Tsarist Russia’s Feminist Intelligentsia
In the context of Russia's patriarchal autocracy, its intelligentsia was surprisingly feminist, as Vera Podorovskaya's life illustrates.
The Reindeer Games
In 1907, the U.S. Reindeer Service was organized as part of an effort to domesticate the animals...and Inupiat Eskimos.
Only You Can Prevent Useless Gifts
Is it time for a revival of the Society for the Prevention of Useless Giving (SPUG)?
We’re Living in a Post-Antibiotic World
A new CDC report warns: “Stop referring to a coming post-antibiotic era—it’s already here.” Contrast that to a 1944 article on the promise of penicillin.
An Epidemic of Retractions
Nicolas Chevassus-au-Louis's new book, Fraud in the Lab, offers some tough love for the scientific community.
This Isn’t the First Baby Bust
And it's unlikely to be the last. One scholar looks at the factors that contributed to the increase in childlessness at the turn of the twentieth century.
Wait, Why Are the Parthenon Marbles in London?
Lord Elgin went beyond his original mandate, amassing a vast store of treasures, one scholar notes.
The End of Men, in 1870
In 1790, U.S. men were about twice as likely as U.S. women to be literate. But by 1870, girls were surpassing boys in public schools.
The Highest Flood in Italy This Century
Recent flooding in Venice has revived memories of a record-setting 1966 flood, which sparked an international rescue program for art and architecture.