Sarah Bilston— Marie Kondo seems to be everywhere these days. Home-dwellers across the planet debate whether the objects in their home “spark joy” and throw out those that don’t — after thanking them for their service first, as per a key KonMari™ precept. Kondo’s website proudly asserts “She started it,”
Follow @yaleSCIbooks Sarah Underwood— I assume that this week, the halls of elementary schools across America have been decorated with Pilgrim men and women, whose shiny buckles and white aprons were cut cleanly from construction paper. I don’t remember ever drawing stains or smudges on my Pilgrims’ clothing as a
When we look back at the conditions that early Americans tolerated every day (sewage streaming through the streets, animals sharing spaces with their keepers) it’s amazing that they ever achieved that near-godly state known as cleanliness. In an enlightening discussion at the University of Pennsylvania, YUP author and UPenn historian