Sheila Mulrooney Eldred

Sheila Mulrooney Eldred is a freelance journalist based in Minneapolis. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, NPR, the Washington Post, and Sahan Journal.

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When Did Americans Start Recycling?
Annual Observances

When Did Americans Start Recycling?

More than a century ago, recycling wasn't a thing, but people did it instinctively.

Harry Truman and Universal Health Care
U.S. Presidents

When Harry Truman Pushed for Universal Health Care

Truman felt the middle class was left out when it came to health care coverage and fought to institute a federal health plan paid for through a payroll tax.

WWII Naval Cadet Training
U.S. Presidents

See Photos of WWII Naval Cadets Training Like Pro Athletes

George H.W. Bush was among the cadets and Gerald Ford served as a coach in the intense war-time training camp that featured giant wheels, heavy sand bags and oversized balls.

A chicken farm in Australia. Such farms can be a source of avian influenza outbreaks.
Inventions & Science

What Are the Earliest Known Origins of Bird Flu?

Avian influenza has been sickening birds at least since the 1800s—and has been a factor in the emergence of human pandemics.

Skull of a man from ancient Egypt.
Inventions & Science

How Radiocarbon Dating Unlocks Ancient History

When a chemist discovered that carbon atoms could be used to date ancient remains, he devised a method that upended archaeology.