History & Society

History & Society

Trace how culture, power, and ideas shape societies across time.

The amazing life of “Gudrid the Far-Traveled” was unjustly overshadowed by her in-laws, Erik the Red and Leif Erikson.
Boredom isn’t the enemy; it’s a catalyst for changing your relationship to work.
In 1920, astronomers debated the nature of the Universe. The results were meaningless until years later, when the key evidence arrived.
sleep duration
If you want to sleep more, try working less, eating better, and exercising more. Alternatively, you could emigrate to Albania.
As time goes on, dark energy makes distant galaxies recede from us ever faster in our expanding Universe. But nothing truly disappears.
Passing chunks of ice can fertilize ocean waters and play a role in the planet’s carbon cycle.
map of universe
In the grand scheme of the cosmic story, a single year isn't all that significant. But over time, the annual changes really add up!
Evolution repeatedly hit upon this solution simply because it works.
The shift from steam to electricity was inevitable — but some foresaw it earlier than others.
ice
Seneca thought the use of ice was a "true fever of the most malignant kind."
In 2020, scientists took more than a kilo of moon rock and soil back to Earth for testing.
We might be dining on insect-based Christmas pies with robot-harvested algae on the side.
great books
These five great books should prompt us to work on what needs fixing the most in the world: ourselves.
"The Da Vinci Code" popularized the idea that Christians stole much of their theology. It's wrong, especially regarding Christmas.
Ada Lovelace’s skills with language, music, and needlepoint all contributed to her pioneering work in computing.
Some analysts predict that Amazon's revenue will double over the next five years.
Million Stories
Never stop looking at the skies in wonder.
Despite their brief history, computers and AI have fundamentally changed what we see, what we know, and what we do.