This past weekend millions of people tuned in to watch the “most exciting two minutes in sports,” the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby. The Derby is the longest consecutively run horse race event in America. Although this year’s winner, Orb, won by two and a half lengths ahead of his competitors, the winner has [...]

2013 marks 160 years since Elisha Graves Otis sold his first elevator, designed specifically for safety. Sales languished, though, until he attended the 1854 world’s fair in New York City and, at the Crystal Palace, demonstrated the innovation that made elevators stop, instead of falling, if their cables snapped. Scientific American, of course, had an [...]

So far, the weather this spring has brought us all sorts of dashed hopes, with warm, “normal” days immediately followed by chilly, windy, rainy weeks. Whereas the beginning of this week had many stripping off their winter layers and getting out of the house to enjoy temperatures above 60 and sunshine, the end of the [...]

Let’s talk about horses. With news of Europe’s horse meat scandal grabbing headlines last month, it’s hard not to have equine on the mind. In 1875 Scientific American published an article, “Shall We Eat the Horse?” hypothesizing the economic benefits of consuming horse meat in the U.S. At the time hippophagy was practiced in Europe, [...]

In many parts of the U.S. and here in New York City, we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing above-normal temperatures, and the sunshine has brought hibernating city-dwellers outdoors to soak up the warm rays while enjoying a number of activities—jogging, playing basketball, riding bicycles, or just lounging on park benches. Over the weekend, I was [...]

One of the things I love most about archives is the way they allow us to connect directly with the past. When I come across something interesting, I feel as though I’ve discovered a piece of hidden truth or insight that has been left just for me. However, as fortunate as we are to have [...]

Earlier this month, Nature Publishing Group and Scientific American proudly launched the completion of Scientific American‘s archives, dating back to the first issue from August 28, 1845. As America’s longest-running consecutively published magazine, it’s no surprise the content of the publication underwent several changes since its debut. What appeared in 1845 shows a periodical aimed [...]

The Statue of Liberty. She is a symbol of freedom, an icon of New York City, and today is her birthday. In honor to celebrate, I’d like to share some images from an article from the August 14th, 1886 Scientific American that highlighted the methods of assembling Lady Liberty. After all, what’s birth without a [...]

What better way to get back into the archives than on two wheels? I’ve been inspired by tomorrow’s NYC Tweed Run, an event that celebrates a bygone era of bicycling culture, to present one of my favorite finds from Scientific American’s past: trick riding. Trick riding became widely popular in the late 1880s and 1890s [...]

If you live or work in a city, chances are you’ve ridden public transportation during rush hours. And, if you ride public transportation during rush hours, chances are you’ve found yourself without a seat the entire trip. While overcrowding on subways and buses may seem like a modern day burden, the problem was troublesome enough [...]