Tim Brinkhof

Joined: Jul 19, 2023

Tim Brinkhof is a Dutch journalist based in the U.S. who has written about art and history for Vox, Vulture, Esquire, Big Think, and more.

The Surprisingly Lewd Origins of the “Rub-a-Dub-Dub” Nursery Rhyme

It’s Official: Astronomers Confirm the Universe’s Oldest Black Hole

A fallout shelter sign left over from the Cold War still visible in Brooklyn, New York.

Why Do We Still See Fallout Shelter Signs?

Trekking poles help you keep your balance on uneven terrain.

How Trekking Poles Can Boost Your Hiking Game

Who put the ‘patent’ in ‘patent leather’?

What Exactly Is Patent Leather—And Is It Actually Patented?

The coating protected items like boots and carriage parts from wear and tear—and looked luxurious while doing so. But who invented patent leather? And does that person actually hold a patent for it?

An 1898 map of the District of Columbia.

Why Is the Nation's Capital Called the “District of Columbia”?

Inside the complicated compromise that created the District of Columbia and the City of Washington—which are kind of the same thing.

Why Is It Called “Cream Soda” If There’s No Cream In It?

The answer lies in the way our brains and taste buds respond to vanilla.

C. elegans nematodes in their squiggly, non-towering mode.

Nematodes Form “Living Towers of Worms” to Move as One

The microscopic worms are one of only a few species known to assemble into “superorganisms” that act and move collectively.

You Probably Shouldn't Be Mouth Taping While You Sleep

This TikTok-popular trend is more dangerous than people may realize, according to a new scientific review.

The bow of the USS ‘Samuel B. Roberts,’ lying more than 4 miles under the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

What Is the Deepest Shipwreck Ever Found?

These are the five deepest shipwrecks ever discovered, including the USS ‘Samuel B. Roberts,’ which went to the depths of the Philippine Trench during the Second World War.

The Alien Act was enacted by John Adams’s Federalist administration in preparation for a war that didn’t actually happen.

11 Fundamental Facts About the Alien and Sedition Acts

Three of the four acts expired shortly after they were signed into law in the late 1700s. One remains active—and it’s been at the center of constitutional debates ever since.

One of many protests against the Vietnam War in the late 1960s.

10 Significant Vietnam War Protests

The deeply unpopular war led to the biggest and most consequential protest movement in U.S. history. Here are the key events and reactions.

What’s the Difference Between a Bull and a Bear Market?

The economic terms get tossed around a lot these days, but one market is clearly better for investors.

Senator Joseph McCarthy (center) and Roy Cohn (right) during the Army-McCarthy Hearings in June 1954.

10 Suspicious Facts about McCarthyism

McCarthyism advertised itself as a response to national security threats created by the Cold War, including Soviet espionage. But the movement was bigger than Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Astronauts Piers J. Sellers (left) and David A. Wolf in the midst of a pre-breathe exercise in preparation for a spacewalk.

How Do Astronauts Breathe in Space?

Engineers have had to come up with some interesting ways to generate oxygen for astronauts in the vacuum of space.

A mass of shipping containers at the port of Shenzen, China.

How Do Tariffs Work?

Tariffs are a means for one country to wrangle better trade terms with another country and to protect domestic manufacturing. Unfortunately, they don’t always deliver.