history
Leftover Cold War-era bunkers are still kept in a state of readiness to protect the population from nuclear war.
The word “turkey” can refer to everything from the bird itself to a populous Eurasian country to movie flops.
Is science for everyone, or just the morally upright?
Population growth is driven by three changes: Fertility, mortality, and migration.
You don’t have to be an emperor to apply these rules to daily living.
Its apples taste bad, but institutions all over the world want a descendant or clone of the tree, anyway.
What began as public outcry against Iran’s so-called morality police has snowballed into a mass movement targeting the very essence of the Islamic republic.
For centuries, the only way to travel between the Old and New World was through ships like the RMS Lusitania. Experiences varied wildly depending on your income.
Bathybius haeckelii was briefly thought to be the link between inorganic matter and organic life.
From Atlantis to Thule, these mythical locales have captivated people’s imaginations for centuries.
“Oosouji” or “big cleaning” is much more than a chance to tidy up.
The Knights Templar were not only skilled fighters, but also clever bankers who played a crucial role in the development of Europe’s financial systems.
About 8% of our genome is made of leftover viruses from our ancestors’ infections.
Marcus Tullius Cicero is widely regarded as one of the most gifted orators in human history. His writings can teach us a lot about the lost art of public speaking.
Rushdie was heavily criticized by figures across the political spectrum for being offensive. People tried to “cancel” Rushdie long before that term was invented.
Today’s scary clowns are not a divergence from tradition, but a return to it.
Who doesn’t love a little existential fear every once in a while?
Is history decided by discernible laws or does it unfold based on random, unpredictable occurrences?
Jimena Canales shares the “demons” that shaped computer science.
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There is one House member for every 761,169 people, which isn’t exactly representative.
The value of art does not lie in the artwork itself but is instead determined by curators, collectors, critics, and other participants in the modern-day art market.
With almost every shovel of sand shifted in Egypt, another artifact comes to light.
Because Dylan “samples and digests” songs from the past, he has been accused of plagiarism. But imitatio isn’t the same.
Like his “Mona Lisa,” Leonardo da Vinci’s “Lady with an Ermine” depicts a woman in a way that flouted the conventions of its time.
Forget about Tinkerbell.
Urban legends help personify the anxieties that arise from living in a modern city.
How much can something change and still be the same thing?