An Untimely Death at Sycamore Gap
The outcry over the violent felling of a beloved tree in 2023 affirms the power trees hold in our cultural memory.
The Seventeenth-Century Space Race (for the Soul)
The astronomical discoveries of the 1600s—such as Saturn’s rings—prompted new questions about the structure of the cosmos and humans’ place in it.
The Fairytale Language of the Brothers Grimm
How the Brothers Grimm went hunting for fairytales, accidentally changed the course of historical linguistics, and kickstarted a new field of scholarship in folklore.
Personification Is Your Friend: The Language of Inanimate Objects
Studies have shown that anthropomorphizing not only helps us learn. It also serves a social function, helping us feel connected.
Linguistic Anarchy! It’s all Pun and Games Until Somebody Loses a Sign
The pun is in an interesting bind: it is both ubiquitous and reviled. We try to understand why.