Topic

History

A collection of 428 issues

The Devil's Root and the Poison Apple: How Two Andean Outcasts Reinvented Global Cuisine

Iconic dishes from Italian marinara to Irish stew hinge on two plants from the Andes that Europe initially rejected as poisonous and diabolical, revealing how our most 'authentic' cuisines are surprisingly modern global inventions.

History Food & Lifestyle Science & Nature

The Love Letter That Brought the Digital World to its Knees

In May 2000, an email with the subject 'ILOVEYOU' unleashed one of history's most destructive computer worms, causing up to $15 billion in damages. The culprit was quickly identified but never punished, revealing a shocking global blind spot where technology had outpaced the law.

Technology & Innovation History Law, Crime & Justice

The Pentagon's Time Traveler: A Career Bookended by Decades

One man holds the strange distinction of running the Pentagon in two different centuries, first as its youngest-ever secretary and then, a generation later, as its oldest. His career, bookended by the Cold War and the War on Terror, charts a unique course through American power.

Biography & Personal Stories Politics & Power History

America's Kitchen Confidante Was a Corporate Ghost

For over a century, Betty Crocker has been a household name, but she was never a real person. She was a marketing invention whose signature, voice, and ever-changing face were meticulously crafted to mirror the evolving ideal of the American woman.

History Business & Economics Culture & Design

The First Cut: How a Surgical Tool for Childbirth Became the Chainsaw

Before its growl echoed through forests, the chainsaw's ancestor was a delicate, hand-cranked instrument invented in the 1780s. Its purpose was not to cut wood, but to aid in desperate childbirths by surgically severing the pelvic bone.

History Inventions & Discoveries Medicine

The Grimy, Soapy, Unlikely Origin of Play-Doh

Before it was a childhood icon, Play-Doh was a putty invented in the 1930s for a grimy purpose: cleaning coal soot from wallpaper. This is the story of how a failing household product was saved from obsolescence by a nursery school teacher's brilliant idea.

Inventions & Discoveries Business & Economics History

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