European History
These Collegiate Innovators Are at the Vanguard of Technology and Art
A massive three-day festival spotlights the achievements of the Atlantic Coast Conference
The Real-Life Whale That Gave Moby Dick His Name
Mocha Dick had encounters with around 100 ships before he was finally killed
How Nicholas Culpeper Brought Medicine to the People
His 17th-century text is still in print today
The Man Who Invented Nitroglycerin Was Horrified By Dynamite
Alfred Nobel–yes, that Nobel–commercialized it, but inventor Asciano Sobrero thought nitroglycerin was too destructive to be useful
How a 1604 Supernova Presented a Challenge to Astronomers
The supernova provided proof to Galileo, Kepler and others that the heavens were not fixed–although they were wrong about what caused the bright star
Are Blade Runner’s Replicants “Human”? Descartes and Locke Have Some Thoughts
Enlightenment philosophers asked the same questions about what makes humans, humans as we see in the cult classic
How a Controversial European Architect Shaped New York
Le Corbusier's ideas arguably helped shape the city more than his own designs
Your Mocha is Named After the Birthplace of the Coffee Trade
The port city of Mocha, in Yemen, was once a vast coffee marketplace
The Modern World Depends on Humble Cement
Portland cement is a key ingredient in one of the world’s most common materials
The Amazing, Portable, Edible Ice Cream Cone
Unlike foods that came before it, ice cream in a cone could be eaten on the go–without a spoon
Did Lager Beer Originate In South America?
Residue from 1,000-year-old pots suggests people in Patagonia were fermenting beverages with lager yeast well before the Bavarians
J.R.R. Tolkien Gave the World His Childhood Fascination With Dragons in 'The Hobbit'
The dragon Smaug--who debuted in <I>The Hobbit</I> in 1937, was inspired by his early reading of mythology
Intact WWI German U-Boat Found Off the Coast of Belgium
It's possible that 23 bodies remain inside the main cabin of the submarine, which likely hit a mine
There Never Was a Real Tulip Fever
A new movie sets its doomed entrepreneurs amidst 17th-century “tulipmania”—but historians of the phenomenon have their own bubble to burst
The Juggling Genius of Paul Cinquevalli
Remembering a showman who gave his life to his craft
Did Edvard Munch Find a Supernatural Power in Color?
A new exhibition at the National Gallery of Art places Munch’s palette in context
Why 30,000 People Came Out to See a Swedish Singer Arrive in New York
Most of them had never even heard Jenny Lind sing
The Roots of Computer Code Lie in Telegraph Code
Émile Baudot, born a year after the first long-distance telegraph message was sent, helped advance the technology
There Are Museums For Everything–Even Salami
Take a tour of a few places showcasing this international favorite
Why Peter the Great Established a Beard Tax
Between 1697-1698, the tsar visited Europe in disguise to learn about shipbuilding and Western culture. His verdict? Shave
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