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Ancient Roman fresco depicting a naked woman straddling a reclined naked man, having sex. The backdrop is a worn plaster wall with faded colours.

Sex and sexuality

idea

What rude jibes about Caesar tell us about sex in ancient Rome

‘Every woman’s man and every man’s woman’ was a slur Julius Caesar’s political opponents levied. What did it mean?

by Aven McMaster

Historic map filled with fantastical sea creatures, ships, and compass roses, depicting the ocean’s geographical and mythical elements.

History of ideas

idea

How 12th-century Genoese merchants invented the idea of risk

From the docks of 12th-century Genoa to the gambling tables of today, risk is a story that we tell ourselves about the future

by Karla Mallette

Black-and-white photo of people scrubbing the ground while a large crowd watches. Buckets of water are placed around them.

Social history

idea

The rise of the bystander as a complicit historical actor

‘The appalling silence of the good people’: how the bystander rose to prominence as a morally complicit actor in history

by Dennis Klein

Medieval drawing of a mandrake root with a human-like female form, labelled “Mandragola femina”, with leafy foliage on its head

Sex and sexuality

idea

A long history of aphrodisiacs, from health tonic to sexual aid

Long before Viagra, people around the world and throughout history used aphrodisiacs to boost health and improve fertility

by Alison M Downham Moore

People walking past a green wall with illustrations of vintage computing devices and Chinese text.

Creativity

idea

How a solitary prisoner decoded Chinese for the QWERTY keyboard

China’s personal computing revolution was born not in a suburban garage but a prison cell, and fine-tuned on a teacup

by Thomas S Mullaney

Black-and-white photo of a crowd outside The New York Herald building reading news bulletins, with clocks displaying international times.

Social history

idea

What history tells us about the dangers of media ownership

The media bias problem as a clash of power and psychology – the historic argument between Upton Sinclair and Walter Lippmann

by Maia Silber

Painting of a man sitting, holding a crumpled letter while a black dog stands with its paw on his knee by a closed door.

Social history

idea

How the law soothed broken hearts in 19th-century America

What does a deep dive into the transcripts of historical seduction trials reveal about how we account for hurt feelings?

by Jinal Dadiya