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History

Suffragettes march, complete with cloth banners, across the intersection of Pennsylvania Ave. and 11th St. in Washington, D.C. Photo: Library of Congress

Inauguration History

More Than One Hundred Years Ago, 5,000 Suffragettes Paraded Down Pennsylvania Avenue

On the eve of Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration, suffragists descended upon Washington

The titular draughtsman looks through his perspective machine in this still from Peter Greenaway’s 1982 film The Draughtsman’s Contract

Digital Files and 3D Printing—in the Renaissance?

3D printing is a new technology that seems poised to change the world, but its origins date back all the way to the 15th century

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The Fishy History of the McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish Sandwich

How a struggling entrepreneur in Ohio saved his burger business during Lent and changed the McDonald’s menu for good.

Actress Louise Brooks with bob and bee-stung lips, 1920s

The History of the Flapper, Part 4: Emboldened by the Bob

New short haircuts announced the wearers’ break from tradition and boosted the hairdressing industry

From a chain of Los Angeles drive-ins in the 1940s, “good food is good health.”

10 Vintage Menus That Are a Feast for the Eyes, If Not the Stomach

From the late-19th century to the 1970s, restaurants had one surefire way of standing out

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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

Woman’s Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences, 1925-1926

The History of the Flapper, Part 3: The Rectangular Silhouette

Finally, women could breathe deeply when the waist-nipping corset went out of style

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Nuclear Bombs Made It Possible to Carbon Date Human Tissue

The fallout of the nuclear bomb era is still alive today - in our muscles

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The Origins of Wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve

Valentine’s Day can be an occasion for quirky expressions of love

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The Masked Merriment of Mardi Gras

For centuries, the day’s revelry has featured the liberated feeling of hiding in plain view

Aramaic is one language scholars are racing to save.

How to Revive a Lost Language

By the year 2100, the human race will have lost about 50% of the languages alive today. Every fourteen days a language dies. There are some success stories

Lipstick stencil, 1920s

The History of the Flapper, Part 2: Makeup Makes a Bold Entrance

It’s the birth of the modern cosmetics business as young women look for beauty enhancers in a tube or jar

Delphine Atger, 1920s

The History of the Flapper, Part 1: A Call for Freedom

The young, fashionable women of the 1920s define the dress and style of their peers in their own words

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Parisian Women Legally Allowed to Wear Pants for the First Time in 200 Years

On January 31, France’s minister of women’s rights made if officially impossible to arrest a woman for wearing pants in Paris

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North Korea’s New Video Is Only Its Latest Propaganda About Attacking the U.S.

North Korea’s latest propaganda depicts their new rocket and a burning United States

A plate of buffalo chicken wings

A Brief History of the Buffalo Chicken Wing

How the wing went from a throwaway to a delicacy in 50 years

About 15 miles north of Quito, a yellow line representing the Equator runs up a long, regal walkway to the base of the Mitad del Mundo monument, built in 1979. The thing is, they built the structure several hundred feet south of the true Equator.

Much Ado About Nothing at the Equator

Just north of Quito stands a grand and glowing tribute to one of Ecuador’s proudest features: the Equator. The problem is, it was built in the wrong place

Falernum, a syrup that originates in Barbados, pairs nicely with rum.

Falernum: The Elusive Cocktail Syrup to Name Drop At Your Next Party

This tiki-era mixer, best served with rum, has a hazy past and an island-y bite

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Sonar Uncovers Amazing Photograph of Sunken Civil War Ship

The USS Hatteras, sunk 150 years ago, was discovered and photographed recently using 3D sonar

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The Russian Government Once Funded a Scientist’s Quest To Make an Ape-Human Hybrid

In 1926, a famed Russian biologist was “hell-bent” on creating an ape-human hybrid

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