43 Items Tagged

Espionage

Spies may have used fake teeth, but did any of them have cyanide in them?

The Cyanide Tooth Is a Cold War Fairy-Tale

The popular spy movie trope would have been a rather risky thing to carry around in your mouth.

Eric Grundhauser April 11, 2018

A chromolithograph of <em>Fragaria ananassa</em>.

The 18th-Century Spy Who Gave Us Big Strawberries

Two American strawberries reunited in Europe, and gave us the fruit we love today.

Mike Allen November 16, 2017

Washington, D.C.

Peirce Mill Spy Station

Cold War intelligence agents monitored communist embassies from an attic in a former pigeon coop.

Researcher Christina Kwapich looks at a sample in the Insect Rearing and Behavior Lab at Arizona State University.

The Beetle That Goes Undercover to Steal From Foraging Ants

The high-risk, high-return antics of the parasitic highwayman beetle.

Natasha Frost August 21, 2017

Raw thorium. Good for your teeth or fuel for Hitler's bombs?

The Mysterious Case of the Radioactive Toothpaste

Manhattan Project experts got sidetracked in their pursuit of Nazi nuclear technology.

Eric Grundhauser May 5, 2017

Newcomb Mott, center, at his trial.

The Tragedy of Newcomb Mott, Who Thought He Could Walk Into Soviet Russia

Young and naive, he just wanted his passport stamped.

Sarah Laskow March 1, 2017

The Wildly Misunderstood Photos of Hitler in Disguise

The legend of how a make-up artist reimagined the German dictator blossomed in the internet age.

Andy Wright August 17, 2016

The Incredible Chevalier d'Eon, Who Left France as a Male Spy and Returned as a Christian Woman

Celebrity, scandal, tell-all books, palace intrigue, political protest and more.

Linda Rodriguez McRobbie July 29, 2016

9 Places Where You Can See Spying and Surveillance in Action

A different sort of listening party.

Dylan Thuras June 24, 2016

Museum in der "Runden Ecke"

Leipzig, Germany

Museum in der "Runden Ecke"

This small exhibition displays equipment and artifacts once belonging to the feared Stasi secret police.

Washington, D.C.

International Spy Museum

Home to items never before seen by the public.

The Doughnut

Cheltenham, England

The Doughnut

Britain's answer to the NSA is based out of this deliciously-named circular headquarters.

How a Gift from Schoolchildren Let the Soviets Spy on the U.S. for 7 Years

Attention, ambassadors: inspect every present carefully.

Matt Soniak June 21, 2016

This coastal "farm" is no farm at all

Klamath, California

Klamath River Radar Station B71

These cinderblock farmhouses were actually World War II radar stations in disguise.

"'Surveillance State?' You betcha!"

Mexico City, Mexico

C5

Mexico City's residents are being watched by this state surveillance headquarters, designed by architects with a flair for intimidation.

17th-Century Female Spies Smuggled Information Through Eggs and Artichokes

Urvija Banerji February 12, 2016

The Story Behind the Comically Villainous Octopus Logo of U.S. Spy Agency

JPat Brown January 20, 2016

The American Textile Industry Was Woven From Espionage

Ashley Bowen January 13, 2016