Where Did All the Public Bathrooms Go?
Nineteenth-century Paris tackled public urination with ornate pissoirs. American reformers later turned toilets into a temperance cause.
Life Inside Icelandic Turf Houses
Grass roofs may look enchanting today, but living beneath them was another story.
A War on Street Music in NYC
In the New Deal era, New York City banned street musicians, classifying them as beggars. Some New Yorkers fought back.
The Bowling Alley: It’s a Woman’s World
Even when it was considered socially unacceptable, American women were knocking down pins on the local lanes.
Stonewall National Monument Declaration: Annotated
In June 2016, President Obama proclaimed the first LGBTQ+ national monument in the United States at the site of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City.
The Undying Unicorn
What role could a mythical animal play in our lives—centuries after its existence came into question?
Hocktide: A Medieval Fest of Flirtation and Finances
The springtime holiday of Hocktide not only allowed villagers to cross social boundaries in the name of fun, it helped them raise funds for nonsecular needs.
The Age of Wonder Meets the Age of Information
What can past eras of information overload teach students about critically consuming content in the present?
Call the Midwives—Assuming Any Are Left
While midwife-attended deliveries are the norm in the United Kingdom, they’re the exception in the United States. Time was, this difference wasn’t so stark.
Memphis: The Roots of Rock in the Land of the Mississippians
Rising on the lands of an ancient agricultural system, Memphis has a long history of negotiating social conflict and change while singing the blues.