Rituals and Traditions
Established practices around weddings, funerals and celebrations
Happy Birthday to the Father of Modern Neuroscience, Who Wanted to Be an Artist
Ramón y Cajal may have changed neuroscience forever, but he always maintained his original childhood passion for art
May 01, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Sagging Pants Butt Up Against the Law
Yet the droopy trousers trend lives on
April 01, 2013 |
By Emily Spivack
James Cameron Decides to Let Scientists Use His Awesome Submersible
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution inherits the submarine, which they will use to built even better submersibles
March 28, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Travel Photography: A Discussion With a Pro About Ethics and Techniques
The author discusses the ethics, joys and challenges of photography with Canadian travel photographer Matt Kadey
March 22, 2013 |
By Alastair Bland
The Perils of Wearing Clothes
From toxins in textile dyes to torturous corsets, beauty has a long history of coming at a high cost
March 18, 2013 |
By Emily Spivack
Coffee Here, and Coffee There: How Different People Serve the World’s Favorite Hot Drink
Coffee is black and bitter—but global travelers find a surprisingly wide range of forms of the world's favorite hot beverage
March 15, 2013 |
By Alastair Bland
A Woman With Five Transplanted Organs Has a Baby
A woman whose liver, pancreas, stomach, large intestine and small intestine all began their lives in another person's body has just given birth to a life of her own
March 14, 2013 |
By Rose Eveleth
Faces From Afar: One American’s Endeavor to Kick Ecuador’s Vegetable Oil Habit
Coconut oil is healthy. It smells and tastes like sweet tropical butter. Yet almost nobody in Ecuador uses it
March 12, 2013 |
By Alastair Bland
Top Ten Afterlife Journeys of Notable People
Why Beethoven, Galileo, Napoleon and others never truly rested in peace
March 07, 2013 |
By Marina Koren
One Hundred Years Ago, 5,000 Suffragettes Paraded Down Pennsylvania Avenue
On the eve of Woodrow Wilson's inauguration, suffragists descended upon Washington
March 04, 2013 |
By Angela Serratore
Biking Ecuador’s Spectacular Avenue of the Volcanoes
Home to a string of high peaks, including 20,564-foot Chimborazo, the area offers some of the finest cycling, hiking and adventuring country anywhere
March 03, 2013 |
By Alastair Bland
The Stupid Reason the NHL Drafts Older Players First
Take note, coaches: stop listening to Malcolm Gladwell, and start listening to science
March 01, 2013 |
By Rose Eveleth
What Makes These Avocados Different From All Others?
The spectrum of the fruit here is almost as varied as the people who grow them, and for avo advocates, Ecuador is a excellent place to go tasting
February 26, 2013 |
By Alastair Bland
The Hunt for a New, Copyright-Free Happy Birthday Song
In the United States, "Happy Birthday to You"—one of the most popular songs in the world—is still under copyright. And it will be until 2030
February 21, 2013 |
By Rose Eveleth
Vilcabamba: Paradise Going Bad?
Life in this legendary town in Ecuador's Valley of Longevity may be too good—and too long—to be true
February 20, 2013 |
By Alastair Bland
When Cane Juice Meets Yeast: Brewing in Ecuador
The sugarcane trail takes the author across the Andes, into home liquor distilleries and from juice shack to juice shack as he pursues fermented sugarcane wine
February 14, 2013 |
By Alastair Bland
The Origins of Wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve
Valentine's Day can be an occasion for quirky expressions of love
February 14, 2013 |
By Emily Spivack
What Makes the Trout in Ecuador Look Like Salmon?
Aiming to catch a few trout for dinner, the author decides to try his luck at one of the region's many "sport fishing" sites
February 12, 2013 |
By Alastair Bland
The Masked Merriment of Mardi Gras
For centuries, the day's revelry has featured the liberated feeling of hiding in plain view
February 12, 2013 |
By Emily Spivack
Fifty Years After Sylvia Plath’s Death, Critics Are Just Starting to Understand Her Life
Cultural fascination with the author and poet continues to burn brightly despite - or perhaps because of - Plath's premature departure from this world
February 11, 2013 |
By Rachel Nuwer
