What Is a Machete, Anyway?
Weapon, agricultural tool, symbol.
Object Lessons
Articles published in partnership with Object Lessons
The Geology of Media
Future archaeologists will have a lot of material to dig through. An Object Lesson.
The Huge Chill: Why Are American Refrigerators So Big?
From iceboxes to stainless steel behemoths: An Object Lesson.
What Is a JPEG? The Invisible Object You See Every Day
You're looking at dozens of JPEGs right now.
Black T-Shirts: The Original Invisibility Cloaks
Steve Jobs had his black turtleneck. Slavoj Žižek and Louis CK have their short sleeves. What is it with powerful men and undistinguished clothing? An Object Lesson.
A Forgettable Passage to Flight
How the jet bridge distills air travel: an Object Lesson
Go Ahead, Mess With Texas Instruments
Why educational technologies should be more like graphing calculators and less like iPads. An Object Lesson.
Let Us Now Contemplate the Key
An Object Lesson in nine parts
Fake Birds on Film
The nature of unspecial effects, an Object Lesson.
Laughter Without Humor: On the Laugh-Loop GIF
When is Natalie Portman's laughter not Natalie Portman's laughter? An Object Lesson.