Did Venereal Disease Lead to Abolition?
Many abolitionists seeking to end slavery in the British West Indies were concerned less with human rights, more with the preponderance of what they saw as "interracial sex."
How to Create a Human Being
The Book of Stones, a central alchemical text, contained formulae with the power to create living tissue from ordinary matter, supposedly.
What Roe v. Wade Means for Internet Privacy
Roe v. Wade left Americans with the idea that privacy is something we can expect as citizens. But does the SCOTUS consider privacy a constitutional right?
How Ventriloquism Tricks the Brain
New research shows our brains place more weight on vision than hearing in identifying the source of a sound. But why?
The Medieval Castle That Pranked Its Visitors
At Hesdin, in France, the idyllic beauty of the grounds met the sadistic slapstick of the castle’s “engines of amusement.”
When “Foreigners” Were Blamed for a Baseball Scandal
In the early 20th century, baseball was a magnet for illegal gambling. But when the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series, Jews became the scapegoats.
When Salad Was Manly AF
Esquire, 1940: “Salads are really the man’s department... Only a man can make a perfect salad.”
The Unspeakable Linguistics of Camp
When gay and lesbian people had to invent their own languages with which to talk with each other, camp led the way.
Dark Matter in the Universe
According to current scientific theories, dark matter and dark energy make up most of the universe. But we don't even know what they actually are.
Was Mark Twain a Con Man?
A man named Samuel Clemens received funds from the radical abolitionist Boston Vigilance Committee in 1854. It may have been Mark Twain, pulling a prank.