Cover of amateur photography handbook

Say Cheese! How Bad Photography Has Changed Our Definition of Good Pictures

The changes in popular photography.
Gold-spangled Polish chickens.

Fancy Fowl

How an evil sea captain and a beloved queen made the world crave KFC.
People standing on the sidewalk and walking by Rick Allmen’s Café Bizarre on Third Street, November 11, 1959. Photo: Bettmann/Getty Images.

Wanna-Beats: In 1959, Café Bizarre Gave Straights an Entree Into Beatnik Culture

“At the remove of time, it’s really hard to tell the difference between beat and beatsploitation.”

How My Kid Lost a Game of ‘Magic’ to Its Creator But Scored a Piece of Its Original Art

Ben Marks on all that came of one interview in 1994.

How a Small-Town Navy Vet Created Rock’s Most Iconic Surrealist Posters

The story of one of rock's most prolific poster artists.

Joking Aside, Rube Goldberg Got Tech Right

Goldberg's ridiculous contraptions demonstrated his canny understanding of the limits of invention.

A Garage Sale Find of Rare Beatles Photos Took a Collector on a Magical Mystery Tour

In search of the photographer who captured the Beatles' final concert on film.

Victorian Era Drones: How Model Trains Transformed from Cutting-Edge to Quaint

Nostalgia and technological innovation paved the way for the rise of model-train giant Lionel.

Strummin’ on the Old Banjo

How an African instrument got a racist reinvention.

In Living Color: The Forgotten 19th-Century Photo Technology That Romanticized America

People without the means to visit America's wonders could finally picture it for themselves.

Why Would Anyone Collect Nazi?

Neo-Nazis aren't the only ones collecting Nazi memorabilia.