SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A blast from the past is on display in Springfield. You may have never heard of a circular sock machine. The contraption dates back to the 1860s, allowing for quick manufacturing.

There are a pair of maps on the wall in the front office at Erlbacher Gear & Machine Works in Cape Girardeau. One is a map of the United States. The other a map of the world. Both are adorned with ...

The cover article of this month's issue of The Atlantic magazine has me thinking about socks -- or rather, about what Abraham Lincoln said about them. The article, titled "The 50 Greatest ...