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Idaho yard.
transportation

The Dangers of Train Yards, Through the Eyes of Railroad Employees

A collection of photos from the 1960s tried to show why locomotives need two people in the cab.
Sarah Laskow July 3, 2018
At the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Maryland, their Newton tree has grown since 1966.
maps

How Isaac Newton's Apple Tree Spread Across the World

Clones and descendants of the famed tree grow on 6 continents.
Anne Ewbank June 26, 2018
trees

Newton's Apple Tree Around the World

A global map of science's most important tree.
Anne Ewbank June 26, 2018
Kīlauea Iki in 1959.
volcanoes

How Forests Rebound From Being Covered in Lava

It all starts with algae.
Sarah Laskow June 19, 2018
The barn at the Clemens Farmstead, where James and Sophia Clemens settled in 1818.
maps

The Forgotten Black Pioneers Who Settled the Midwest

Before the Civil War, free black settlements grew in the Northwest Territory.
Sarah Laskow June 14, 2018
<em>Mt. Columbia, First Ascent for Ladies</em>, 1938.
film

The Pioneering Mountain Climber and Skier Who Filmed Her Own Exploits

Her work is now available as part of a project to digitize home movies made by women.
Sarah Laskow June 12, 2018
Michigan train depot, c. 1900.
relics

Rediscovering Lost Literary Treasures of the American Midwest

A small press is reviving forgotten—but newly relevant—writing about a complex region and its people.
Sarah Laskow June 8, 2018
Posy Busby in a cottonwood garden in Corvallis, Oregon.
microbes

There Is a Whole World Inside Every Plant

Plants have microbiomes, too, and they're full of untapped secrets.
Sarah Laskow May 29, 2018
The cover of Marijane Meaker's 1952 novel <em>Spring Fire</em>, which sold hundreds of thousands of copies and was published under a pseudonym.
literature

The Lesbian Pulp Fiction That Saved Lives

How potboilers and pin-ups showed gay and bisexual women they were not alone.
Natasha Frost May 22, 2018
The night sky in June 2016, over McMurdo Station.
science

Shedding New Light on the Mysteries of Antarctica's Long, Dark Winter

The continent's winter months present one of the most challenging—and surprising—research environments on Earth.
Sarah Laskow May 15, 2018
After the war, some of the prefabricated houses—like this "A" version, photographed in 1957—were transformed with brick and siding.
atom bombs

How the Manhattan Project's Nuclear Suburb Stayed Secret

Oak Ridge, Tennessee, once home to 75,000, went up fast and under the radar. But it was built to last, too.
Jessica Leigh Hester May 3, 2018
Glen Eden Einbinder mostly stores his collection in boxes and files.
collections

The Man Searching the World for Artifacts Bearing His Name

Why an artist named Glen Eden collects "Glen Eden" memorabilia.
Natasha Frost April 30, 2018
In Pacanów, Koziołek Matołek is everywhere.
goats

The Cartoon Goat From Poland Who Wandered the World in Search of Shoes

Koziołek Matołek resonated with generations of Polish children.
Sarah Laskow April 27, 2018
How many craters and dark spots can you name?
astronomy

Who Keeps Track of All the Craters on the Moon?

For generations, women have been critical to bringing order to the chaos of the solar system.
Jessica Leigh Hester April 25, 2018
What secrets does a library hold?
libraries

Every Library Has a Story to Tell

Three new books for bibliophiles dig into the hidden human side of book collections.
Sarah Laskow April 24, 2018
A girdle book held by the Beinecke Library at Yale University.
objects of intrigue

Go Medieval by Attaching a Book to Your Belt

They're incredibly rare today, but portable girdle books were once very handy.
Sarah Laskow April 19, 2018
Medicines, tonics, and other cure-alls mingle in the drawers.
museums

Exploring a Hidden Archive of New York City's Historic Trash

A museum's basement holds a trove of fascinating castoffs.
Jessica Leigh Hester April 2, 2018
A grid of icons shows the various incarnations of the accessibility icon.
design

The Controversial Process of Redesigning the Wheelchair Symbol

It has its own emoji, but where did the new Accessible Icon come from?
Natasha Frost March 29, 2018