Greek Physician by Warja Honegger-Lavater, from authentic costume reproductions in the University of Rome's Institute of Medical History, 1962

Why Ancient Doctors Prescribed Disgusting Remedies

Greek and Roman physicians used bodily waste to treat illness. The disgust it inspired may have been part of the appeal.
A selection of phone book covers from Southwestern University's Georgetown Directories collection

How the Phone Book Taught America to Ask for Answers

A collection of Texas directories from 1913 to 1959 shows how phone books—and the people who used them—helped invent “information” as we know it.
The seal for the London Necropolis Railway over an image of the railway station of the London Necropolis Company, at Waterloo.

London’s Railway for the Dead

As London's graveyards overflowed, a private company proposed a remarkable new way to bury the dead.
Cast iron and slate urinal with three stalls raised modesty screen, mounted with lamppost and lantern. Boy standing nearby beside lamppost, face blurred by movement. Avenue du Maine, Paris, France.

Where Did All the Public Bathrooms Go?

Nineteenth-century Paris tackled public urination with ornate pissoirs. American reformers later turned toilets into a temperance cause.
Illustration from a WWII anti-rumor poster. The text below this illustration reads "Keep mum, she's not so dumb! Careless talk costs lives."

The Long History of Sexpionage

How honey traps evolved from human seduction to digital deception in the changing world of espionage.
Miss May Hibbert displays two of her musquash or muskrats at Mears Ghyll Fur Farm in Caton, England

The Rise and Fall of Britain’s Muskrat Empire

A fur-farming experiment unleashed a prolific rodent—and sparked one of the rare successful eradications of an invasive species.
An engraving depicting visitors admiring a group of African mammals, taxidermied exhibits at Bullock's Museum, in Piccadilly, London, England, circa 1815.

Empire on Display: The Rise of Taxidermy

New preservation methods transformed animal remains into persuasive displays that circulated widely in museums and popular culture.
Illustration from a woman standing on a soapbox speaking into a microphone, 1944

The Golden Age of the American Soapbox

Across the country, impromptu speakers drew crowds and arrests alike, turning public oratory into a defining feature of civic life.
Terror Antiquus by L.Bakst, 1908

Islands of the Imagination

A short history of islands as sites of political escape and reinvention, from the myth of Atlantis to modern seasteading.
An illustration of a giant squid, 1887

How a Giant Squid Attack Became an Urban Legend

A WWII survivor’s account shifted over decades, turning a murky sea encounter into a widely repeated legend.