1880s: Homosexuality is considered a moral outrage and perversion punishable by jail. Homosexual relationships are hidden from societal view.

1990s: Although homosexuality is more accepted, many states still have laws against homosexual acts. Many people consider the homosexual lifestyle as opposed to religious doctrine. Legislation to sanction gay marriages and gays in the military has failed. Many states have passed anti-discrimination laws in response to vicious hate crimes that target homosexuals.

1880s: Nineteenth-century Europe and America are enamored with such practices as phrenology, the belief that a person's character traits are apparent in the shape of his or her skull. Some Victorians also believed in Mesmerism, developed earlier in the century by Franz Anton Mesmer. He suggested the possibility of mind control through hypnosis.

1990s: The practice of alternative medicine is on the rise, as many people turn away from technological advances and the...