Material Culture | Life & News

Friday, July 3, 2026

Life went on in the late 18th century, regardless of your everyday ailments. Archive Photos/Getty Images

culture

How did it feel to be an American colonist in 1776?...

Staff Writer - July 2, 2026

Katherine Ott, Smithsonian Institution Trade the tricorn hats, bonnets and homespun shirts for flip flops, sneakers and soccer jerseys,...

EXPLORING NATURE

Legionnaires wait to testify before a special congressional inquiry in November 1976 into the cause of the mysterious disease. Bettmann/Bettman Collection via Getty Images

Health

Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Philadelphia in 1976 was mysterious and deadly...

Staff Writer - June 20, 2026

Charles N. Haas, Drexel University and Robert Promisloff, Drexel University The landmark Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia went out...

The Dames Point Bridge spans a river in Jacksonville, Fla. Jonathan Zander/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

Quantum sensors could spot hidden damage in the thousands of US...

June 19, 2026

A record-tying heat wave helped spread a wildfire in Northern California’s Shasta and Trinity counties in July 2018. Terray Sylvester/Getty Images

Heat waves increase wildfire risk – a new study explains how...

June 18, 2026

Space is full of satellites and debris – data centers could one day join the mix. NicoElNino, NASA/iStock via Getty Images

Building data centers in space is an intriguing idea on paper,...

June 16, 2026

A sign on a dirt hiking trail in the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska points to naturalist John Muir’s cabin. Wanderluster/iStock/Getty Images

Paving paradise: Dismantling the US Roadless Rule threatens to disrupt wildlife,...

June 15, 2026