Distillations magazine

About half of the 1,100 instruments made by master luthier Antonio Stradivari have been lost or destroyed in the past 300 years. Should the instruments that remain be played or preserved?

A memento reveals how the demand for cheap copies of famous paintings helped democratize art ownership in the 19th century.

Can science tell us what makes a Stradivarius so special?

Scientists with disabilities have frequently faced intolerance and prejudice in their careers.

Hippies of the 1960s and 1970s were not necessarily the technophobes they are often made out to be.

A Hollywood impresario tries to make his mark on the movie business.

How do art historians know who painted a work of art and when it was painted?

Pop artists set themselves apart by addressing throwaway culture. But how could they make the disposable last?

Step into the weird and wonderful world of stuffing animals.

Two space-loving PR men consider the marketing of NASA’s Apollo program.

Comic books have been wrestling with the consequences of the atomic age for as long as their readers.

As child labor gave way to child education in the early 20th century, do-gooders sought a novel solution to juvenile delinquency.

How Victorians found a foolproof way to make science interesting for their children.

Science writer Philip Ball digs into myth, history, and science to untangle the roots of our fears of artificial life.

A government oilman maps a hidden realm.

Is there any truth in truth serums?

A small Massachusetts town of knickknack makers helps mold the material world.

A Japanese gourmand discovers the fifth element of taste.