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Almanac

Phil Edwards explains the world through its footnotes. Read more below or watch Almanac on Vox's YouTube channel.

The bridge design that helped win World War II

By Phil Edwards
A lighthouse with an inset Fresnel lens
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The invention that fixed lighthouses

By Phil Edwards
World Chase Tag in Atlanta
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How tag became a professional sport

By Phil Edwards

Mike Pompeo’s RNC speech will place him as the most partisan secretary of state in decades

By Alex Ward
A classic slow-motion scene in “The Matrix.”
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How slow motion changed movies

By Phil Edwards
John Snow’s map and cholera.
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How to trace an outbreak in 1854

By Phil Edwards
Rosie the riveter at work
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The real story behind Rosie the Riveter

By Phil Edwards
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The right way to play Monopoly

By Phil Edwards
The Venus de Milo is famous. Why?
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How the Venus de Milo got so famous

By Phil Edwards
Warren Remedy
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Was this the greatest dog of all time?

By Phil Edwards
A more recent version of the game of Life.
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Why the game of Life used to have poverty, suicide, and ruin

By Phil Edwards
Florida or Hollywood?
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Hollywood almost lost to this city

By Phil Edwards
An illustration demonstrating animation via Rotoscope.
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The trick that made animation realistic

By Phil Edwards
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The insect collector who gave us stop motion

By Phil Edwards
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How Mars photos inspired the first CGI

By Phil Edwards
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Why the US drinking age is 21

By Phil Edwards
Route 66
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Why Route 66 became America’s most famous road

By Phil Edwards
The suburban monotony was part of the plan.
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Why so many suburbs look the same

By Phil Edwards
Manhattan city plans
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Where Manhattan’s grid came from

By Phil Edwards
Three American Innovators
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Glamping with Thomas Edison and Henry Ford

By Phil Edwards
Astronaut ice cream is a lie.
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Astronaut ice cream is a lie

By Phil Edwards

This photo reveals Seinfeld's never-before-seen fourth wall

By Phil Edwards

Eiji Tsuburaya made Godzilla come alive — and it changed film forever

By Phil Edwards
The Canada goose is unstoppable.
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The goose that conquered America

By Phil Edwards
Leonardo’s map of Imola
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How Leonardo da Vinci made a “satellite” map in 1502

By Phil Edwards
A fresh baby cage.
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The bold and beautiful baby cage

By Phil Edwards
How these @#)$( things became a symbol for cursing
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How #$@!% became shorthand for cursing

By Phil Edwards
The DeLorean DMC-12
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The DeLorean paradox: how it failed and became a legend

By Phil Edwards

9 superb owl facts you need to know

By Phil Edwards

This is the telegram MLK sent Malcolm X's wife after her husband's assassination

By Phil Edwards

Read MLK's childhood letter about throwing snowballs and making snowmen

By Phil Edwards

Court dissolves North Carolina elections board with election fraud scandal still under investigation

By Dylan Scott
World War II and venereal disease
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The World War II battle against STDs

By Phil Edwards

The biggest lie we still teach in American history classes

By Sean Illing
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The facial prosthetics of World War I

By Phil Edwards
Thresh and WASD
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Why gamers use WASD to move

By Phil Edwards
The Marvel Cinematic universe feels a little empty.
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Why the Marvel Cinematic Universe feels empty

By Phil Edwards
An early ninja illustration
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How ninjas went mainstream

By Phil Edwards
Jackson Pollock
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How Jackson Pollock became so overrated

By Phil Edwards
Fraternities at work.
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Why colleges tolerate fraternities

By Phil Edwards