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Town criers, one of Britain's longest—and loudest—traditions, fell silent during the pandemic, including competitions.
villages

How Do You Win a Silent Town Crier Competition?

Participants honored Britain's long and loud tradition without a single shout.
Richard Collett May 28, 2021
Caption
shells

Poe's Best-Selling Book During His Lifetime Was a Guide to Seashells

"The Conchologist’s First Book" was good enough to elevate the entire field.
John Tresch May 27, 2021
TK
women

Remembering the London Refuge for South Asian Nannies Far From Home

Abandoned by their employers after a months-long sea voyage, countless women found shelter here.
Radhika Iyengar May 25, 2021
List

Celebrate Asian-American History With These Eateries and Food Businesses

Some are more than 100 years old.
Anne Ewbank May 24, 2021
Passages shipwreck on Jurby Beach.
List

18 Shipwrecks You Can See Without Getting Your Feet Wet

No scuba tank? No problem! Maritime history is for landlubbers, too.
Gemma Tarlach May 24, 2021
Uranophane from the German site of Menzenschwand in Baden-Württemberg.
abandoned

A DIY Guide to Collecting Radioactive Rocks Gets Glowing Reviews

The free how-to dispels myths and minimizes the hazards of hunting and hoarding these special specimens.
Sarah Scoles May 20, 2021
Edgewood, Iowa

Ice Cave of Bixby State Preserve

Chilly air billows out from the entrance of an abandoned mine on a steep hillside, providing a refuge for Ice Age fauna and flora.
Ernest Shackleton, Captain Robert Falcon Scott, and Edward Wilson (right to left) as they were preparing to explore the Ross Ice Shelf as part of the British National Antarctic Expedition in November 1902.
exploration

Why Did Antarctic Explorer Ernest Shackleton Keep 'Conking Out'?

A vitamin deficiency may have changed the course of a continent's history.
Gemma Tarlach May 13, 2021
Mogao Cave 158. Middle Tang (781–848) Reclining Buddha, Parinirvāṇa scene. West wall. Lo Archive photograph, 1943–44. Princeton University (Lo 158-10).
caves

The Adventurous Quest to Capture Remote Buddhist Caves in the 1940s

Innovative photographers James and Lucy Lo created a time capsule of a sacred space at a vulnerable time.
Winnie Lee May 11, 2021
Musicians perform sankyoku, traditional Japanese chamber music, in an undated photograph.
music

118 Years Later, Japan's Earliest Sound Recordings Still Resonate

Sessions in a Tokyo hotel room with a sound engineering pioneer captured a nation in transition.
Anton Spice May 10, 2021
Ligatne Secret Soviet Bunker
List

23 Places to Relive the Cold War

Tunnels, towers, and control rooms preserve an era of tension and paranoia.
Gemma Tarlach May 6, 2021
Mr Fitzpatrick's has long served as a community hub.
bars

The Radical Roots of Britain's Last Temperance Bar

It's now a monument to a forgotten campaign against alcohol.
Jenny Elliott May 4, 2021
Charlie Chaplin filmed part of <em>The Kid</em> in one section of the alley.
film locations

The L.A. Alley That's a Subtle Silent-Film Landmark

One of Hollywood's hardest-working locations finally gets its due.
Tyler Malone November 2, 2022
A family poses outside their homestead, somewhere out west, in the late 19th century.
history

How Personal Ads Helped Conquer the American West

That tradition of finding partners in the face of social isolation persists today.
Linda Rodriguez McRobbie April 29, 2021
Al Capone Cherry Tree and “Caponette.”
Baltimore, Maryland

Al Capone Cherry Tree

This lovely tree was a thank you gift from the man known as "Public Enemy No.1."
A 17th-century Swiss etching of Emperor Tiberius on horseback, by Matthäus Merian the Elder.
murder

Tiberius, Imperial Detective

In ancient Rome, murder was a private business, unless the emperor took an interest in the case.
Emma Southon April 21, 2021
A few well-preserved cave dwellings remain in Langenstein, carved with hammer and chisel in the mid-19th century.
caves

How 19th-Century German Farmers Turned Caves Into Homes

Preserving an unusual slice of rural life.
Yamuna Matheswaran April 21, 2021
mummies

Podcast: Communist Mummies

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team April 19, 2021