Dramatic skies over the Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica

Central American Volcanoes Offer Clues to Earth’s Geological Evolution

Along 1,100 kilometers, from Mexico to Costa Rica, lies the Central American volcanic arc, where the variety of magma types make for a geological paradise.
A woman sitting on a fence, books in her left hand while thumbing a lift with her right hand, on a country road, United States, circa 1955.

When Hitchhiking was Wholesome

In the 1930s, hitchhiking was viewed as an opportunity for generosity on the part of the driver and a way to practice good manners on the part of the rider.
Mao Tse-tung facing Nikita Khrushchev during the Russian leader's 1957 visit to Peking

A Messy Divorce: The Sino-Soviet Split

The ideological disagreements between two nations shattered the idea of monolithic communism and re-arranged the chessboard of the Cold War.
Map of the Louisiana Purchase Territory, 1903

The Actual Louisiana Purchase Price

The $15 million price tag of the Louisiana Territory has been described as one of the greatest real estate bargains ever. But what did that actually buy?
“The Obscene M.D.” Colored lithograph. Morality of Modern Medicine Mongers. British College of Health, 1852.

Putting an End to Obscene Quackery

When medical professionals joined anti-vice campaigners to censor publications about sex in the 1800s, they found themselves wielding a double-edged sword.
Delhi Durbar of 1903

The Delhi Durbars

Elaborate demonstrations of British royal ceremony fused with Indian tradition, these assemblies were meant to assert political dominance over Indian subjects.
the god Thor dressed up as Freyja, with artificial breasts, a necklace (Brísingamen) and a keychain. Loki, also dressed as a woman, is fixing up Thor's headgear.

That Time Thor and Loki Cross-Dressed

Why the Old Norse gods disguised themselves as a bride and bridesmaid before visiting Thrymr, king of Jötunheima.
A line of five Asian American dancers, each wearing a tutu, kicking out their left legs as they perform the can-can at the Forbidden City nightclub in San Francisco, California, circa 1945.

Americanism, Exoticism, and the “Chop Suey” Circuit

Asian American artists who performed for primarily white audiences in the 1930s and ’40s both challenged and solidified racial boundaries in the United States.
A Ship in a Rough Sea by Cornelisz Verbeecq, 1620s

Earthsickness At Sea

Early European circumnavigators thought that their long absence from land during sea voyages made them sick. (Spoiler alert: it was scurvy.)
two tyrannosaurus rex fighting on a yellow colored background

Five Things You Probably Have Wrong about the T. rex

How well do you really know Tyrannosaurus rex, the so-called Tyrant Lizard King?