The Militant Miners Who Exposed the Horrors of Black Lung
This grassroots movement brought occupational health to American labor, paving the way for the creation of OSHA.
Puritan True Crime
Cotton Mather and other 17th-century American writers created a genre all their own: Puritan gallows literature, which both terrified and edified.
The Magazine That Put Children in Their Place
Children's literature hasn't always been about whimsy. This early magazine sought to retrench the elite in the publishing and education industries.
From the Belly of a Goat to the Mouth of a King
Bezoars, a strange lump formed in the belly of a goat, once were considered a panacea, and worth more than their weight in gold.
Punishing Forgery with Death
In early nineteenth-century England, forging currency was considered to be such a subversive threat that it was punished with the death penalty.
How Insurance Companies Used Bad Science to Discriminate
In 1881, Prudential announced that insurance policies held by black adults would be worth one-third less than the same plans held by whites.
The Midterms That Changed America
In 1994, Republicans swept the midterms and Newt Gingrich became Speaker of the House. His “Contract with America” was both polarizing and transformative.
When a Woman Was “King”
Maria Theresa, the King of Hungary, ruled over the "accidental" Austro-Hungarian Empire, overseeing social, administrative, fiscal, and religious reforms.
Ectoplasm and the Last British Woman Tried for Witchcraft
Spiritualist medium Helen Duncan was photographed emitting ectoplasm, supposedly proof of her ability to contact the dead.