History
Making Noise and Selling Ice Cream
Put the bumpy, sour, off-key sound of a mobile ice cream vendor on repeat and play it loud, and you've got an infectious earworm
Foreseen Consequences
The art and science of looking ahead
The Sound of Success, Mobile Food Truck Edition
What does a folk song have to do with food trucks, Good Humor bars and the Beach Boys?
Document Deep Dive: What Does the Magna Carta Really Say?
A curator from the National Archives takes us through what the governing charter means
S-O-F-T Double E, Mister Softee
A one-man band of an adman recorded an infectious three-minute earworm that will disrupt your sanity this summer
Such Great Heights: The Hidden Architecture of Elevator Shoes
How a shoe designed to address male inadequacy has become a symbol of female fashion sense
A Brief History of Bitters
The author of a new book on bitters explains how they went from medicine to cocktail ingredient
Will Matt Rutherford be First to Circumnavigate the Americas Solo?
"Basically, I either fail and everyone thinks I'm crazy, or I succeed and I'm a hero," says the sailor, who is on the homestretch of a one-year journey
What Shredded Wheat Did for the Navy
The inventor of one of the first ready-to-eat breakfast cereals was also an accidental historian
Food and Video Games
Video games may be the art medium of the 21st century, but they're also an advertising medium. Here are five notable games that promoted foods
Arthur Conan Doyle’s Ethereal Dinosaurs
Prior to the 1925 debut of The Lost World, the novelist pulled a stunt to make people think dinosaurs might still be alive in a distant jungle
Was Chop Suey the Greatest Culinary Joke Ever Played?
Have you heard the one about the crowd of hungry miners looking for a meal in Chinatown?
Excavating the River of Giants
Rare footage shows how paleontologist R.T. Bird diverted a river to excavate a set of Texas dinosaur tracks in 1938
Underwood’s Deviled Ham: The Oldest Trademark Still in Use
The 1870 trademark was for "Deviled Entremets"—"Intended for Sandwiches, Luncheons, and Traveler's Repasts"
Black Lobster and the Birth of Canning
The canning innovation left another lasting impression: Foods are safe only when sterilized
Why We Have Sliced Bread
"Here is a refinement that will receive a hearty and permanent welcome," a reporter wrote of the best thing to hit grocery store shelves
What Was It Like to Dine with the Persian Kings?
For the 25th anniversary of the Sackler Gallery, elaborately crafted Iranian metalwork from Arthur Sackler's original gift are now on display
Great Walks of the World
The fact that people opt to walk today tells us there is something virtuous and irresistible in the plodding of one foot forward after the other
Airships and Oranges: The Commercial Art of the Second Gold Rush
How citrus crate label design fueled a boom that caused the art form's own demise
How a Ship Full of Fish Helped Recreate an Ancient Fish Sauce
A 2,000-year-old shipwreck held ceramic vessels full of fish sauce, as well as a giant tank for transporting live fish
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