Our Supermen
Superman's story is one of America's most retold because, as this country's most famous and beloved character, he's a mirror through which we see ourselves.
Browsing Tag
History
126 posts
How America Stole Baseball From the United Kingdom
Americans didn't invent baseball. Why do we work so hard to pretend we did?
Guess What? Traditional Marriage Doesn’t Exist
Worried about the government accepting gay marriages? It only pretty recently started accepting straight ones.
Don’t Be Afraid of Going to Graduate School in the Humanities
Full-time, tenure-track professorships in the humanities are famously scarce. But that's not a reason to avoid an advanced degree. Even if you don't end up in academia, odds are you'll have a job—and you'll love it.
Before It Was Your Phone
The NSA's eavesdropping and data-gathering may be unsettling, but it's only recently that we've begun to think of our telephone conversations as personal and private.
How Lobster Got Fancy
The surprising history—from food for the poor, servants, and prisoners to a soldier's staple to everybody's idea of a delicacy—of "the cockroach of the ocean." Or, one of the most remarkable rebrandings in product history.
Happy Memorial Day. Thank the Confederacy.
On the surprising origins of an official federal holiday that now marks the opening of summer in the United States.
Remember That Time Abraham Lincoln Tried to Get the Slaves to Leave America?
No, you don't, but it happened well into his presidency. Aaron Gordon speaks to the man who has tried to paint a true, human portrait of the Great Emancipator—even if we don't want to hear it.
Why Hipsters Hate On Lana Del Rey
From indie to rap to South Texas polka, music communities fight to define authenticity in pop
Dazzle Shoppe: Animated Window Advertising In The Pre-TV Age
Before viewing the retail experience became the province of TVs and tablets, if you wanted to see possible presents dancing around you had to head to the windows of downtown department stores.