Why We Pay To Do Stuff Ourselves
Why do people love IKEA furniture, cake mixes, and apple-picking? Psychology.
Aeroplankton: The Life in the Air We Breathe
Just as the ocean is full of plankton, the air we breathe teems with microorganisms.
The Genderless Eighteenth-Century Prophet
In 1776, a 24-year-old Quaker woman named Jemima Wilkinson died of fever, and came back to life as a prophet known as the Publick Universal Friend.
On Hyphens and Racial Indicators
The AP dropped hyphens from expressions of heritage such as "Asian American." Some scholars are asking, with or without hyphens, aren't we all "American"?
Franklin, the American State that Wasn’t
Franklin was the 14th state of America. If you haven't heard of it, that's because it only lasted for four years.
The Controversial Backstory of London’s Most Lavish Room
James McNeill Whistler created the famous "Peacock Room" for a wealthy patron. But the patron never actually wanted it.
Understanding Planet-Wide Danger
The way Americans metabolized the global threat of nuclear war has had lasting effects on how we think about our newest global threat: climate change.
Regrowing Germany’s Trees After WWII
The cities of Dresden and Hamburg saw their green spaces decimated by WWII, but each city grew back its trees in a very different way.
Renewable Resources Call For Increased Power Storage
Solar and wind power are great renewable options, but to store the energy that's produced, we're going to to need bigger batteries.