In 1965, when Dad packed the station wagon for two weeks at the lake, work truly stayed behind. Today's Americans have more vacation days on paper but take fewer real breaks, tethered to the office by smartphones and a culture that never sleeps.
Mar 16, 2026
Before GPS, Americans navigated by paper maps, local knowledge, and sheer determination. Getting somewhere meant actually understanding where you were — and that skill is quietly disappearing. Here's what we traded away when we handed our sense of direction to a satellite.
Mar 13, 2026
Before Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway Act in 1956, driving from New York to Los Angeles wasn't a road trip — it was an expedition. Here's what that journey actually looked like, and how a single piece of federal infrastructure changed what distance means in America.
Mar 13, 2026
It once took the better part of a week to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Then jets cut that to seven hours. Now a new generation of supersonic aircraft wants to make London a lunch trip. Here's how each leap in speed changed not just travel times — but who got to travel at all.
Mar 13, 2026