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Why Hedy Lamarr Was Hollywood’s Secret Weapon

The starlet patented an ingenious technology to help with the war effort, but it went unrecognized for decades

A 35-foot-tall statue of Lenin speechifying from atop an armored car stands outside Finland Station in St. Petersburg.

What Ever Happened to the Russian Revolution?

We journey through Vladimir Putin’s Russia to measure the aftershocks of the political explosion that rocked the world a century ago

Eight New Uses For Virtual Reality

Fasten your headsets. VR technology is coming at us from all directions

“As a guard, what I liked about the ABA ball was the color,” said former ABA player Gene Littles. “It was a special feeling to take a long shot and watch those colors rotate in the air and then see the ball with all those colors nestle into the net. It made your heart beat just a little bit faster when you hit a 25-footer with the ABA ball.” -Loose Balls by Terry Pluto

The ABA Was Short-Lived, but Its Impact on Basketball Is Eternal

The spectacular play you see today owes a mighty debt to the revolutionary, slam-dunking basketball league

Jim Naughten’s 2017 stereograph, The Toucans, mimics the look of a Victorian image.

Stereographs Were the Original Virtual Reality

The shocking power of immersing oneself in another world was all the buzz once before—about 150 years ago

Discussion

Feedback from our readers

“I felt strongly that it was cotton that killed Emmett Till,” says photographer Andrew Lichtenstein.

New Book of Photographs Recalls the Trauma of American History

Looking back at a lynching that shocked America and galvanized the civil rights movement

Salih reports that ISIS “looted all movable objects” from this tunnel at ancient Nineveh.

The Salvation of Mosul

An Iraqi archaeologist braved ISIS snipers and booby-trapped ruins to rescue cultural treasures in the city and nearby legendary Nineveh and Nimrud

Dave Eggers

Dave Eggers’ Animals Might Be “Ungrateful,” But They Go to a Good Cause

The author discusses a return to art and his forthcoming book Ungrateful Mammals

Calder, c. 1931

How Alexander Calder Became America’s Most Beloved Sculptor

In an exclusive excerpt from his new book, Calder: The Conquest of Time, Jed Perl reveals a hidden side of the artist

The weight of record-setting giant pumpkins has ballooned nearly 500 percent since 1975.

Why Is America Losing Ground in the Contest to Grow the World’s Biggest Pumpkin?

Our most symbolic squash is now taking over the world

Discussion

Feedback from our readers

How Many Ways Can Snake Venom Kill You and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

His teeming canvases were like a “browser window with lots of different tabs open,” says Nairne.

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Artwork Is Appreciated Now More Than Ever

Decades later, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s complex works are increasingly prescient—and valuable

Scott Kelly upon his return to Earth.

Scott Kelly’s Journey Home After His Year in Space

America’s longest-orbiting astronaut describes his rocky return to Earth in this adaptation from his book ‘Endurance’

A painting of Franklin’s return to Philadelphia from Europe in 1785 shows him flanked by his son-in-law (in red), his daughter and Benjamin Bache (in blue), the grandson he’d taken to France as a sort of surrogate son.

Secrets of American History

What Led Benjamin Franklin to Live Estranged From His Wife for Nearly Two Decades?

A stunning new theory suggests that a debate over the failed treatment of their son’s smallpox was the culprit

Esperanza Spalding’s Pop Culture Loves

She may not own a television, but the Grammy-award winning musician definitely has her favorite books and films

Thirty million TV viewers watched Fonzie water-ski while wearing his leather jacket.

Why ‘Happy Days’ — and the Fonz — Never Truly ‘Jumped the Shark’

The Fonz was the epitome of ’50s chill on TV’s family-friendly “Happy Days.” And then he went over the top

Unionville today: The photographer used a process called intaglio printing to give her pictures an antique appearance.

Secrets of American History

After the Civil War, African-American Veterans Created a Home of Their Own: Unionville

One-hundred-fifty years later, the Maryland town remains a bastion of resilience and a front line in the battle over Confederate monuments

Chick Parsons (center and top) was the toast of prewar Manila, a convivial, polo-playing expat businessman with an eagle tattooed across his chest.

Secrets of American History

Without Chick Parsons, General MacArthur May Never Have Made His Famed Return to the Philippines

The full story of the American ex-pat’s daring feats has not been told—until now

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