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Features

"Total Eclipse of the Heart," remains the top guilty pleasure people like to belt out in the privacy of their own homes, according to a poll.

'Total Eclipse of the Heart' Was Almost a Meat Loaf Song

Bonnie Tyler’s classic rock epic nearly got the ‘Bat Out of Hell’ treatment.

Natalie Zarrelli March 11, 2024

An 1851 diagram of eclipses and the theory of the tides.

Eclipse Maps Entered a Golden Age Thanks to Edmond Halley

In the 18th century, the English astronomer created a new appreciation for these celestial events.

Sarah Laskow March 11, 2024

The solar eclipse over Zhengzhou in central China on January 15, 2010.

space exploration

Why the April 2024 Total Solar Eclipse May Blow Your Mind

How a jaw-dropping experience like this one can change the rest of your life.

Sarah Laskow March 11, 2024

A woman knitting, Washington DC, 1941.

The Wartime Spies Who Used Knitting as an Espionage Tool

Grandma was just making a sweater. Or was she?

Natalie Zarrelli March 16, 2022

The so-called “Nag’s Head Portrait,” possibly of Theodosia Burr Alston.

The Dramatic Life and Mysterious Death of Theodosia Burr

The fate of Aaron Burr's daughter remains a topic of contention.

Hadley Meares March 9, 2022

In the late 19th century, "ghost hoaxers" wore costumes to terrify unsuspecting victims.

The Mischievous 'Ghost Hoaxers' of 19th-Century Australia

To stave off boredom, some people donned sheets and menaced the public.

Joseph Hayes October 29, 2019

An 1876 map showing Laurel Cemetery.

The Grim History Hidden Under a Baltimore Parking Lot

After an African-American cemetery was bulldozed, families wondered what happened to the graves.

Sarah Laskow October 25, 2019

Brother Jonathan celebrates the American centenary by straddling the towers of the main building at the Philadelphia World's Fair of 1876.

independence day

Before America Got Uncle Sam, It Had to Endure Brother Jonathan

Brash, bold, and bigoted, he made for an uneasy national mascot.

Adee Braun July 4, 2019

A 1973 chicken barbecue fundraiser for a fire department.

Why All of Upstate New York Grew Up Eating the Same Barbecue Chicken

The true legacy of the Cornell professor who invented the chicken nugget.

Sarah Laskow May 26, 2019

Giant African land snails are among the largest land snails in the world.

How Giant, Intelligent Snails Became a Marker of Our Age

Ages from now, giant snails could be one of the lasting signs of human influence on Earth.

Sarah Laskow November 29, 2018

In Its First Decades, The United States Nurtured Schoolgirl Mapmakers

Education for women and emerging nationhood, illustrated with care and charm.

Sarah Laskow November 28, 2018

Meet the Fatbergs

Digging into the science of three cities' sewer-clogging blobs.

Jessica Leigh Hester November 20, 2018

The models of three Lego figurines sent with the Juno spacecraft are Galileo Galilei and the Roman gods Juno and Jupiter.

Is There Anybody Out There… Keeping Track of the Weird Stuff We Send Into Space?

This catalog attempts to figure out what we're telling the rest of the universe about ourselves.

Sarah Laskow November 19, 2018

All of these garages were photographed in the early 1970s in Van Nuys, California.

Why There's No Place Quite Like the American Garage

The garage is a symbol of suburbia, a site of rebellion, and a very strange room.

Sarah Laskow November 13, 2018

The Walhalla railway in Australia.

Glimpses of Lost Railway Journeys of the Past

A new book collects 33 routes that went off the rails.

Sarah Laskow November 12, 2018

Eleanor Roosevelt voting in 1936.

Voting Booths Were a Radical 19th-Century Reform to Stop Election Fraud

An idea imported from Australia, they helped enable the "secret" part of secret ballots.

Sarah Laskow November 5, 2018

Exploring the Tragic Beauty of Greenland's Melting Ice Sheets

From above, the textured landscape can be almost abstract.

Sarah Laskow November 5, 2018

Cremated remains enter the water in biodegradable bags.

Can Hong Kong Sell Its Residents on Watery Graves?

Sea burial is a way to save space in a dense city, but runs counter to funeral traditions.

Jessica Leigh Hester October 31, 2018