbled Its Way to Pop Culture Greatness

Jell-O reveals volumes about things that obsess, upset, and fuel Americans. 
Picture of Gunnery Camp, the first organized American summer camp, 1861

Summer Camp Has Always Been About Escaping Modern Life

The first summer camps presented themselves as an natural alternative to encroaching industrial society.
Playing go in the garden

Games of Artificial Intelligence

Chess and artificial intelligence have been matched almost since the beginning of AI research, but now there's a new game in town. 
Online Dating

Has Online Dating Resulted in More Successful Marriages?

In studying the demographics of online dating, researchers found that those who met online had a higher chance of staying together in their marriage.