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Artisans at the company have been fussing over small details for centuries.
design

The Enduring Haute Couture of a 470-Year Old Kimono House

How Chiso, a relatively obscure Japanese textile firm, keeps an age-old craft fresh.
Claire Voon February 1, 2021
A former London Underground train approaches Sandown station on the Isle of Wight.
islands

London's Retired Tube Trains Live on an Island

Vintage rail cars hide in plain sight on the Isle of Wight.
Lauren Keith February 1, 2021
Columbine Memorial
Littleton, Colorado

Columbine Memorial

A memorial dedicated to the victims of the Columbine High School shootings.
Pilgrims traveled a long way to seek protection.
plague

Medieval Pilgrims Apparently Tried to Ward Off the Plague With Bawdy Badges

Metal phalluses and vulvas were thought to protect against disease.
Olivia Campbell January 29, 2021
A whale chase depicted in the log of the ship <em>Washington</em> kept by James G. Coffin in the early 1840s.
animals

The Beautiful, Brutal World of Whaleship Art

The logbooks kept by 19th-century Nantucket whalers offer a colorful peek into the gruesome industry.
Jessica Boyall January 25, 2021
The sun rises behind the White House in 2005.
architecture

The Secrets of the White House Reflect Its History of Constancy and Change

A sturdy desk, an empty pool, and—maybe—secret passages.
Luna Shyr January 22, 2021
Tel Aviv's painted tiles had their heyday in the 1920s.
architecture

Secrets From Tel Aviv’s ‘Eclectic’ Era Are Hiding All Over the City

Briefly popular in the 1920s, these beautifully patterned tiles have made a comeback.
Gitit Ginat January 19, 2021
Newton's Apple Tree, Trinity College
Cambridge, England

Newton's Apple Tree, Trinity College

This tree was grafted from the actual tree that led Isaac Newton to ponder the theory of gravity.
An Alaskan miner bakes a loaf, likely of sourdough, in 1898.
food

Why Longtime Alaska Residents Are Called 'Sourdoughs'

It's not just bread; it's a way of life.
Bailey Berg January 15, 2021
Just a few of the hundreds of thousands who attended the 1963 March on Washington.
history

Sold: Papers From the Planning of the 1963 March on Washington

They tell a ground-level story of how peaceful movements led to social change, and how much remains to be done.
Matthew Taub January 10, 2023
After a thorough cleaning, this column capital showed off striking color.
temples

The Messy Business of Scrubbing 2,000 Years of Bird Poop From an Egyptian Temple

The crap covered up cartouches and constellations.
Isaac Schultz January 13, 2021
The celebrations surrounding Walpurgis Night, at the beginning of May, brings out the witch-kitsch culture of Germany's Harz highlands.
magic

Witch Kitsch and Dark History in Germany's Harz Mountains

From fairy tale towns to torture devices to absurd attractions.
Kristen J. Sollée January 12, 2021
Archaeologists Joshua Kumbani (left) and Sarah Wurz (right) work at a site near the Klasies River in South Africa.
sounds

The Archaeologists Recreating the Sounds of the Stone Age

Researchers are working to uncover whether ancient objects in South Africa were once used to make noise or music.
Sarah Wild January 12, 2021
Novelist Sir Walter Scott, who lived from 1771 to 1832.
libraries

Why 1920s L.A. Went Wild for an 19th-Century Scottish Novelist

Walter Scott wrote fantasies about medieval Saxons—just the thing for Jazz Age Angelenos.
Keith Johnston January 7, 2021
Narezushi is made of fish and rice, but that's where the similarity with modern sushi ends.
food

To Make Japan's Original Sushi, First Age Fish for Several Months

Or even years.
Clarissa Wei January 4, 2021
'Sam'
Riga, Latvia

'Sam'

This statue is dedicated to the animal cosmonauts that perished during space flight experiments.
The emblems on this 18th-century wineglass declare the drinkers' devotion to a deposed king.
objects of intrigue

These Coded Wine Glasses Were Used for Treasonous Toasts

The Jacobites slyly drank to a deposed king.
Amelia Soth December 28, 2020
Khostinskiy, Russia

Dacha Kvitko

An abandoned mansion is now a haven for urban explorers.