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History

The NFL logo on the 50 yard line

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

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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”

Fossil swim tracks indicate that theropods similar to this Megapnosaurus at least occasionally swam in prehistoric lakes and rivers.

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

America’s Issues with Voter Turnout Stretch Back More Than 200 Years

Since before the Revolutionary War, America has struggled with low voter turnout

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Tussling Over Thecodontosaurus

The history of Thecodontosaurus, the fourth dinosaur ever named, is a tangled tale of paleontologist politics

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Who Really Has Six Percent Body Fat Anyway?

Paul Ryan shouldn’t be ashamed of his body fat, it’s probably lower than the average male, but it’s definitely not six percent

At home and abroad, vampire scares usually began when a person died and others in the vicinity began dying, too, usually of the same sickness.

Halloween

Meet the Real-Life Vampires of New England and Abroad

The legend of the blood suckers, and the violence heaped upon their corpses, came out of ignorance of contagious disease

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Stockings Series, Part 3: Ads from the Archives, 1890-1939

For decades, Ivory sold itself as the suds that made legwear last longer

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Scientists Unleash Bacteria Into Boston Subway to Study Bioterrorism

To study the spread of biological agents, researchers sprayed bacteria into the Boston subway system

How an Obscure Video Sparked International Protests

Sam Bacile’s movie was hardly seen at all in the United States, yet it incited a string of riots and the assassination of an American ambassador

An interpretation of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

As Global Food Prices Climb, So Does the Probability of Riots

Rising food prices set the stage for riots and instability

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Paint-on Hosiery During the War Years

A back “seam” drawn with an eyebrow pencil topped off the resourceful fashion effect

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Why Do Students Give Teachers Apples and More from the Fruit’s Juicy Past

The perfect back-to-school treat has a colorful past that once brought the wrath of an axe-wielding reformer

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Stocking Series, Part 1: Wartime Rationing and Nylon Riots

As hemlines rose, DuPont’s wonder fabric was a sensation among women. But during WWII, it was needed for parachutes

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The Swimsuit Series, Part 6: Ladies in Wading in Art

A look at how artists spent their summer vacations—at the beach

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The Long History of Americans Debating Empty Chairs

The history of debating empty chairs stretches back to at least 1924

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The History of the Lunch Box

From a working man’s utility product to a back-to-school fashion statement, lunch boxes have evolved with technology and pop culture

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What Did Playtex Have to Do With Neil Armstrong?

The astronaut’s lunar outfit was designed by the women’s bra manufacturer and inspired a series of space age fashions

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Birmingham’s Smoking Dinosaurs

In 1938, awful dinosaurs roamed Birmingham, England

The Smoothest Con Man That Ever Lived

“Count” Victor Lustig once sold the Eiffel Tower to an unsuspecting scrap-metal dealer. Then he started thinking really big

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