100 Objects #10: Nunchaku
In the early 1970s, Bruce Lee made nunchaku (nunchucks) cool, but the nunchucks craze coincided with something much bigger: the birth of a radical new...
The Original 100 Objects
Neil MacGregor reflects on creating the landmark series that changed how people think about history. Then, revisit the Rosetta Stone, the artifact tha...
100 Objects #9: Missing Children Milk Carton
In 1982, a twelve-year-old paperboy, Johnny Gosch, vanished from a quiet Iowa street and sparked an unlikely campaign: the faces of missing children p...
If Mosquito Hawks Can Fly
A Louisiana man born into slavery designs an airship with hopes to take flight. Those plans are interrupted, but maybe not forever.
100 Objects #8: Billy Possum
The teddy bear was a huge hit, and sparked an idea…maybe every president from then on should have their own viral stuffed animal.
The Score
We keep score of everything these days. But what happens when the numbers start changing what we actually care about?
100 Objects #7: The Otis Pamphlet
Journalist Jack Hitt returns to tell the wild, tragic story of America’s forgotten proto-founding father and his inflammatory 1764 pamphlet.
Transatlantic Fiber-Optic Expialidocious
Before the internet went global, one undersea gamble made it possible.
100 Objects #6: "Sharpened Screwdriver"
How was a household tool reimagined as a deadly weapon…that never actually existed?
The Most Exciting Change America Has Ever Seen
Billions of state quarters disappeared from circulation...and that was exactly the plan.