Distillations magazine
The Comet Panic of 1910, Revisited
A recent discovery in a remote Puerto Rican cave sheds new light on the hysteria that greeted Halley’s Comet a century ago.
Distillations articles reveal science’s powerful influence on our lives, past and present.
The High-Flying, Death-Defying Discovery of Helium
During the War of 1870, astronomer Jules Janssen risked his life for scientific prestige and French patriotism.
COVID-19 Health Passports: What’s Old Is New Again
To speed reopening, government and business leaders are pushing a modern version of a centuries-old idea.
Escape from Nazi Terror
Chemist Max Bredig’s race to save family and friends from catastrophe.
Charles Anderson Chases an Eclipse
A lucky streak sends a meteorologist on the flight of a lifetime.
The Newton Mess
What a manuscript can tell us about an iconic scientist and the history we’ve built around him.
Dr. Butler and the Quest for the Philosophers’ Stone
How searching for alchemy’s secrets helped create modern science.
Quacks, Plagues, and Pandemics
What charlatans of the past can teach us about the COVID-19 crisis.
Bob Gore’s Cozy Revolution
Gore-Tex changed the way Americans went outside.
Leo Alexander’s Unflinching Pursuit
In the waning days of World War II, a psychiatrist raced across Germany to uncover the harrowing abuses of Nazi doctors.
How the Elements Got Their Names
Wicked creatures and a defiant chemist make their mark on the periodic table.
How History Keeps Ignoring James Barry
After 150 years of scrutiny, scholars still misrepresent the British doctor’s life and gender.
The Undying Appeal of Nikola Tesla’s “Death Ray”
Despite a lack of evidence, many have been captivated by the electrical whiz’s most mysterious project.
Comics: Old-School Distance-Learning Tools
How the often-maligned genre was used to train soldiers, explain the weather, and describe the modern world.
Joseph Goldberger’s Filth Parties
A crusading doctor’s stomach-churning efforts to beat back pellagra in the American South.
Stress Baking and the Comfort of Connection
Baking homemade bread anchors us to millennia-long traditions.
The Sun Queen and the Skeptic: Building the World’s First Solar Houses
In the mid-20th century, colleagues-turned-rivals Maria Telkes and Hoyt Hottel engineered new ways of heating American homes.
A Silent, Savage Menace: Reassessing “Panic in the Streets”
Elia Kazan’s 1950 film noir finds new relevance in a moment gripped by pandemic and social unrest.
Would a Book Lie?
The clues that betray a book’s disreputable past.