The Shakespeare of English Furniture?
Not much is known about eighteenth-century furniture designer Thomas Chippendale, making his life and work perfect for mythologizing after his death.
Versatile Velcro™
Velcro is used in many spaces, from spacecraft to shoes. A relatively recent invention, it was inspired by the close observation of nature.
How Books Taught Europeans to Smoke
The printed word helped spread the inhaling habit across the continent.
NASA’s Deepest 3D Fly-through of the Universe
From the present day all the way to less than 400 million years after the Big Bang, we're seeing how the Universe grew up like never before.
The Complicated History of Pointy Hats
What do sorcerers, bishops, and garden gnomes all have in common? Pointy hats that share a common story deeply enmeshed in European antisemitism.
We Dream of Genie
In antebellum America, the voyages and adventures of Sinbad and Aladdin in the Arabian Nights nourished a young nation's dreams.
Inventing an American Indian Rebellion
False rumors of an alleged Wampanoag uprising on Nantucket Island in 1738 were turned into a story of an Indian rebellion thwarted via a Boston newspaper.
Stevia’s Global Story
Native to Paraguay, Ka’a he’e followed a circuitous path through Indigenous medicine, Japanese food science, and American marketing to reach the US sweeteners market.
The Post-Civil War Opioid Crisis
Many servicemen became addicted to opioids prescribed during the war. Society viewed their dependency as a lack of manliness.