How IBM Took Europe
After World War II, IBM worked to influence the new balance of power by locating facilities for the production of its electric typewriter across Europe.
How Native Americans Guarded Their Societies Against Tyranny
Many Native American communities were consensus democracies that survived for generations because of careful attention to checking and balancing power.
Sting! (Don’t Stand So Close to the Tarantula Hawk)
Tarantula hawk wasps offer some of the most painful stings known to humans, giving them almost absolute protection from vertebrate predators.
Legionnaires’ Disease, an Illness of Affluence
Legionnaires’ is the first communicable disease of modern wealth, thriving in the interstitial spaces of our built environment.
How Al Capone Made Greyhound Racing Great
In the 1920s, Chicago became the greyhound racing capital of the country, thanks in part to the power of mobsters like Capone, who was a big fan.
Luddites on Trial
In 1812, a burst of anti-Luddite panic law-making in Great Britain added to an already confusing series of statutes that addressed property crime.
The Arecibo Message Fifty Years Later
In November 1974, astronomers used the radio telescope at Puerto Rico's Arecibo Observatory to send a hello to the universe.
The Treaty of Paris 1783: Annotated
The Treaty of Paris marked the end of the Revolutionary War and the hostilities between Great Britain and the newly independent United States—at least temporarily.
The Whip-Poor-Will Has Been an Omen of Death for Centuries
What happened to this iconic bird of American horror?
Draft Resistance in Japanese American Internment Camps
Arguing that they had been stripped of their citizenship and rights, hundreds of Nisei risked extending their imprisonment by resisting the draft.