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American Beauties

How plastic bags came to rule our lives, and why we can’t quit them.
by Rebecca Altman via Topic on August 1, 2018

The World’s Most Peculiar Company

How does Hammacher Schlemmer, famous for such eccentric products as the Navigable Water Park, continue to survive in the age of Amazon?
by Nick Greene via Chicago Magazine on August 1, 2018

The Lost World of the Middlebrow Tastemaker

Journalist Elizabeth Gordon had unsparing opinions about the inadequacy of both mainstream and elite notions of design.
by Anthony Paletta via The American Conservative on June 8, 2018
Brochure for Gemini robot.

The Forgotten '80s Home Robots Trend

Alexa’s interface is treated as revolutionary, but you might be surprised to learn of its predecessors from the mid-1980s.
by John Ohno via Tedium on May 24, 2018

A Brief History of America’s Obsession With Sneakers

Invented for athletics, sneakers eventually became status symbols and an integral part of street style.
by Kate Keller via Smithsonian Magazine on May 18, 2018

Ford Says Farewell

America’s most iconic automaker plans to drive almost all of their passenger sedans into the sunset by 2020.
by Telly Davidson via The American Conservative on May 16, 2018
An ad published in the first issue of 'Consumer Reports' (1936).
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Can Consumer Groups Be Radical?

A historian looked at the consumer movements of the 1930s to find out.
by Lawrence B. Glickman, Livia Gershon via JSTOR Daily on May 16, 2018

The Death and Life of the Instant-Print Camera

The iPhone era has ushered in a new fondness for analog photography that has turned clunky cameras into necessary accessories.
by Molly McHugh via The Ringer on May 15, 2018
A man demonstrating television to another.

This Futuristic Color TV Set Concept From 1922 Was Way Ahead of Its Time

Back in the earliest days of imagining what TV looked like, the appliance was a magic technology.
by Matt Novak via Paleofuture on May 4, 2018

It Didn’t Start with Facebook: Surveillance and the Commercial Media

The era of audience exploitation began in earnest thanks in large part to the experiments of Dr. Frank Stanton in the 1930s.
by Michael J. Socolow via We're History on May 1, 2018

The Heart of the Matter: A History of Valentine Cards

A digital exhibit from the collections of the Strong National Museum of Play.
by Strong National Museum Of Play via Google Arts and Culture on April 11, 2018

Canned Food History

A conversation with Anna Zeide about her book, “Canned: The Rise and Fall of Consumer Confidence in the American Food Industry.”
by Anna Zeide, Emily J. H. Contois via Nursing Clio on March 20, 2018

Exit Through the Gift Shop

How do museum gift shops at Civil War sites shape historical memory?
by Nick Sacco via Muster on March 13, 2018

The Hamburger: An American Lyric

How hamburgers became a staple of the American diet.
by Carol J. Adams via The Paris Review on February 12, 2018

Mail-Order Magazines Did More Than Just Sell Things

The cheap monthly publications that flooded rural homes offered more than just advertising—they also provided companionship.
by Lorraine Boissoneault via Smithsonian Magazine on January 18, 2018

No One Writes Great Christmas Songs Anymore

But maybe those midcentury classics weren't really Christmas songs at all.
by Addison Del Mastro via The American Conservative on December 21, 2017

Uncola: Seven-Up, Counterculture and the Making of an American Brand

Advertisements for the soft drink presented it as a soda revolution.
by Claire Payton via The Devil's Tale on December 4, 2017
Actress Virginia Gibson sitting on a turkey.

Why America's Thanksgiving Turkey Is So Boring

The bland appeal of the Broad Breasted White.
by Natasha Frost via Atlas Obscura on November 22, 2017

The History of Sears Predicts Nearly Everything Amazon Is Doing

100 years ago, a mail-order retail giant moved swiftly into the brick-and-mortar business, changing it forever.
by Derek Thompson via The Atlantic on September 25, 2017

How Sears Industrialized, Suburbanized, and Fractured the American Economy

The iconic retail giant turned thrift into profit, but couldn’t keep pace with modern consumer culture.
by Vicki Howard via Zócalo Public Square on July 20, 2017

How Spam Went from Canned Necessity to American Icon

Out-of-the-can branding helped transform World War II’s rations into a beloved household staple.
by Ayalla A. Ruvio via The Conversation on July 5, 2017
The Miss Portland diner.
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The Making of the American Diner

Today's diners would surprise a 1940s patron. These restaurants were once vulgar boy’s clubs before becoming today's family-friendly establishments.
by Andrew Hurley, Erin Blakemore via JSTOR Daily on June 17, 2017
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Ronald Reagan, the First Reality TV Star President

Ronald Reagan is at the heart of the modern American politics of advertising, public relations, and a television in every home.
by Matthew Wills, Tim Raphael via JSTOR Daily on June 5, 2017

The Circus Spectacular That Spawned American Giantism

How the “Greatest Show on Earth” enthralled small-town crowds and inspired shopping malls
by Janet M. Davis via What It Means to Be American on March 17, 2017

How the Chili Dog Transcended America's Divisions

The national dish is really a fusion of immigrant fare.
by Christina Olson via The Atlantic on March 2, 2017

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.
by Ben Marks via Collectors Weekly on February 1, 2017
Scout, portrayed in the film version of "To Kill a Mockingbird."

A Short History of the Tomboy

With roots in race and gender discord, has the “tomboy” label worn out its welcome?
by Elizabeth King via The Atlantic on January 5, 2017
Paul Rand’s illustration for El Producto Cigars of a snowman smoking.

Christmas at Midcentury, When Aluminum Trees Replaced Victorian Evergreens

A new book by Sarah Archer explores the influence of the Space Race and Cold War on America's midcentury Christmas celebrations.
by Allison C. Meier via Hyperallergic on December 21, 2016
Santa in a rocket sleigh.

A Wonderful Life

How postwar Christmas embraced spaceships, nukes, and cellophane.
by Sarah Archer, Lisa Hix via Collectors Weekly on December 15, 2016
An aerial view of the Target store in Ocean Township, NJ.
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Boxed In

On the rise of the modern box store as a rebellion against the carefully controlled world of the department store.
via BackStory on December 15, 2016
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