How the Hashtag Became the Way to Instantly Invite Literally Everyone Into the ConversationIn the nascent days of Twitter, users wanted a quick way to cluster posts about a single subject. Someone suggested using a pound sign, and #TheRestIsHistory Jun 12 26June 12, 2026Article at Smithsonian Magazine
When Coal First Arrived, Americans Said ‘No Thanks’Steven Preister's house in Washington, D.C. is a piece of American history, a gorgeous 110-year-old colonial with wooden columns and a front porch, perfect for relaxing in the summer. But Preister, who has owned it for almost four decades, is deeply… Jul 05 22July 05, 2022Article at Smithsonian Magazine
What the History of ‘Spirit Photography’ Portends for the Future of Deepfake VideosTwo years ago, Noelle Martin discovered someone had made a “deepfake” video about her. Martin is a 26-year-old Australian law graduate who has lobbied governments and corporations to take action against the online harassment of women. Now, someone on… Nov 18 21November 18, 2021Article at Smithsonian Magazine
The Original Selfie Craze Was the MirrorBarry and Marlene Bogle run a farm in southern Ontario, and each summer they produce about 1.6 million shoulder-high sunflowers. It’s a gorgeous sight, so in 2018 the Bogles decided to open a side business, charging $7.50 per adult to visit the farm… Nov 02 20November 02, 2020Article at Smithsonian Magazine
These Snow Goggles Demonstrate Thousands of Years of Indigenous IngenuityIn snowy Alaska, if you spend hours in the brilliant sun of spring or summer, you risk snow blindness, a sunburn on your cornea from reflected ultraviolet light. For thousands of years, indigenous peoples throughout that region have had a technology… Feb 02 20February 02, 2020Article at Smithsonian Magazine
What the Fight Over Scooters Has in Common With the 19th-Century Battle Over BicyclesIt was a hot summer day in Hoboken, New Jersey, and the streets were buzzing with electric scooters. Two months earlier, the companies Lime and Ojo had unleashed 300 of the devices on the town. You could pay $1 or more to unlock a scooter with your… Dec 02 19December 02, 2019Article at Smithsonian Magazine
Inventor Alex Kipman’s Grand Vision for How Holograms Will Change Our LivesThe designer behind Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 predicts a future driven by augmented reality I’m in Redmond, Washington, in a room at Microsoft, pondering an all-terrain vehicle that has a busted engine. I have no idea how to fix it. I’ve never done… Dec 02 19December 02, 2019Article at Smithsonian Magazine
The Walkman’s Invention 40 Years Ago Launched a Cultural RevolutionIn 1979, when Sony introduced the Walkman—a 14-ounce cassette player, blue and silver with buttons that made a satisfying chunk when pushed—even the engineers inside Sony weren’t impressed. It wasn’t particularly innovative; cassette players already… Aug 02 19August 02, 2019Article at Smithsonian Magazine
The Gendered History of Human ComputersTracy Chou is a 31-year-old programmer—and “an absolute rock star,” as her former boss Ben Silbermann, the CEO and co-founder of Pinterest, once gushed to me. She’s a veteran of some of Silicon Valley’s biggest names. She interned at Google and… Jun 02 19June 02, 2019Article at Smithsonian Magazine
The Myth of FingerprintsAt 9:00 a.m. last December 14, a man in Orange County, California, discovered he’d been robbed. Someone had swiped his Volkswagen Golf, his MacBook Air and some headphones. The police arrived and did something that is increasingly a part of everyday… Apr 02 19April 02, 2019Article at Smithsonian Magazine
What the Popularity of ‘Fortnite’ Has in Common With the 20th Century Pinball CrazeThis summer, a British firm that processes divorce filings discovered a startling fact. Of the 4,665 petitions for divorce they’d received in 2018, two hundred of them claimed the marriage had been destroyed because one of the partners had become… Dec 02 18December 02, 2018Article at Smithsonian Magazine
What the Founding Fathers’ Money Problems Can Teach Us About BitcoinIf you walk into the Ketchup Premium Burger Bar in Las Vegas, tucked inside you’ll find a strange icon of today’s economy: a Coinsource ATM. Put in a few American dollars, and the ATM will quickly exchange them for Bitcoin, the newfangled digital… Apr 02 18April 02, 2018Article at Smithsonian Magazine
Stereographs Were the Original Virtual RealityIf you walked into Charles Herzog’s classroom last spring, you’d have seen a peculiarly modern sight: middle schoolers all staring into virtual-reality gear. Their bodies, officially, were at Flood Brook School in Vermont, perched atop stools and set… Oct 02 17October 02, 2017Article at Smithsonian Magazine
From Ptolemy to GPS, the Brief History of MapsLast spring, a 23-year-old woman was driving her car through the Ontario town of Tobermory. It was unfamiliar territory for her, so she was dutifully following her GPS. Indeed, she was so intent on following the device that she didn’t notice that her… Aug 02 17August 02, 2017Article at Smithsonian Magazine
When Robots Take All of Our Jobs, Remember the LudditesIs a robot coming for your job? The odds are high, according to recent economic analyses. Indeed, fully 47 percent of all U.S. jobs will be automated “in a decade or two,” as the tech-employment scholars Carl Frey and Michael Osborne have predicted.… Feb 02 17February 02, 2017Article at Smithsonian Magazine
The Surprising History of the InfographicAs the 2016 election approaches, we’re hearing a lot about “red states” and “blue states.” That idiom has become so ingrained that we’ve almost forgotten where it originally came from: a data visualization. In the 2000 presidential election, the race… Aug 02 16August 02, 2016Article at Smithsonian Magazine
For Those Clutching Pearls Over Buzzfeed: A History of Newspapers Reveals That It’s Always Been This WayIf you opened your BuzzFeed app on a warm day earlier this year, here are some of the pieces you’d have seen: Mitt Romney Speaks Out Against Trump Chrissy Teigen Explained That Hideous Cringing Face She Made at the Oscars 21 Things You’ll Understand… May 02 16May 02, 2016Article at Smithsonian Magazine
Steve Wozniak’s Apple I Booted Up a Tech RevolutionAt 10 p.m. on June 29, 1975, Steve Wozniak was ready to test his odd new computer. It didn’t look like much—just a circuit board with 32 chips attached, connected to a video monitor and a keyboard. But when he turned it on? Magic. A cursor appeared… Mar 02 16March 02, 2016Article at Smithsonian Magazine
Texting Isn’t the First New Technology Thought to Impair Social SkillsIs text-messaging driving us apart? These days, we talk to each other a lot with our thumbs—mashing out over six billion text messages a day in the United States, and likely a few billion more on services like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. But… Mar 02 16March 02, 2016Article at Smithsonian Magazine
How the Phonograph Changed Music ForeverThese days music is increasingly free—in just about every sense of the word. Right now, if you decided you wanted to hear, say, “Uptown Funk,” you could be listening to it in seconds. It’s up free on YouTube, streamable on Spotify or buyable for… Feb 02 16February 02, 2016Article at Smithsonian Magazine
