history

  • Why Do So Many People Believe in Miracle Cures?

    Why Do So Many People Believe in Miracle Cures?

    Of all the archetypal American figures that we’ve lost over the last century or so, none is missed more dearly (by me, at least) than the itinerant medicine man. Rushing from town to town with his case of useless elixirs, patiently erecting his wooden platforms, standing atop these platforms and barking outrageous claims on behalf…


  • When Will Regular People Be Able to Visit the Moon?

    When Will Regular People Be Able to Visit the Moon?

    As a tourist destination, the Moon doesn’t have a lot to offer: no beaches, no museums, no oxygen. On the other hand, it does have the virtue of being the Moon. The fucking Moon! That’s reason enough, really, to justify a trip, but try booking a flight and you’ll quickly run into obstacles. You’ll be…


  • How The Bicycle Changed The World For Women

    How The Bicycle Changed The World For Women

    In 1897, Cambridge students lined the streets to protest a vote that would grant women the right to earn a degree at their prestigious all-male university. The budding shitheads of the turn of the century launched rockets, threw eggs and hanged an effigy of the powerful “New Woman” from a building and subsequently mutilated it…