A toddler tea party in a play house

A Sense of Place for Toddlers

Young children have a unique sense of the world that can be difficult for grown-up architects to grasp.
Brothel by Joachim Beuckelaer, 1562

Regulating Sex Work in Medieval Europe

When sex work was considered a "necessary evil," legal brothels provided certain protections for the women who worked there.
A headstone featuring clasped hands

The Cemetery Symbol of Eternal Love

Why did Victorian-era gravestones include so many images of clasped hands?
A love potion against a colorful background

What’s in a Love Potion?

Besides the infamous Number Nine, that is.
A couple sitting on a bench and talking

How Does Couples Therapy Work?

Since the 1980s, more and more couples have sought therapy. Why is it so helpful to have that third person in the room?
Signing the marriage contract by George Sheridan Knowles, 1905

Why Covenant Marriage Failed to Take Off

Three states have legalized covenant marriage, which makes divorce difficult. Why didn't it stick among communities preoccupied with family values?
Pope Formosus and Stephen VI by Jean Paul Laurens, 1870

The Cadaver Synod: Putting a Dead Pope on Trial

Why did Pope Stephen VI go to such great lengths to destroy an enemy who was already dead?
Two children playing in the snow

The Snow Day as Modern Festival

An unexpected day off work and school can take on the trappings of a religious ritual.
From a 1935 ad for Cutex nail polish and lipstick

Cutex Hooked Americans on Manicures

How a company that started off selling cuticle remover convinced American woman to paint their nails.
Poster shows Uncle Sam playing a fife, leading a group of children carrying gardening tools and a seed bag.

The First School Gardens

In the early 1900s, immigration and child labor laws resulted in growing numbers of schoolchildren. Gardens were seen as a way to keep them under control.