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Arts & Culture

"Peasant girls." Young Russian women offer berries to visitors in a rural area along the Sheksna River near the small town of Kirillov.

Color Photographs of Imperial Russia Reveal a World Lost to History

At Paris’ Zadkine Museum, explore vibrant photos of the pre-Soviet Russian Empire

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Art Meets Science

Can Bullets Be Beautiful?

Photographer Sabine Pearlman exposes the surprisingly delicate innards of rounds of ammunition

John Coltrane (left) “took it further than any [other] tenor saxophone player,” says photographer Chuck Stewart.

New Photos of John Coltrane Rediscovered 50 Years After They Were Shot

During the recording of A Love Supreme in 1964, Chuck Stewart caught the jazz legend in his element

The Lake, Petworth: Sunset, Fighting Bucks, painted by J.M.W. Turner around 1829, was one of several works studied to see if there was a connection between the colors used in the image and volcanic particles in the atmosphere at the time of the painting's creation.

New Research

How Paintings of Sunsets Immortalize Past Volcanic Eruptions

The balance of reds and greens reflects the amount of tiny particles in the atmosphere, scientists say

Alps, Germany & Austria

Kilian Schönberger’s Stunning Landscapes

Despite being color blind, Schönberger creates awe-inspiring color photography

Michael Jackson: Singer, Songwriter, American Inventor

The King of Pop invented more than just amazing dance moves

What happens when scientists expose wasps to outer space radiation? The insects mutate into giant killing machines—or, so say the makers of the 1958 film Monster From Green Hell.

Art Meets Science

Scream Queen: An Entomologist Dispels the Myths in Insect Horror Flicks

May Berenbaum, of the University of Illinois, explains where the science goes wrong in these seven films—all featuring arthropod antagonists

The Los Angeles That Was Never Built

Had these 13 grand architectural plans been executed, the city would look entirely different today

The protagonist, Tris (Shailene Woodley), and her friend Christina (Zoë Kravitz) jump from a train running through post-apocalyptic Chicago in a scene from the film Divergent.

We Asked Four Teenagers to Explain “Divergent” to Old People

The first movie in the dystopian young adult book trilogy comes out this weekend. Get ready

Measuring 745 feet across, Janet Echelman's Skies Painted with Unnumbered Sparks is her largest aerial sculpture to date.

Art Meets Science

A Massive Aerial Sculpture Is Hoisted in Downtown Vancouver

Artist Janet Echelman combines ancient techniques with modern technology to create her largest-ever net sculpture for TED’s 30th anniversary

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Mark Twain’s Dream

A new poem by Carol Muske-Dukes

For Twain, the “magnificent Mississippi, rolling its mile-wide tide” was the stuff of dreams (the St. Louis waterfront today).

American South

How the Mississippi River Made Mark Twain—and Vice Versa

No novelist captured the muddy waterway and its people like the creator of Huckleberry Finn, as a journey along the river makes clear

Kamakura Shirts owner Yoshio Sadasue opened a New York store on Madison Avenue.

How Japan Copied American Culture and Made it Better

If you’re looking for some of America’s best bourbon, denim and burgers, go to Japan, where designers are re-engineering our culture in loving detail

The Amazon Women: Is There Any Truth Behind the Myth?

Strong and brave, the Amazons were a force to be reckoned with in Greek mythology—but did the fierce female warriors really exist?

Building a War of 1812 Warship

This summer, a ship named after naval hero Oliver Hazard Perry will set sail

Art Meets Science

This Is What Photography Looks Like on Drugs

Sarah Schoenfield’s experience as a bartender put her on the path to giving a “face” to illegal drugs

What Emotion Goes Viral the Fastest?

On Twitter and Facebook, which spreads quickest: joy, sadness or disgust?

The Beautiful, Streamlined Cars That Set the World’s First Land Speed Records

One hundred years ago, the Bonneville Salt Flats became a racing paradise

Even the President of the United States takes time away from work to fill out his bracket.

When Did Filling Out A March Madness Bracket Become Popular?

Millions of Americans will fill out a NCAA basketball tournament bracket this year. How did it become such an incredible social phenomenon?

A veggie burger with a zucchini, feta, and pea patty.

The History of the Veggie Burger

Now mainstream, the hippie food changed vegetarian culture forever in 1982

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