Performing Arts
Who Really Invented the Smiley Face?
It's supposedly the 50th anniversary of the original design of the iconic image, but its history since then is surprisingly complex with millions of dollars at stake
Are Punch and Judy Shows Finally Outdated?
For a wife-beating, baby-squashing scofflaw, Mr. Punch has done pretty well for himself
American Myths: Benjamin Franklin’s Turkey and the Presidential Seal
How the New Yorker and the West Wing botched the history of the icon
Penn Jillette Reveals the Secrets of Fire-Eating
The more talkative half of the famed magic duo says that even for professionals, this magic act is a tough act to swallow
The World’s Largest Collection of Coffee Cup Lids
With over 500 different disposable plastic lids, the architect-collector has pieced together a history of American innovation and culture
Political Animals: Republican Elephants and Democratic Donkeys
Politicians and parties may flip-flop but for more than 100 years, the political iconography of the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant has remained unchanged
Designing Lives and Building Stories, Chris Ware’s Comic Book Epic
In Building Stories, cartoonist Chris Ware presents the banality of everyday life as a stunning comic epic
The Pee-Chee Folder: Illustrated by the Most Interesting Man in the World
Illustrator Francis Golden could barely remember the project that became an iconic school supply
The Scene of Deduction: Drawing 221B Baker Street
From pen-and-ink sketches to digital renderings, generations of Sherlock Holmes fans have undertaken drafting the detective's famous London flat
A Modern Sherlock Holmes and the Technology of Deduction
A modern Sherlock Holmes requires a modern tool. Today, his iconic problem-solving magnifying glass has been replaced by the indispensable cell phone
Sherlock Holmes and the Tools of Deduction
Sherlock Holmes’s extraordinary deductions would be impossible without the optical technologies of the 19th century
The Mystery of 221B Baker Street
Our series on Design and Sherlock Holmes begins with an investigation into the location of the famous detective's London flat
Music for Airports Soothes the Savage Passenger
Brian Eno's Music for Airports is a sound environment created specifically to complement the experience of waiting in an airport terminal
Judging an Airline by its Uniform
What flight attendant uniforms say about airline brand identity, cultural attitudes, and passenger psychology
How Ideas Become Shoes: Creativity in Process
Using shoe design to understand human creativity
Such Great Heights: The Hidden Architecture of Elevator Shoes
How a shoe designed to address male inadequacy has become a symbol of female fashion sense
Who Is Linda Tatersmith?
If flashy package design lure people into eating factory-extruded chemical slurries, why shouldn’t it work to trick food addicts into eating vegetables?
Teller Reveals His Secrets
The smaller, quieter half of the magician duo Penn & Teller writes about how magicians manipulate the human mind
Teller Speaks on the Enduring Appeal of Magic
The magician famous for being mute as a performer says that magic is all about the unwilling suspension of disbelief
Costume’s Cultural Reveal
The Los Angeles County Museum aims to draw new visitors and historic insights with a landmark costume acquisition
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