From The Archive

14 Bowl Competitions to Look For if Football’s Not For You

Are you ready for some Ethics? World Geography? Data Science?

New York City's Other Subway

This stranger-than-fiction saga involves a secret dig, a massive success, and unheard-of political corruption.

Baker Pays Tribute to Pop Culture With Colorful Cookies

The perfect pairing of pop culture and pastry.

Museum of English Rural Life, University of Reading

New Mouse Dies Inside a Museum's 155-Year-Old Mouse Trap

They don't make mouse traps like they used to.

What Makes French Sound Sexy?

Those breathy vowels are so 'ooh la la.'

Grave Sightings: Richard Gatling

Dr. Richard Gatling invented a lot of things, but he's best known for the deadly creation that bears his name.

Birth Mother and Her Daughter Reunite After 82 Years Apart

More than eight decades after her baby was taken away by the state of New York, a 96-year-old woman has been reunited with the child she never knew.

Encyclopedia Brittannica via Wikipedia // Public Domain

Solemnly Swearing: 9 Times Oaths Are Required

Sometimes it's ok to swear.

Why Are Hotel 'Rack Rates' So Exorbitantly High?

It's often several hundreds of dollars more than you would likely actually pay for the room. Why?

It’s Official: Tom Hanks is America's Favorite Movie Star

As if there was any doubt.

Image Composite: Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Commons

8 Versions of Popular Technology That Didn’t Make the Cut

The process of discovery leaves behind a trail of ideas that didn’t pass muster, and the road to just about every breakthrough we’ve made is littered with alternate versions that got left behind.

7 Forgotten Foods Found on Old Restaurant Menus

We used to eat mock turtle, calf's feet, and peacock, among other unusual delicacies.

World's Most Remote Inhabited Island is Looking for An Experienced Farmer

If you’re an experienced farmer who likes sheep more than people, a far-flung volcanic archipelago in the South Atlantic has the perfect job for you.

This Website Lets You Hear The Roar of 1920s New York City

In order to re-create the sonic history of New York City, historian Emily Thompson has created an interactive website called The Roaring Twenties, exploring the historical soundscape of New York City in the 1920s.

How A Misjudged Act Of Piracy (And A Pig’s Snout) Give The Currency Of Tonga Its Name

Many of the world’s currencies take their names from fairly predictable origins—like weights and measures or precious metals, for example—but the currency of Tonga, the pa‘anga, has a rather unusual history.

The Internet Rallied to Keep a Retired Cop and His K-9 Partner Together

The story of Officer Hickey and Ajax pulled on thousands of heart strings—and led to thousands of dollars for their cause.

The Next Trend in Fitness Wearables: Analyzing Your Sweat

Berkeley researchers are developing a wearable that can monitor your sweat for dehydration and more.

Do Skunks Know They Stink?

What happens when a skunk sprays another skunk? We asked the one man who would know.

The Play That Gave Us the Word Robot

Humans have long been obsessed with the idea of man-like machines they could dominate—or be dominated by. But the word 'robot' is just 90 years old, and the blockbuster play that introduced the word has long since been forgotten.