Copper and zinc, the two metals found in a penny, were rationed during World War II, so the U.S. Mint had to come up with another way to produce its most popular coin. After much debate, the government decided on zinc-coated steel. The steel penny saved enough copper to make 1.25 million shells of ammunition. The gray-colored penny was manufactured between February and December 1943, but it encountered a number of problems: it rusted, it confused vending machines, and it was frequently mistaken for a dime. Read More...
For a corresponding visual narrative to accompany a new piece by Isabel Wilkerson, author of Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, TIME turned to artist Lavett Ballard, to create a cover that would—like Wilkerson’s work—present a challenge to the reader and to America: How did we arrive at this moment, a moment when the barriers to equality in America are so clear? And what is the way forward?
Ballard, who created cover art for TIME’s 100 Women of the Year project in recognition of the women who led the civil rights bus boycotts of the 1950s, brought together images speaking to themes including the history of American slavery, book banning, and the Jan. Read More...
Russian mercenaries are the all-too-real bogeymen of the war in Ukraine. Most belong to the company known colloquially as Wagner, a quasi-corporate paramilitary group connected to the Kremlin that serves as a violent tool of Putin’s foreign policy around the world. Depending on the reports you believe, Wagner mercenaries were responsible for the execution of civilians in Bucha, have deployed tens of thousands of infantry to support the eastern offensive, or have already lost 3,000 fighters in combat. Read More...
