Nebula

I ❤ Physics: A Love Story

I could not bring myself to accept string theory’s claim, often presented as a scientific fact, that there are exactly 11 dimensions.
Louis Prang Christmas

Christmas, Inc.: A Brief History of the Holiday Card

Americans still purchase approximately 1.6 billion holiday cards a year. What about this old-fashioned tradition appeals to so many?
Chinese Communist Party flag

Membership in the Communist Party of China: Who is Being Admitted and How?

The composition of the Communist Party of China has evolved considerably since the party was founded in 1921.
Tony Schwartz records a hippo in the Central Park Zoo. New York, NY

Tony Schwartz: An Ad Man’s Artistic Legacy

Tony Schwartz, ad man and urban folklorist's artistic legacy from his compilation of audio archive sounds that connected everyday life with the wider world.
Charles Hatfield, the rainmaker, checking some equipment. (Copyright Bettmann/Corbis / AP Images)

When San Diego Hired a Rainmaker a Century Ago, It Poured

After Charles Hatfield began his work to wring water from the skies, San Diego experienced its wettest period in recorded history.
Boston City Hospital operating theater, circa 1890, by A. H. Folsom (d. 1926) of Roxbury

Inside the Operating Theater: Early Surgery as Spectacle

Director Steven Soderbergh’s historical drama series, The Knick, brings viewers inside a New York City hospital’s operating room ...
Poster advertising Joice Heth

The Immortal Life of Joice Heth: How P. T. Barnum Used an Elderly Slave To Launch His Career

P. T. Barnum's career as a Kentucky show man began with his ownership and exploitation of African American slave Joice Heth.
Wooden Spoons

Why We Keep Our Utensils

They're more than just cooking tools.
Music act Neurosis performing live at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, New York, January 19, 2013 - (Copyright Tim Bugbee/The Hell Gate/Corbis / APImages)

Heavy Metal’s Classical Roots: Neurosis’ Symphony of Sludge

Relapse Records recently reissued Neurosis' famous "Times of Grace," and the album is a sadomasochistic symphony.
Only child

Not So Lonely: Busting the Myth of the Only Child

A burgeoning acceptance toward families with only one child is finally starting to creep into society at large, eliminating the mythical stereotype.