History

Dress Codes and Etiquette, Part 2: Diana Vreeland vs. Emily Post on Vulgarity

How much drama is too much? These two famous women, who wielded power over how we dress, could have debated the subject

October 23, 2012

In 2012 Election, Gender Gap Is As Wide As It’s Ever Been

Men and women haven’t agreed in three elections: 1996, 2000 and 2004

October 22, 2012

Two Pillars of Skepticism—Leon Jaroff and Paul Kurtz—Died This Weekend

Leon Jaroff and Paul Kurtz both died this weekend. Together, the two men represent some of the founding ideas of the modern skeptic community

October 22, 2012

B is for Becklespinax

For over a century and a half, paleontologists have been confounded by the sail-backed carnivore Becklespinax. What did this dinosaur really look like?

October 22, 2012

Taking a Closer Look at an Odd Pair of Very, Very Old Socks

With their divided toes and extreme length, these red knit wonders from an excavated Egyptian site have an otherworldly quality

October 19, 2012

1950s Game Show Guest Had a Secret: He Saw Lincoln’s Assassination

A 5-year old Samuel J. Seymour saw Lincoln’s assassination, lived to talk about it on a 1956 game show

October 19, 2012

Dress Codes and Etiquette, Part 1: What Not to Wear to High School in the 1960s

Before the Age of Aquarius, there was the age of administrators and their button-down rules about students’ wardrobes

October 15, 2012

The Michelin Guide: Why We Look to Automotive Experts for Dining Advice

How did a tire company get in the restaurant reviewing business?

October 15, 2012

Stocking Series, Part 4: The Rebellious Roll Garters

Wearing rolled stocking back then must have been akin to the liberating, punk rock feeling of wearing ripped fishnets today

October 12, 2012

The Bat-Winged Dinosaur That Never Was

Just when naturalists began to suspect that birds might be dinosaurs, one researcher put forward a truly strange idea of what early bird ancestors would have looked like

October 11, 2012

Doing the T. rex Stretch

Did T. rex use its tiny arms to do push-ups?

October 10, 2012

This 105-Year-Old Made Marilyn Monroe’s Earrings

Meet Sadie Mintz, a jewelry maker who saw her handiwork on the cover of LIFE magazine

October 9, 2012

How Did the Pigskin Get Its Shape?

American football may have evolved from soccer and rugby, but it turns out that the football was never truly designed, it just sort of happened

October 5, 2012

Long Live the King

Paleontologists have named scores of dinosaurs, but why is T. rex our favorite?

October 3, 2012

Leatherhead to Radio-Head: The Evolution of the Football Helmet

From hand-cobbled beginnings, the football helmet has shifted to become one of the most highly designed pieces of equipment in all of sports

October 1, 2012

Your State Border Might Not Be Where You Think

The boundaries of your state might not be as solid as you imagined

September 26, 2012

Five Banned Foods and One That Maybe Should Be

From maggoty cheese to My Little Ponies to roadkill, some illegal and one legal food items in the United States

September 25, 2012

How the Football Field Was Designed, from Hash Marks to Goal Posts

The American football field as evolved over more than 100 years, and with it, the game

September 24, 2012

Orlon! Dacron! Antron! The Great American Knits of Fall 1965

As this old newspaper ad supplement shows, in the heydey of synthetic knits, DuPont advanced its chemically made fibers as a key to “Better Living”

September 24, 2012

Did Dinosaurs Swim?

Carnivorous theropod dinosaurs were thought to be hydrophobic, but swim tracks show that these predators at least sometimes took a dip in lakes and rivers

September 24, 2012