The Most Popular Articles of 2019

At the beginning of 2019, we could have guessed that our most popular articles would feature a little bit of history, literature and art. But you also surprised us with your interest in Gen Con, movie theme songs, and candy! Here’s our list of the ten most popular articles we published in 2019. Enjoy!

1. The 50 Greatest TV Theme Songs of All Time: Live-Action

(Shutterstock)

We’re warning you now: after reading this, you’ll be humming these theme songs all day.

2. The Case for Late Bloomers

(Shutterstock)

Making too much of those who achieve success early — whether measured by college admission, a glamour job, money, or fame — can make it seem that the rest of us are destined to be also-rans for the rest of our lives.

3. Considering History: Myths and Realities of the Mexican-American Border

(Wikimedia Commons)

Many imagine the border between the U.S. and Mexico to be a consistent, stable entity, but history shows that this line – and the many debates that surround it – is prone to revision.

4. Killer in the White House

The White House
(Library of Congress)

For over twenty years a silent killer stalked the White House. Was this killer responsible for the death of three presidents?

5. How Dodge City Became the Ultimate Wild West

(Shutterstock)

Fake news and smoking guns made the Kansas town a symbol of frontier lawlessness.

6. 11 Old Candies You Can’t Buy Anymore

(The Sweets Company of America, The Saturday Evening Post, 1920)

Like a dirty trick, these treats disappeared.

7. What We Can Learn from Gen Con

(A diorama of the game Marvel: Crisis Protocol by Atomic Mass Games. Photo by Troy Brownfield.)

Gen Con brings gamers, cosplayers, and other fandoms together. And we should follow their example.

8. The Creation of Nancy Drew

Cover for the Nancy Drew novel, The Secret of the Old Clock, by Carolyn Keene
(Detail from the cover of The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene)

It took a tenacious, bold, independent writer to invent the fictional teen sleuth.

9. America’s First Opioid Epidemic

(“The countess, having taken a dose of laudanum nears death.” Engraving by Louis Gérard Scotin after William Hogarth, 1745. Wellcome Collection gallery, CC-BY-4.0)

As the country struggles with a terrible opioid crisis, we remember a similar epidemic that raged through the U.S. in the 1800s.

10. How to Look at a Norman Rockwell Picture: Part 1 — Hands

(©SEPS)

David Apatoff takes a closer look at the details that make Norman Rockwell a true artist. He starts with Rockwell’s use of hands.

Featured image: ©SEPS