The Magical Furniture of David Roentgen
Cabinetmaker to Marie Antoinette, Roentgen designed “surprise furniture,” bureaus and desks that appeared to magically transform at the push of a button.
The Enduring Drive-In Theater
Even as televisions spread across the American landscape, the drive-in movie theater grew in popularity in the years following World War II.
Brunei: A Tale of Soil and Oil
With an economy based almost exclusively on the oil industry, Brunei offers its citizens a high standard of living—but it comes with limitations.
Legal Personhood: Extending Rights to Nature?
The idea of awarding legal personhood to nature has received renewed attention in the contemporary environmental justice movement, but much contention remains.
Building the Olympic Games
A close connection between architecture, athletics, and the urban fabric is central to the idea of the modern Olympic Games.
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.
Burlesque Beginnings
From its nineteenth-century origins, burlesque developed into a self-aware performance art that celebrates the female form and challenges social norms.
Wooden Kings and Winds of Change in Tonga
The island nation of Tonga is home to the last Polynesian monarchy.
Nellie Bly Experiences It All
One of the first female investigative reporters, Nellie Bly shone a light on the plight of American women by facing the world head on.
The Race to Be the Tallest Building in the World
Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah Tower is poised to become the world’s tallest building. What’s behind the century-plus drive to build ever taller skyscrapers?