Miss Charmion, 1904

The “Trapeze Disrobing Act”

Strongwoman Charmion used Thomas Edison’s experiments with moving pictures to encourage women to embrace strength and physical activity.
A 1961 advertisement for Cutex lipstick

Lipstick’s Complex History

From antiquity to the present, the laws governing the wearing of lipstick have been shaped by gender, class, safety, and religion.
A selection of Akan Gold Weights

Gold Weights and Wind Scales in the Asante Empire

The ornamented tools used to ensure fair market transactions also conveyed the stories and values of the Akan peoples.
Bugs Bunny

Bugs Bunny Scholarship Is a Wascally Wesearch Wabbit Hole

In this edition of Research Rabbit Hole, we dig up scholarship about what one academic calls "the signifying rabbit."
The figure on the left represents Roger Tichborne as he appears in a photograph in 1854. The figure on the right represents Tichborne as he appeared at the trial.

Body Double

Long before the imposture of Anna Delvey, the Tichborne Claimaint swept a nation’s imagination.
Actress Bobby Bradshaw is tempted by a pearl necklace, 1925 Getty

Pearl Jam

In the twentieth century, the mollusk-produced gem was a must have for members of WASP gentility. In the twenty-first century, its appeal is far more inclusive.
Lightning rod hats fashion of circa 1778

Electrical Fashions

From the light-bulb dress to galvanic belts, electrified clothing offered a way to experience and conquer a mysterious and vigorous force.
Print shows men and women riding bicycles and tricycles to a fair, 1819

Celebrating the Bicycle

JSTOR Daily editors pick their favorite stories for National Bike Month.
Newcomb featured in Spalding's Red Cover series of athletic handbooks in 1914

Clara Gregory Baer and the “Lost” Sport of Newcomb Ball

The sport of Newcomb ball was created by Clara Gregory Baer two years before volleyball. Now forgotten, it's a good bet it lives on in the gyms and beach courts of today.
A duel between Charles de Lameth and the Marquis de Castries,November 12, 1790

A Slap, Followed by a Duel

Dueling was a dangerous, ritualized response to a real (or perceived) slight. It may also have been a means of proving one's social and economic capital.