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History

A doctor's diagnosis "by radio" on the cover of the February, 1925 issue of Science and Invention magazine

Telemedicine Predicted in 1925

With video screens and remote control arms, any doctor could make a virtual housecall

Thomas Edison examines Clarence Dally's, his assistant, hand thru a fluoroscope of his own design.

Clarence Dally — The Man Who Gave Thomas Edison X-Ray Vision

“Don’t talk to me about X-rays,” Edison said after an assistant on one of his X-ray projects started showing signs of illness. “I am afraid of them.”

Laboratory technician injects tomatoes on the "factory farm" of the future (1961)

Super-Sized Food of the Future

How do you eat an eight-foot-long ear of corn?

A crowd of 250,000 jammed Times Square to see the start of the race.

Paris or Bust: The Great New York-to-Paris Auto Race of 1908

Even before there were roads, there were men who wanted to drive fast

The book reader of the future

The iPad of 1935

Yep, there was an app for that

Now celebrating its 100-year history, the Girl Scouts is the largest educational organization for girls in the world, with 3.3 million current members.

The Very First Troop Leader

A new biography tells the story of Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts

Seven Famous People Who Missed the Titanic

The notables who planned to sail on the fateful voyage included a world-famous novelist, a radio pioneer and America’s biggest tycoons

The "Venus of Hohle Fels" is a 40,000-year-old figurine and is so small it could be hidden in your fist.

The Cave Art Debate

The discovery of a 40,000-year old figurine reignites debate among archaeologists about the origins—and true purpose—of art

A life vest from the Titanic.

From the Editor: Fateful Encounters

The Titanic and the elusive nature of perception

The sinking of the world's most famous ship on April 15, 1912 generated waves of Titanic mania.

Why the Titanic Still Fascinates Us

One hundred years after the ocean liner struck an iceberg and sank, the tragedy still looms large in the popular psyche

John D. Lee, seated on his coffin, moments before his execution.

The Aftermath of Mountain Meadows

The massacre almost brought the United States to war against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but only one man was brought to trial: John D

The solar powered house of the future from 1959

The World Will Be Wonderful In The Year 2000!

The secret formula for predicting a fantastical yet credible future

Colonel Tom Parker—the title was awarded to him by Louisiana Governor Jimmie Davis in 1948 for political services rendered—claimed until 1982 to have been born in West Virginia. In fact he was a Dutchman, and the circumstances under which he left the Netherlands in 1929 remain a puzzle to this day.

Colonel Parker Managed Elvis’ Career, but Was He a Killer on the Lam?

The man who brought The King to global fame kept his own past secret. But what exactly was Tom Parker hiding?

Fourth-grader Lisa Gilvar's Jetsons-inspired bubble-top homes

1970s Children Draw Robot Presidents and Nuclear Apocalypse

Kids predict the darndest things

The deadliest disaster in New York before 9/11 killed many women and children and ultimately erased a German community from the map of Manhattan.

A Spectacle of Horror – The Burning of the General Slocum

The deadliest disaster in New York before 9/11 killed many women and children and ultimately erased a German community from the map of Manhattan

Medical experts inputting data into the electronic library (1981)

One Library for the Entire World

In the years preceding the Internet, futurist books hinted at the massive information infrastructure that was to come

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Imagining a City of Treelike Buildings

Amid growing concerns that skyscrapers were blocking sunlight for people on the ground, a British architect proposed a novel solution

President William Howard Taft and his sons, Robert, right, and Charles Phelps.

When the Country’s Founding Father Is Your Founding Father

The descendants of American presidents are the athletic trainers, lawyers, salesmen and executives of everyday life

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The Mysterious Mr. Zedzed: The Wickedest Man in the World

Sir Basil Zaharoff was the archetypal “merchant of death”—an arms salesman who made a career out of selling to both sides in a conflict

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