Indulge me for a moment—I love watching the Times Square Ball Drop every New Year’s Eve. But if you’re like me (with a teeny tiny bladder and a strong aversion to frostbite), fear not. I’ve since ...

US chemist Alice Ball was born in Seattle, Washington, on 24 July 1892. She came from a middle-class African-American family of photographers; her grandfather, James Presley Ball, was one of the first ...