the magazine

We talked to Patrick Carrajat, founder and curator of the Elevator Historical Society in Queens, New York, about the ups and downs of his industry.

You likely spend a lot of time whizzing by or stopped at traffic lights. But how much do you know about their history?

The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York on June 17, 1885.

Violins are like fine wines: They can get better with age.

It includes both death threats and marriage proposals.

Caviar has a reputation for being hoity-toity. But fish eggs weren’t always a delicacy, and there’s nothing inherently unapproachable about them.

Dickens fans have long wondered which real-life spinster inspired Miss Havisham of 'Great Expectations.' Does a haunted house hold a shocking new clue?

If you think driving a U-Haul is scary, you should have seen the old days.

Over the years we’ve relied on talking sheep, girls in nighties, and glorified car salesmen to deliver us the weather. But behind the gimmicks, forecasters have always mattered. And today, we need them more than ever.

Your apartment would look a lot different with this decor.

These trees met their untimely ends at the hands of celebrities, drunk drivers, and graduate students.

When you squeeze into your Speedo, you’re not just baring your skin—you’re celebrating centuries of technological breakthroughs.

(And why so many people have never heard of it.)

Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain (Beowful); AJWAD CREATIVE/ISTOCK VIA GETTY IMAGES (SPEECH BUBBLE)

If you learn just a few words in Old English, be sure to include the one that means "lying awake before dawn and worrying."

Modern housework is as pleasant as sitting through your niece’s recorder recital. But compared to housework of the past, we are living the domestic dream.