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.
Prince Edward County School (AP Photo/Henry Burroughs)

When a Memoir Tells Half the Story: Prince Edward County and School Desegregation

Kristen Green's memoir Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County neglects the broader significance of the county's school desegregation crisis.
Khirbet Khizeh Courtesy of Delcan & Company

1949 Israeli novel Khirbet Khizeh reissued by FSG

Israeli writer S. Yizhar’s 1949 novella Khirbet Khizeh, first published in English in 2008 and recently reissued in English by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Pilot flying an airplane enjoying the view.

The Poetry Up There: An Interview With Skyfaring Author and Pilot Mark Vanhoenacker

Mark Vanhoenacker, pilot and onetime PhD candidate in East African history speaks about Skyfaring, his debut book about aviation.
Bodcaw Bank

Are Regulations Killing the Small Community Bank in America?

Will regulations aimed at large, investment-oriented banks kill the "It’s a Wonderful Life" promise of the American community bank?