Archive

The Men Who Slept on Water

The Refusal Was Already In Ink

In 1783 the most powerful man in America could have taken a crown. His own army was offering. He reached for his reading glasses instead.

By This Cue, Remember Your Purpose

In hoc signo. By this sign, conquer.

Who Is in Charge of You?

Rome sorted every person into one of two legal conditions. Only one of them is yours to choose.

The American Fabius

Washington is remembered for the most audacious night of the Revolution. He won the war by refusing, for years, to be audacious at all.

The Document Augustus Wrote for the Future

How will your autobiographical epitaph read 1900 years from now?

The Second Founder

Camillus, Churchill, and what Rome understood about the wilderness years

Federal Express's entire model depended on one nightly miracle. The sort kept finishing late. Then someone looked at the paycheck.

In 1922, AT&T needed a standard way to mount telephone relays. That decision is currently housing the hardware running artificial intelligence.