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History & Society
Trace how culture, power, and ideas shape societies across time.
While Costco warehouses may remind shoppers of Walmart, this membership-only retailer has a business model that more closely resembles Amazon or Netflix.
Million Stories
Concluding that Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest was caused by the COVID vaccine requires accepting highly improbable leaps of logic.
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.
15mins
Male inequality — the enormous cultural shift happening right under our nose.
In 1920, astronomers debated the nature of the Universe. The results were meaningless until years later, when the key evidence arrived.
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.
4mins
Why do so many cultures celebrate holidays at the same time of year?
John Templeton Foundation
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.
Seneca thought the use of ice was a "true fever of the most malignant kind."
6mins
In 1965, six boys were stranded on an island. Fifteen months later, the survivors were rescued. How many were there?
John Templeton Foundation
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.
These five great books should prompt us to work on what needs fixing the most in the world: ourselves.
These were the stories you clicked on the most.
"The Da Vinci Code" popularized the idea that Christians stole much of their theology. It's wrong, especially regarding Christmas.