Revelations that apples were sprayed with the chemical Alar led to its ban in the 1980s

Rachel Carson's 'Silent Spring' exposed the harmful effects of pesticides on food

The 1962 book warned against the use of DDT, a pesticide often sprayed over fields of crops, cautioning that it could be harmful if ingested in excessive amounts by humans. Some credit Carson’s book with inspiring the modern environmental movement and with encouraging the US to establish the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 and ban the domestic sale of DDT in 1972. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

How a skin cancerous growth shifted an initially skeptical President Reagan on the ozone crisis

While a 1985 Nature study revealing the Antarctic ozone hole jolted public concern, Reagan's administration was more focused on the Cold War than on environmental policy. His health scare and the market potential for developing alternatives to chlorofluorocarbons helped turn the tide, leading to the Montreal Protocol's unanimous ratification by a bipartisan Senate in 1988.

Listen to how the 1902 'poison squad' experiments changed food safety in America

As part of government research, a group of young men were paid to eat standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—which revealed the dangers of unregulated food. The work was led by the first FDA commissioner, Harvey Wiley, who helped end the "century of the great stomachache."

A World War I discovery about blocking ethylene, a plant hormone, now helps preserve our fruits

Listen to this in-depth podcast episode about discoveries that enabled fruits and vegetables to be preserved and appear fresh for months or longer and other scientific insights, including why iceberg lettuce was the salad staple people ate for most of the 20th century.

The Love Canal disaster exposed the dangers of buried toxic waste

In the late 1970s, residents of Niagara Falls, New York, discovered their neighborhood was built atop 20,000 tons of chemical waste. Leaking toxins caused illness and birth defects, sparking nationwide outrage and leading to the creation of the EPA's Superfund cleanup program in 1980.

Is Agent Orange still causing birth defects?

Though the dangerous nature of the chemical is clear, its impact across generations is less so. How far down the bloodline does Agent Orange travel, and what does it leave in its wake, if anything? This Scientific American article examines why there’s debate about Agent Orange’s legacy.

Natural food stores began sprouting up in the US in the 1960s and 1970s

Health food stores began opening in the ‘50s, though they were primarily focused on vitamins and holistic supplements. Natural food stores, however, provided pesticide-free produce and often relied on local farmers for their products. One of the first was New Age Natural Foods, in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, which opened in 1965.

Michael Sveda discovered cyclamate by accident

When this lab researcher brought his hands to his lips to smoke his cigarette in 1937, he tasted something sweet, which he called cyclamate. It was quickly used in diet sodas, but it was banned from the US in 1969 after being linked to rodent bladder cancer in lab experiments.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

Who was behind the fatal 1982 Tylenol poisonings?

In 1982, an unknown suspect laced Tylenol packages with potassium cyanide in a Chicago pharmacy. Seven people were killed, and the case led to a nationwide panic, as well as the development of tamper-resistant packaging. No one was ever charged with the deaths, and the lead suspect died in 2023 after serving time in prison for trying to extort $1 million from a manufacturer to "stop the killing."

Why bananas are in trouble

The average American eats over 25 pounds of bananas every year, but we won't for long if a deadly soil fungus continues to spread. Learn what scientists are doing to save the popular fruit.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure

This podcast takes on the thorny mismatch between recent research linking herbicide exposure to Parkinson's disease and federal and state regulators' conclusions that there is insufficient evidence to establish causality. Though the main company that produces the herbicide Paraquat has recently stopped making it, dozens of others continue to do so, prompting concerns from some Parkinson's patients and scientists about disease risk and the pace of scientific answers. 

Read about the time Apple tried to trademark an actual apple in Switzerland

In 2017, tech company Apple filed for the trademark to a black-and-white image of a Granny Smith apple in Switzerland—a request that was only partially granted. Apple wanted full control over the image, but many worried that granting the trademark would open up too many opportunities for the company to own the rights to the mere shape of an apple.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

The amount of plastic chemicals in 300 everyday Bay Area foods

Food production is more complicated than it appears, and manufacturing, packaging, and shipping processes can add significant substances to your food. This massive project compiled data on 300 samples of foods delivered to the San Francisco area, testing for the presence of 18 different kind of plastic. Learn how to read the data here with its helpful guides and then explore the table yourself.

The ABCs and FAQs on GMOs from the WHO.

GMOs (or genetically modified organisms) are a subject of great debate in the food world…but how come? GMOs are organisms whose genetic materials have been altered in a way that does not occur naturally in order to create a product that has a...

One-third of kids with food allergies report being bullied because of it, surprising parents

Research published in 2021 surveyed how more than 100 kids with food allergies were treated by their peers. About one-third of the surveyed kids had their allergies used against them. Bullying tactics included that their allergens were sometimes intentionally put in their food or thrown at them. Parents usually had no idea this bullying was happening.

Dietary supplements are regulated like foods

This hour-long 2016 documentary from Frontline, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and The New York Times examined the safety of dietary supplements. It noted that this then-$30B industry (it's at least doubled since then) suffers from irregularities and impurities. It warned that many Americans are unaware of the lack of regulatory oversight over these products.

Following the scandals, CBS briefly banned canned laughter

The network was looking to correct the public perception that its programming was fraudulent, so it banned laugh tracks and fake applause from its broadcasts. The policy didn’t last long; within a few years, sitcoms were regularly “sweetened” with the sound effects.

During the French Revolution, a botanist's letter asking about "dear Rhus" (poison ivy) was intercepted and led to authorities' suspicions he was conspiring with the Russians

The 1794 incident involved André-Ignace-Joseph Dufresnoy, a French army physician researching the plants' potential medicinal properties. Rhus radicans is a scientific name for the plant, though it's commonly called Toxicodendron radicans.

Throughout the 1980s, the Times Square ball was a giant apple

From 1981 to 1988, the sparkling ball was replaced by a “big apple” to promote the city’s “I Love New York” tourism campaign. This broadcast is from the apple’s first year, where one announcer proclaims, “It’s great! It’s beautiful!”

Americans only became intolerant of body odor in the last century

Daily bathing only became a societal norm in the last century. Today, Americans routinely bathe and buy more deodorant than any other country, spending roughly $6 billion annually on odor-reducing products. The rise of industrialized soaps, deodorants, and antiperspirants—and extensive marketing around them—stimulated this demand.

The Parents Music Resource Center criticized rock 'n' roll's lyrics in the 1980s

The group, spearheaded by Tipper Gore, the wife of then-Senator and eventual Vice President Al Gore, argued that rock music, especially heavy metal, was having an adverse effect on the country, particularly young children. One of the group's fiercest critics was musician Frank Zappa. In the video below, he appears on a 1986 episode of "Crossfire," arguing about the proposed ban of so-called obscene music.

A Missouri farmer sold $140M worth of fake organic feed

Randy Constant sold nonorganic feed to other farmers, who fed it to their animals, which were then sold as organic meat. The scheme began sometime in the mid-2000s and ended after a tip, likely from one of Constant’s competitors, to the US Department of Agriculture. Constant pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but died by suicide before serving time.

Why school boards ban dystopian books

Journalist Ali Velshi analyzes the lasting appeal of Lois Lowry’s "The Giver" and George Orwell’s "1984," two dystopian novels that have courted controversy since their publications. Beyond his interpretations, though, Velshi wants to understand why school boards perennially ban these books—and what makes them so fascinating for adolescent readers. In his search, he talks to Lowry about the lasting influence of her novel and to Orwell expert James McCallister about the prescient political portrait in "1984."

As graffiti grew more popular, New York worked to stop it

In 1972, the NYPD made over 1,500 graffiti-related arrests. By 1973, the city was annually spending $10M to remove and limit graffiti. That same year, a poll conducted by an anti-graffiti task force found that the "vast majority" of residents did not consider graffiti to be art.

When a Paris department store hesitated to sell Estée Lauder's perfume, she 'accidentally' broke a bottle, causing the smell to spread throughout the store and shoppers to start asking to buy the scent.

A 1954 outbreak at a Boston boarding school allowed scientists to isolate the measles virus

While measles was described as early as the 9th century, humanity lacked the medical technology to fight the disease until the mid-20th century. Vaccine development from the Boston outbreak in the 1960s and 1970s led to one of the most effective inoculation campaigns in history.

During the French Revolution, a botanist's letter asking about "dear Rhus" (poison ivy) was intercepted, leading authorities to suspect he was conspiring with the Russians.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

70 years ago today, city officials in Santa Cruz, California, banned rock 'n' roll to protect its youth from corruption after witnessing a 'provocative' concert the night before.

Poison ivy will likely become both larger and more resilient due to climate change.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

Sunflowers have long been a symbol of nuclear disarmament because they can extract large amounts of radioactive cesium from soil.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'