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Black and white headshot of author Matthew Wills

Matthew Wills

Matthew Wills has advanced degrees in library science and film studies and is lapsed in both fields. He has published in Poetry, Huffington Post, and Nature Conservancy Magazine, among other places, and blogs regularly about urban natural history at matthewwills.com.

Backgammon game in progress

The Erotics of Backgammon

James E. Doan reveals the sexual innuendoes and double-entendres based on Backgammon.
Sketched concentric circles on a textured cream background

The Solar Origins of Dendrochronology

Historian George E. Webb recounts the intertwined relationship between solar physics and dendrochronology
Preserved corpse of Jeremy Bentham in a glass cabinet

No Foolin’: Jeremy Bentham’s Auto-Icon

There is a curious display in a glass-fronted cabinet at University College London. It's Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) .
Outhouse in the forest

Privies: Vaults of the Past

Privies were the standard urban and rural toilet right into the 20th century in the U.S.
A gloved hand reaches out for a falcon

F is for Falconry

Since so few do falconry in the U.S. today, and hawking hasn't made it to the wide world of TV sports, some background is probably in order here.
W.E.B. DuBois

W. E. B. Du Bois Sets The Stage

A brief communication is revealing window into the life of thinker W. E. B. Du Bois.
"Bundesarchiv Bild 102-00652, Richard Loeb und Nathan Leopold" by Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-00652 / CC-BY-SA. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 de via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-00652,_Richard_Loeb_und_Nathan_Leopold.jpg#/media/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-00652,_Richard_Loeb_und_Nathan_Leopold.jpg

Leopold and Loeb, Again

The defense in the trail of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for the Boston Marathon bombing is using Clarence Darrow's strategy in the Leopold and Loeb trial of 1924.
Landscape view of San Gimignano

San Gimignano’s Fascist Redesign

The politically-influenced redesign of the famed towers of San Gimigano.
Senate Building in Washington, D.C.

The Logan Act

An old American Law, The Logan Act, has suddenly been thrust into the news.
Archaeologist tools at the base of a stone

Digging into Paleoindian History

Readings on the Paleoindian period.
A pinned map indicating Kaliningrad

Kaliningrad for Beginners

An introduction to the Kaliningrad Oblast, surrounded by Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea.
Black and white illustration of a chained elephant, titled Uganda, giving a side glance to the explorer and colonizer who are discussing it

The Original White Elephant

The unsettling story of Barnum's White Elephant.
Older black and white drawing of the presentation of the Magna Carta

Magna Carta at 800

The Magna Carta's 800th birthday is this year.
Horseshoe Crab

Horseshoe Crabs: Humans’ Surprising Health Ally

It turns out that Atlantic horseshoe crabs are vital to our health.
Close-up of the Vietnam Memorial

The Vietnam War: 50 Years (and More) Later

The fiftieth anniversary of the Vietnam War is somewhat misleading: The US had been involved in Vietnam for well over a decade already by 1965
Bank in Switzerland

The Origins of Secret Swiss Bank Accounts

The uncovering the mystery and dispelling the myths of Swiss Bank Accounts
Globe showing area referred to as the Middle East

Making the Middle East

Two scholarly perspectives on the making of the Middle East.
A shiver of swimming in a circle

Eugenie Clark 1922-2015

Eugenie Clark, the oceanographer known as the "shark lady" has died at 92.
Construction site

Radiocarbon Dating at 75

Carbon-14, or radiocarbon, was discovered 75 years ago by Martin Kamen and Sam Rubin at the UC-Berkely Radiation Lab
An eagle feeds its offspring

Bald Eagles Are Back From the Brink

Bald eagles are back from the brink of extinction.
Academy Award statue

And the Academy Award Goes to…

The American motion picture industry honors itself every year with the Academy Awards, now known officially as "The Oscars."
A feral cat

The Environmental Danger of Outdoor Cats

Outdoor cats are an environmental disaster.
A stamp commemorating the Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Recording History: The Lincoln-Douglas Debates

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858 are a touchstone of American history.
Construction paper, scissors, a pen, and cut out hearts; everything necessary for homemade Valentine's day cards

The Origins of St. Valentine’s Day

The complicated origins of St. Valentine's Day.