2020 Tedium Highlight by The Conversation US: How Crisco, which avoided naming its primary ingredient in ads, toppled lard more than a century ago—and made Americans believers in industrial food. 

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The Conversation US’s 2020 Highlights

May 2020

Let It Be, Complicated

Inside the Beatles' messy breakup, 50 years ago. Did Paul put the dagger in, or was it John?
April 2020

A Hand-Washing Pioneer

The story of Ignaz Semmelweis, the doctor who discovered the disease-fighting power of hand-washing in 1847.

Long Con

Why do people believe con artists? Part of it might come down to the fact that we want to believe in something that’s too good to be true.

Mystery Machine

The strange connection between Bobby Kennedy's death and the rise of Scooby-Doo, who represented a new kind of cartoon hero in his day.
March 2020

The Human Xerox

Why being copycats, something we do in settings big and small, might be key to being human.

Hydrogenated Marketing

How Crisco, which avoided naming its primary ingredient in ads, toppled lard more than a century ago—and made Americans believers in industrial food.

Grab Your Rolls

There's plenty of toilet paper in the U.S. So why are people hoarding it? And what makes toilet paper the hoarding object of choice?

Lateral Move

Five ways life would be better if it were always daylight saving time, rather than the clock changing up on us twice a year.

Now You See It …

A brief history of invisibility on screen, one of the most effective special effects ever created in film.
February 2020

Thanks, Craig

Hitting its 25th anniversary this month, Craigslist remains a reminder that a more democratic version of the internet can still thrive.

Not All Heroes Wear Capes

America’s postwar fling with romance comics—and the massive collection of those comics that was recently donated to the University of South Carolina.

Cosmic Mistake

Why your zodiac sign—that thing that supposedly defines your personality—is probably wrong. Sorry, Gemini.
January 2020

Headbanger’s Ball

How do woodpeckers avoid brain injury? It all comes down to their bones.

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