John Quincy Adams

What Do Ex-Presidents Do? Ask John Quincy Adams.

Many are speculating about what former president Barack Obama will do in his retirement. Perhaps he will stay as politically involved as John Quincy Adams.
Harvard Observatory, 1899

How Women Finally Broke Into the Sciences

Women finally broke into the sciences in sex-segregated jobs in the years between 1880 and 1910.
Mercury against a black sky

Where in the Solar System is Vulcan?

A hypothetical Planet Vulcan was the best explanation for strange astrological phenomena—until Einstein, that is. 
alchemist

Inside the Alchemist’s Workshop

What tools would an alchemist use in the quest to transmute other elements into gold?
A concept illustration of three aligned planets

There May Be a Ninth Planet (And It’s Not Pluto)

Caltech astronomer Michael Brown has proposed the existence of a ninth planet, the existence of which would explain the strange orbits of six KBOs. 
Sperm whale

What Is Ambergris and Where Does It Come From?

Ambergris, a waxy-like substance found in perfumes, has a unique origin.
Workers are dwarfed by the 10-foot Cardiff Giant as they dig him out of his "grave" in Cardiff, N.Y., in this 1869 file photo. AP Photo/Farmers Museum, HO)

The Cardiff Giant: The Biggest Hoax of the 19th Century

The Cardiff Giant was the greatest hoax in an era of hoaxes.
"Albert Einstein 1947" by Photograph by Oren Jack Turner, Princeton, N.J. - The Library of Congress. Licensed under Public Domain via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_Einstein_1947.jpg#/media/File:Albert_Einstein_1947.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a>

Albert Einstein: Genius and Anti-racist

A look at Albert Einstein's passionate fight against racism.
Statue of Benjamin Silliman

The Soda Jerk and the Periodical

The history of scientific periodicals starts with Benjamin Silliman's upstart publication.
Bruce Holsinger

The Medieval Historical Figures Behind Bruce Holsinger’s Novels

Discover the real men Bruce Holsinger based his characters on.