At First, the Guitar Was a “Women’s Instrument”
The history of the guitar shows that musical instruments have been gendered—but just how changes over time.
Why Do We Vote by Secret Ballot?
Election days used to be raucous affairs, with individual votes sometimes cast orally for all to hear.
Bringing Up Baby Straight
Many parents just assume their kids will turn out heterosexual. That's part of heteronormativity.
Plant of the Month: Heliconia
Heliconias can distinguish among pollinators like hummingbirds and respond selectively to their visits.
Gouverneur Morris’s Secret Sex Diary
The author of the preamble to the Constitution spent years in Europe as a businessman, diplomat, and connoisseur of the pleasures of the flesh.
The Self-Styled Sci-Fi Supermen of the 1940s
Way before there were stans, there were slans. Too bad about their fascist utopian daydreams!
Migrating Birds Face an Unexpected Danger: Glass Buildings
Research shows that building collisions take a staggering annual toll on North America's bird population.
How to Fight with Friends in Ancient Egypt
A scholar finds that some ancient Egyptians who were literate wrote annoyed letters to friends.
D.T. Suzuki’s Very American Zen
Zen was a conservative form of Buddhism in Japan that eventually became a way for Americans to find inner peace.
The Scientist Who Wanted Grizzly Bears Eliminated
In the late 1960s, two highly visible deaths from grizzly bear attacks led to a debate about whether humans and bears could coexist.