Message in a Button
A dive into the the University of Connecticut Pins and Button Collection gives a wearable history of progressive causes.
The Cabarets of Heaven and Hell
In 1890s Paris, cabarets in bohemian Montmartre gave visitors a chance to tour the afterlife.
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: A History in Pictures
In 1927, the parade replaced live animals with helium balloons designed by puppeteer Tony Sarg.
The Early History of Human Excreta
When humans stopped being nomadic, we could no longer walk away from our waste. We’ve been battling it ever since.
A Short History of the Public Restroom
How come it's so hard to go in sweet privacy when you're out and about?
The Evolution of the Mad Scientist
The crazed caricature of genius was largely inspired by now-debunked late-Victorian ideas about how species change.
Venus of the Sewers
The Roman sewer, the Cloaca Maxima, was presided over by a goddess whose shrine stood near the Forum.
William Dampier, Pirate Scientist
An oft-overlooked explorer who traversed the globe, driven by his thirst for scientific discovery—and a love of piracy.
The Mystery of the Mustard Family
An archaeological dig turned up eight bottles of mustard powder in one eighteenth-century homestead. Why the condiment love?