What a Long Lost Typewriter Says About Chinese Culture

Loading... Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world. It was exactly a week after the Assad regime fell in Syria last December, and Damascus was euphoric. My colleague and I came across a bar in the center of the city called

Edith Johnson and Dorothea Lambert Chambers face off in the 1910 Wimbledon tournament in London. Lawn tennis — the game we know today — started in the late 19th century but has its roots in a medieval sport. Paul Thompson/European Picture Service/FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Paul Thompson/European Picture Service/FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images If

Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a signing ceremony for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at the State Department, June 27, 2025, in Washington. Mark Schiefelbein/AP hide caption toggle caption Mark Schiefelbein/AP WASHINGTON — The State Department is warning U.S. diplomats of attempts to impersonate Secretary of State

Enlarge this image The MingKwai typewriter's keys enable the typist to find and retrieve Chinese characters. Elisabeth von Boch/Stanford hide caption toggle caption Elisabeth von Boch/Stanford The MingKwai typewriter's keys enable the typist to find and retrieve Chinese characters. Elisabeth von Boch/Stanford A typewriter recently discovered in a basement in upstate New York holds important

Main entry to the Hotel Oloffson, built as a private residence by Simon Sam in about 1886. American Marines leased it and turned it into a military hospital in the early 20th century. In 1936 Walter Oloffson converted it to a hotel. In the 1950s through 1970s it was a Hollywood jetset destination. Don Bartletti/Los