The Pirate-y Life of Ferdinand Magellan
Magellan’s voyage in search of the “Spice Islands” was marked by storms, sharks, and scurvy—plus multiple attempts at mutiny.
The Metamorphosis of a 17th-Century Insect Artist
Maria Sibylla Merian's work in the natural sciences was overlooked for centuries. Now a rare butterfly has been named in her honor.
Why Do Americans Eat Three Meals a Day?
A Curious Reader asks: What’s the origin of the familiar breakfast-lunch-dinner triad?
When Salad Was Manly AF
Esquire, 1940: “Salads are really the man’s department... Only a man can make a perfect salad.”
Why Americans Love Diets
On a diet or cleanse in the new year? You're continuing in the very American tradition of self-perfection.
5 Great Recipes from JSTOR
‘Tis the season for feasting and family traditions. And around here, that means digging into JSTOR’s digital library. ...
What Hippie Commune Cookbooks Reveal About Communal Living
The cookbooks of the communes of the 1960s and 1970s share the recipes and politics of the era, and still speak to us today about what we eat and why.
Are Our Environmental Policies Making Us Broke, Hungry, and Infertile?
Forestry wages fall, hunger is increases, and infertility may be growing because pesticide residue clings to food. Time to overhaul environmental policy?
The War on White Bread
In 1890, women baked more than 80 percent of the nation’s bread at home, and it was brown, non-standardized stuff. When did it become white?
England’s Forgotten Favorite Drink
Thanks to botanical artists, 19th century paintings of perry pears are helping to bring England's forgotten bubbly back to our glasses.