Histories
A Brief History of AZT, HIV's First 'Ray of Hope'
In 1987, a year of extra life for an HIV patient could be everything.
Hypatia and the Double-Edged Sword of Women’s Science History
Celebrating the bravest women in science history on International Women’s Day.
At the Dawn of Crowdsourcing—in 1907
This week is the anniversary of Francis Galton’s “Vox Populi,” which demonstrated the “wisdom of crowds” quantitatively.
'Atomic Alert': A Scare-Infomercial at the Dawn of Mutually-Assured Destruction
Aw, shucks, an airburst.
Happy Birthday to the ‘Greatest Public Health Experiment in History’
The Salk polio vaccine goes to trial in a Pittsburg elementary school.
Henry Piddington and the 'New Science of Cyclonology'
'A curious and beautiful' 19th-century experiment based on being thrashed by a deadly storm.
Happy Birthday to the Cold War's Most Eerie Technology: The 'Atom Sub'
The ghosts that haunt Earth's last remaining hiding places.
The Occult Rocket Scientist Who Conjured Spirits with L. Ron Hubbard
Born 100 years ago, Jack Parsons seemed devoted to reconciling opposites, smashing together the technical and the spiritual.
Sometimes a Typo Means You Need to Blow Up Your Own Spacecraft
Mariner I, a bit of missing mathematical notation, and why more doom by tiny mistakes is in our future.
Giving Handjobs for Money Is My Least Favorite Kind of Sex Work
I have been a sex worker for about seven years, but I recently turned 31, which means I'm a senior citizen in sex worker years, so last fall when a friend invited me to work at a handjob salon, I figured, I'll try my hand at that!