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A stone house with red roof overlooking a green lawn as shown from the side.
Moultonborough, New Hampshire

Castle in the Clouds

The early 20th-century home features cutting-edge technology of the day, such as ammonia refrigeration and needle showers.
collections

Podcast: Gunnar Schonbeck Exhibit

More than 200 unconventional instruments are on display at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.
The Podcast Team July 10, 2023
festivals

How Milwaukee Is Celebrating the Typewriter’s Long, Local History

In June 2023, Milwaukeeans celebrated 150 years of typewriter history.
Jennifer Byrne July 5, 2023
Some two dozen white tubes sit in front of a triangle lattice wall
Ibiza, Spain

Bibo Park Ibiza Botánico Biotecnológico

This Ibiza botanical garden showcases some wild machines that run on plants, literally.
nuclear

Podcast: Reed College Reactor

For the past 50 years, undergrads at a liberal arts college have had access to a remarkable scientific instrument.
The Podcast Team June 14, 2023
Nijmegen, Netherlands

Velorama National Bicycle Museum

The only bicycle museum in the Netherlands charts the invention of the now-ubiquitous two-wheeled machine.
Methods for determining if love is true date back centuries. In the early 1900s, serious scientists and penny-arcade entrepreneurs alike tried to measure the emotion.
science

Inside a Decades-Long Quest to Measure Love

The journey of the "Love Tester," from serious-seeming science to the penny-arcade amusements.
April White February 10, 2023
Edinburgh, Scotland

The Wave of Translation

A plaque commemorates a Victorian scientist's monumental discovery about waves.
Snow globes were invented at the turn of the 20th century but didn't often feature Christmas characters until after World War II.
objects of intrigue

This Family Gave the World the Snow Globe

But did they create the famous one with a starring role in Citizen Kane?
Carole Rosenblat December 15, 2022
Norman Breakey Monument
Edward, Manitoba

Breakey Monument

Dedicated to the inventor of the paint roller.
Acetylene Gas Generating Station
Herndon, Virginia

Acetylene Gas Generating Station

The birthplace of the Herndon Gas Company.
The last remaining public payphone kiosk was removed from the streets of Manhattan in May 2022.
objects of intrigue

The Last Public Payphone Kiosk on the Streets of New York

How the once-ubiquitous convenience became a rare museum piece.
Shoshi Parks July 26, 2022
Osgood, Indiana

Bilby Tower

The last example of an innovative piece of surveying equipment now stands in its inventor's hometown.
During his lifetime, Thomas Edison received more than one thousand patents. But when asked which of his many inventions was his favorite, Edison said, "I like the phonograph best. Doubtless this is because I love music."
objects of intrigue

Saving the Sounds of the Early 20th Century

Some recordings in the New York Public Library’s wax cylinder collection haven’t been heard in generations—until now.
Sarah Durn April 14, 2022
clocks

Podcast: Corpus Clock and Chronophage

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team April 4, 2022
medical museums

Podcast: Good Vibrations Antique Vibrator Museum

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team March 18, 2022
Close up of the Pantelegraph
Milan, Italy

Pantelegraph

Invented in the mid-19th century, this machine could send copied images via telegraph lines.
food

The Secret Lives of Kitchen Appliances

Before your favorite tools, cooking was hell.
Anne Ewbank January 11, 2022