Birth of A National Immigration Policy
Until the Civil War, regulating immigration to the US was left to individual states. That changed with Emancipation and the legal end of slavery.
As You Lakh It
How did an oleoresin produced by insects in Asia become a standard part of European furniture manufacture and conservation?
Jain Ascetics in a Material World
The Jain Śvētāmbara Terāpanth sect began as an ascetic discipline, but it has increasingly emphasized physical health over renunciation of the body.
G. Legman and the Bawdy Eclectic
A fierce opponent of censorship, Gershon Legman helped legitimize the academic study of erotic folklore as manifested in jokes, limericks, and songs.
Combustible Cinema? The Nitrate Film Issue
The early plastic called celluloid was made of nitrocellulose and camphor. It made for spectacular pictures. It also made for spectacular fires.
Generating Electricity…and Uncertainty
As the tobacco and electrical industries demonstrate, US corporations have a history of sowing doubt for profit.
Astronomers Use AI to Shed Light on Dark Energy
A new measurement offers insights on the density of the mysterious force driving the Universe’s expansion.
A Computer in Every Kitchen?
The 1969 Honeywell Kitchen Computer is a case study of early computer failures—or is it?
Where Tulpas Come From
Created through the power of the human mind, tulpas bear little resemblance to anything found in the Tibetan traditions in which they allegedly originated.