Smart News History & Archaeology

Portrait of a Civil War soldier group, circa 1861-65.

The Most 'Realistic' Civil War Novel Was Written Three Decades After It Ended

By an author who wasn't even alive when it occurred

Rock Hudson in 1954.

The Hollywood Star Who Confronted the AIDS 'Silent Epidemic'

Rock Hudson died of AIDS-related complications in 1985

Le Corbusier's vision for cities profoundly influenced New York, though never to the degree that this concept (originally designed for Marseille, France) was ever built.

How a Controversial European Architect Shaped New York

Le Corbusier's ideas arguably helped shape the city more than his own designs

A typical 17th-century coffeehouse scene. Controversial, right?

This 17th-Century "Women's Petition Against Coffee" Probably Wasn't About Women, or Coffee

It probably wasn't written by angry, sex-deprived wives–although stranger things have happened

The front of a Nobel Prize medal.

The Perks and Pitfalls of Being a Nobel Laureate: Early Mornings, Performance Anxiety

On the plus side, at UC Berkeley you get free parking

Printer’s Manuscript of the Book of Mormon Sells for $35 Million

Adjusting for inflation, Bill Gates’ $30.8 million purchase of Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester in 1994 remains the most expensive manuscript sale

Nobody has ever been charged with the Tylenol poisonings.

The 1982 Tylenol Terror Shattered American Consumer Innocence

Seven people lost their lives after taking poisoned Tylenol. The tragedy led to important safety reforms

The 2015 winner of the "GIF It Up" competition.

Competition Wants You to Turn Cultural Heritage Into GIFs

The latest round of "GIF It Up" seeks the best GIFs made from public domain prints, photos, paintings and more

A Coco Chanel Little Black Dress, released in 1926.

Why Coco Chanel Created the Little Black Dress

The style icon created a... well.... style icon in 1926

A modern mocha

Your Mocha is Named After the Birthplace of the Coffee Trade

The port city of Mocha, in Yemen, was once a vast coffee marketplace

This portrait by an anonymous photographer shows the face of the man who popularized the flush toilet: Thomas Crapper.

Three True Things About Sanitary Engineer Thomas Crapper

Thomas Crapper's actual innovation was entirely tangential to the flush toilet

The inspiration for the bendy straw came while Joseph Friedman was watching his young daughter try to drink from a tall glass.

Why You Should Appreciate the Invention of the Bendy Straw

It's the straw that bends, not the person

Cool Finds

Excavations Begin on Paul Revere's Privy

Archaeologists in Boston hope the outhouse will reveal the diet and detritus of the families that lived on the site

Guillaume Rondelet was an early anatomist who founded his own dissecting theater, which was a thing people did in the sixteenth century.

A Sixteenth-Century Hot Date Might Include a Trip to the Dissecting Theater

Anatomy theaters were an early site for science as spectacle

Toad bones

Cool Finds

Jar of Headless Toads Found in Bronze Age Tomb

Found in Jerusalem, the little hoppers could have been an afterlife snack or a symbol of rejuvenation

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a more modern form of IVF.

In Vitro Fertilization Was Once As Controversial As Gene Editing is Today

The scientists who pioneered it were regarded as pariahs, even within their own universities

Qalatga Darband is located in the triangular spit of land beyond the bridge on the right

Drones Reveal Unexplored Ancient Settlement in Iraqi Kurdistan

The settlement was first spotted in declassified Cold War spy images from the 1960s

Easter Island's famed statues could be remnants of a populous civilization

Lots of Sweet Potatoes Could’ve Made Easter Island a Bustling Place

A new agricultural analysis of the island finds that the crop could have supported more than 17,000 people

The historic Coplay Cement Company kilns used in the 1890s.

The Modern World Depends on Humble Cement

Portland cement is a key ingredient in one of the world’s most common materials

The 'Chicago,' one of four aircraft to attempt the round-the-world trip. The others were named 'Seattle', 'Boston,' and 'New Orleans.'

How The U.S. Won the Race to Circumnavigate the Globe by Air

The first round-the-world flight was an achievement but also a surprise

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