pets Medieval pet names included Sturdy, Nosewise, Tibert, and Meone Jennifer Sandlin

History Sixty years of A Confederacy of Dunces' Ignatius J. Reilly Elías Villoro

Rep. Stan McClain Florida lawmaker wants to ban kids from talking to a teacher when they get their period Carla Sinclair

russia Chinese woman spent a decade building Borgesian fake Russian history on Wikipedia Thom Dunn

fish Why isn't fish considered meat during Lent? Miss Cellania

Reviews REVIEW: The new DUNE graphic novel is a stunning but very streamlined introduction to the world Thom Dunn

Technology The invention of mirrors and why they matter David Pescovitz

covid Medieval 'wine windows' are having another moment in Italy Rusty Blazenhoff

science fiction Ruminations on decades spent writing stories that run more than 1,000,000 words Cory Doctorow

law Why Trial by Ordeal was like a medieval polygraph Rob Beschizza

novels Interview with Ken Follet about forthcoming 3rd book in Kingsbridge series: A Column of Fire Mark Frauenfelder

happy mutants It's about Time: Reading Steampunk's Rise and Roots Rachel A. Bowser and Brian Croxall

art Great works of 16th-20th century art painted with ground-up mummies David Pescovitz

books Demystifying Heironymous Bosch with this visual marvel of a book Wink

books On the strengths of fiction done as near-history Guy Gavriel Kay

DRONES Medieval reenactor spears drone from the sky David Pescovitz

offworld The poetry in game-making Katriel Paige

game of thrones Game of Thrones' creepy cult was inspired by Catholic reformers, says G.R.R. Martin Rob Beschizza

yanss Our newfound power to ruin the lives of strangers with tweets David McRaney

Cheese is the chameleon of the food world Gastropod