Smell is most ephemeral of senses. We can easily imagine how the past looked, but rarely do we think about how it smelled. Given the lack of hygiene for much of human history, perhaps that is for the best. But for as long as there have been bad smells, humans have been trying to cover

Charles Darwin used his theory of natural selection to explain evolution. That is, organisms are able to adapt and survive in their environment better than their predecessors did. These organisms pass their most favorable features to their offspring, which continue the cycle. However, technology is already interfering with natural selection—at least in humans. Almost every

There’s something tantalizing about archaeology. It’s like watching a Sherlock Holmes mystery being solved right before our eyes. The clues are all there, buried under the ground. We just need to go and find them. Archaeology is sometimes seen as the “poster boy” of history by other historians. Its flashy discoveries often steal the limelight,

Although many of the procedures we perform on animals are for their own welfare, other times, we might just cut off a body part because it looks good. (Or we humans like to think so, at least!) Putting things in animals (or taking them out) can also make the critters more manageable. Or make us

Ted Kaczynski, known to most as the Unabomber, was a genius who used his talents to construct and plant bombs that would lead the FBI around in circles for 17 years.[1] He was a mathematician-turned-ecoterrorist who used threats to get his 35,000-word manifesto published in The New York Times and The Washington Post. According to

For those outside of a religion, there are certain aspects of faith that will always be hilarious no matter how seriously believers take them. Religion is impenetrable to reason. However, even within a religion, there can be debates among the faithful. These might strike outsiders as funny, but to those in the middle of them,

Iron swirls at the center of the Earth and even in our blood. The metal also resides within mysteries like Earth’s disappearing iron and the ancient Chinese potters who created a rare variant that no modern laboratory can. Iron’s reputation might be dull, but it turns up in strange places in ways that are spectacular—from

Many people who only encounter the Greek and Roman myths as children never learn just how weird some of them are. In the versions told to young people, the gods can be capricious and cruel, but the darker aspects of their actions are often hidden. Zeus’s sexual conquests alone could fill a book with bizarre

Slavery is one of the most controversial topics out there today. Although we all agree it was terrible, we probably never learned enough about it in school. Slavery was much more complicated than we think, and contrary to what most people believe, it was not all about blacks. Whites were also kept as slaves. Nevertheless,

Islands remain a mainstay for vacationers and romance novelists. Beyond stress relief and imaginary heroes, islands are complex worlds. There are mysterious places that challenge experts with artificial islands and unknown rituals. Islands are also mass graves and the ocean’s trash bins—to a horrifying degree. Then there are the hills where sheep carry cameras for

Not every sound we hear around us is what we think it is. Some are created specifically to play on our imaginations and beliefs. This often happens, for example, when we consider a specific sound as an indicator of the quality or effectiveness of a product. Manufacturers know this, too, and often engineer the noises