Islands of the Imagination
A short history of islands as sites of political escape and reinvention, from the myth of Atlantis to modern seasteading.
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.
The First E-Sports? Chess by Telegraph
Telegraph cables let chess clubs stage matches across continents, linking players and spectators in a new kind of long-distance competition.
The Space Race’s Forgotten Theme Park
Preserved documents and photographs trace the rise and fall of an ambitious space-themed park born of 1960s Space Race optimism.
Souvenir Hunting on the Battlefield of Waterloo
At Waterloo, a site of immense bloodshed, tourists quickly turned the aftermath of war into collectibles.
The Surprising Imperial History of the Pekingese Dog
Upper-class British women in the early 1900s participated in a craze for Pekingese dogs, signalling the role of empire in their social identities.
Green Sickness, the Disease of Virgins
In the mid-seventeenth century, John Graunt, the “father of English statistics,” claimed dozens of young women in London died of green sickness every year.
The Bowling Alley: It’s a Woman’s World
Even when it was considered socially unacceptable, American women were knocking down pins on the local lanes.
Miners and Monkeys
There were compensations for the hardscrabble life of the Gold Rush—like monkeys and parrots brought to California for companionship and entertainment.
Christopher, the Dog-Headed Saint
Although the tradition has largely faded in the Western church, Saint Christopher sported a canine head through much of Christian history.