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Sometimes it feels good to be bad.
games

The Joys of Pretend Villainy

What's so great about playing the bad guy, according to LARPers.
Eric Grundhauser January 26, 2017
Pastel de nata—the slightly burnt pieces are the best part.
food

Portugal's Unexpectedly Heroic Custard Tarts

The Portuguese have twice turned to the humble pastry to solve economic problems.
Karla Pequenino January 25, 2017
The cover of Le Mort qui tue, an early Fantomas novel
film

The Criminal History of Fantômas, France's Favorite Fictional Villain

He influenced everything from Surrealism to the X-Men.
Sarah Laskow January 25, 2017
The book is a collector's item on eBay
japan

The Curious Curriculum of the 1950s Red Cross 'Bride Schools'

How Japanese women who married G.I.s got taught to be U.S. housewives.
Kristin Hunt January 24, 2017
A replica of the "Bulgarian umbrella" used to kill Markov.
weapons

The True History of the Umbrella Gun, a Surprisingly Serious Weapon

Once used to assassinate a Bulgarian dissident, the disguised firearm eventually became a trope of spy films.
Sarah Laskow January 24, 2017
Maximilian Zorin's airship, about to blimpnap an unsuspecting Bond girl.
features

Airships: The Most Villainous Form of Transport

From Colonel Blimp to Baron Bomburst, pop-culture bad guys sure love to cruise around in the sky.
Cara Giaimo January 23, 2017
A still from the silent comedy, <em>Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life</em>
film

The Myth of the Damsel on the Railroad Tracks

Tying up women in front of oncoming trains was never a real thing.
Eric Grundhauser January 23, 2017
The frozen sea goes north.
monks

The First Observations of Sea Ice Came From 8th-Century Irish Monks in Iceland

They were actually searching for God.
Sarah Laskow January 20, 2017
Francis Buckland and a fish.
victorian

The Father and Son Who Ate Every Animal Possible

William and Francis Buckland saw Noah's Ark as a dinner menu.
Craig Donofrio January 19, 2017
A helmet from the 1961 Mercury spacesuit. The space helmet wouldn't be the same had it not been for Alice King Chatham's contributions.
nasa

The Female Space Sculptor Who Designed the Earliest Space and Aviation Helmets

Alice King Chatham's name is attached to some of the world's most pivotal aviation and space experiments.
Lauren Young January 18, 2017
The McMillan plan reimagined the Mall.
parks

The Park Service Just Spent $40 Million on Grass and Will Not Let Inauguration Ruin It

The National Mall must be protected.
Sarah Laskow January 18, 2017
A master bathroom, c. 2007.
architecture

The Rise of the Luxurious Suburban Master Bathroom

How a utilitarian room turned into a pleasure palace.
Kate Wagner January 17, 2017
A version of Saussure's cyanometer, published in 1790
objects of intrigue

A Scientist Invented the Cyanometer Just to Measure the Blueness of the Sky

Horace-Bénédict de Saussure wanted to climb a mountain and mark the sky's hue accurately.
Sarah Laskow January 17, 2017
The Voder at the 1939 New York World's Fair
computers

The Voder, the First Machine to Create Human Speech

It spoke like a creepy demon.
Eric Grundhauser January 16, 2017
Meet the Weepul.
toys

Rediscovering the Wonderful World of Weepuls

These 1980s promotional fuzzballs refuse to die.
Eric Grundhauser January 13, 2017
A nuclear-powered submarine conducting a emergency surfacing, 1978
science

How the Navy Tried to Turn Bioluminescence Against the Soviets

They spent decades on it.
Sarah Laskow January 13, 2017
Can this simple contraption predict the weather?
sharks

Predicting the Weather With Shark Oil

No one is quite sure how Bermuda's unique barometers deliver their forecasts.
Eric Grundhauser January 12, 2017
Martha Matilda Harper.
kickass women

Martha Matilda Harper, the Greatest Businesswoman You’ve Never Heard Of

She pioneered retail franchising and created the American hair salon industry.
Jaimie Seaton January 11, 2017