From 1932 to 1968, the Chisso chemical factory discharged up to 600 tonnes of mercury into the Shiranui Sea. This led to mass poisoning and a UN treaty. | Continue reading
Eighty-seven-year-old Narayan Lavate, and his wife, Iravati, 78, say they are “leading unproductive and obsolete lives.” | Continue reading
The domestication of surveillance technology has caused big legal and ethical implications for security on both a personal and a social scale. | Continue reading
The internet has played a large role in fostering intense fan communities. But are these high-octane, super-specific interests healthy? Or...interesting? | Continue reading
In the 1940s and 50s, a life of business travel represented a sense of freedom for gay men that would have been impossible in earlier decades. | Continue reading
Centuries before the computer, whimsical automata pushed the uncanny boundary between human and machine. | Continue reading
How noble lords and ladies, terrified of poison, unknowingly poisoned themselves on a daily basis. | Continue reading
What ever happened to "the most radical attempt in modern history to challenge the Western standard temporal reference framework?" | Continue reading
Double identity, present in both Marvel's Black Panther and in the critical race theory of double-consciousness, enables black American viewers to see their two identities played out on screen. | Continue reading
World hunger is not caused by our inability to produce enough food. The problem arises because of the economic inequality that distorts food distribution. | Continue reading
Online services like Amazon's "Mechanical Turk" have ushered in a golden age in survey research. But do they represent ethical research practice? | Continue reading
Could humans be responsible for the extinction of megafauna like giant sloths and mastodons? | Continue reading
3D printing has evolved far beyond printing out a simple item using plastic. For example, scientists Jody Connell and colleagues described an innovative use of the technology to create three-dimensional bacteria cultures. | Continue reading
In 2008, a panel of film critics gathered to talk about the future of film reviewing as a profession in the age of the internet. | Continue reading
America’s favorite piece of workout equipment was developed as a device for forced labor in British prisons. It was banned as cruel and inhumane by 1900. | Continue reading