On July 16, 1945, the atomic age began with the Trinity nuclear test. Related, this 1954 PSA, How a Clean, Tidy Home Can Help You Survive the Atomic Bomb, and a rather naively optimistic 1957 Disney classroom film — Our Friend the Atom.

An experimental pneumatic subway secretly built in Manhattan in the late 19th century.


Why Red M&M’s Disappeared for a Decade.

The Physics of How Lawn Mower Blades Cut Grass (at 50K frames per second).

The Torturous History of the Treadmill — it was originally designed to exploit prison labor.


Gallery: The serious side of historical games.

ICYMI, most recent links are here, and include poorly translated English language T-shirts spotted in Asia, that time America air-dropped pianos for troops in battlefields, the evolution of the Army helmet, and the eating habits of Medieval peasants.