How the Maya Kept Time
Many scholars contrast linear and cyclical time and note that cycles were an important part of Maya concepts of temporal reality.
How “Termites of the Sea” Have Shaped Maritime Technology
These small marine pests have been eating our ships for millennia, forcing us to keep building better boats throughout history.
Food and Culture
Food is complicated. That creation you love from The Great British Baking Show? It's been the subject of arguments over culture, identity, and copyright.
Holiday Supply Chain Issues of Ancient Rome
Hey, at least we’re not trying to track down frankincense and myrrh.
Charity Scams of Yore
Between the 1850s and 1940s, a charity scam worked a collection circuit of Evangelical Christians in least five hundred towns across eighty countries.
In History, The Past is the Present is the Future
If the past is so all terribly bad, then aren’t we lucky in the present?
Whatever Happened to Airships?
In moving away from fossil fuels, some in aviation are thinking of bringing back helium-assisted flight.
Reclaiming Rice in Taiwan
After World War II, the US ramped up international food aid, both as a Cold War strategy and as a way to distribute surplus products.
In Rome, Mourning Clothes as Political Resistance
In Ancient Rome, swapping one’s regular toga for the dirty, drab robes associated with mourning could request mercy, or communicate resistance.
Dogs in the Trenches of World War I
While the history of pigeons and horses in the military is widely known, canines have gotten less attention.