The history of the chili pepper is entwined with the history of Chinese Communism and the fiery temperament of the Sichuanese people, but why?
Aaron Gilbreath
Posted inEditor's Pick
Why Revolutionaries Love Spicy Food
To early Chinese Communists, if you couldn’t stand spicy food, you weren’t equipped to fight for the revolution. Science suggests this association between strength, risk and Maoists might have to do with the chemical interactions between the chili pepper, culture and certain personality types.
Posted inEditor's Pick
One Man’s Mission to Bring Better Ramen to the Incarcerated
Instant ramen is one of the most popular items in prison commissaries, where food runs from awful to inedible, but the ramen is dangerously high in sodium. To save inmates from dietary issues and help the government save money on health care, one man has designed a low-sodium alternative. Time in prison showed him the […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes, Science & Nature
Why Some Protected Natural Areas Should Remain Off-Limits
One of the best ways to protect the world’s oldest, largest trees is to conceal their location.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Should We Hide the Locations of Earth’s Greatest Trees?
When everyone wants to photograph themselves beside the world’s biggest coastal redwoods, the trees’ roots get trampled, soil compacted, and visitors damage the objects of their affection. So can the National Park Service protect certain ancient trees by concealing them?
Posted inCulture, Design, Nonfiction, Quote Posts, Quotes
How Brooklyn Lost Itself
On the way from the old Brooklyn to the new branded, post-industrial Brooklyn, the city got lost.
Posted inBlog Post, Profiles & Interviews
Our Planet Still Has Secrets: Talking Tasmanian Tigers with Journalist Brooke Jarvis
Investigating the people who search for the extinct Tasmanian Tiger.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Directions to Brooklyn
On the way from the old Brooklyn to the new, branded, post-industrial Brooklyn, the city got lost.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Counterfeit Queen of Soul
In the 1960s, Mary Jane Jones modeled herself after Aretha Franklin, but she had the emotion and range of an original soul singer. After a crooked James Brown impersonator forced her to perform as Franklin, she got famous from her own talent, until she gave up show bizness to raise her sons.