Articles

Abraham Lincoln by Mathew B. Brady, Feb. 27, 1860

How One Mathew Brady Photograph May Have Helped Elect Abraham Lincoln

Before chronicling the Civil War, the nation's first photojournalist took these portraits

Crispy squares with whole crickets and falafel with ground crickets are two of the inventive offerings being served at Canada's Insectarium this summer.

Canada

This Summer, Try Termite Chocolate Sprinkles on Your Ice Cream

Canada’s Insectarium invites visitors to dine on insects as part of a special menu

Elizabeth Streb’s troupe is part of a new wave of circus performers. “The drama is in danger,” says Streb. “I’m trying to make people wonder, What’s going to happen next?”

Step Right Up! See the Reinvention of the Great American Circus!

As Ringling Bros. packs up its tent for good, all sorts of newfangled spectacles have sprung up to take its place

Nicolas Party at work on sunrise, sunset, 2017 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Muralist Nicolas Party Samples Great Artists of the Past Like a Visual DJ

The Hirshhorn's installation, inspired by Barack Obama’s “sun will rise” promise of continuity, highlights fantasy landscapes, beauty of nature

Seattle’s Space Needle Is Getting a Makeover to Enhance Panoramic Views

A cocktail of steroids and vitamin C, often found in citrus and leafy green produce, might hold the key to treating sepsis. Or, clinical trials might prove it overhyped.

New Research

Could Vitamin C Be the Cure for Deadly Infections?

A new protocol that includes this common nutrient could save millions of lives—and has already sparked a raging debate among doctors

The endangered blobfish, once named world's ugliest animal, has leveraged its unusual looks to win the Internet's adoration. Can other less-traditionally appealing creatures do the same?

Future of Conservation

When It Comes to Conservation, Are Ugly Animals a Lost Cause?

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but good marketing can do wonders

Racing the Storm: The Story of the Mobile Bay Sailing Disaster

When hurricane-force winds suddenly struck the Bay, they swept more than 100 boaters into one of the worst sailing disasters in modern American history

Trained and created for UniverSoul Circus in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Pizza Posse marries acrobatics to slap stick comedy.

Two Circus Pros Juggle History and Race to Springboard Black Entertainers

Cedric Walker and Veronica Blair share a common fascination for the history of African-American circus

Clayton Phipps looks over the massive ceratopsian fossil. The ancient creature’s rib cage is on the left and the pelvis on the right.

Will the Public Ever Get to See the "Dueling Dinosaurs"?

America’s most spectacular fossil, found by a plucky Montana rancher, is locked up in a secret storage room. Why?

A 50-pound batch at Shriver’s makes about 2,000 pieces.

What Makes Salt Water Taffy the Perfect Summer Candy?

The first families of the sugary treat stir up another season of making history by the bite

Which Books Do Americans Take on Vacation?

Our city-by-city breakdown uncovered some surprises

As he led his troops into the mountains, Hannibal vowed: “You will have the capital of Italy, the citadel of Rome, in the hollow of your hands.”

How (and Where) Did Hannibal Cross the Alps?

He pulled off one of the greatest military feats ever. Now new scientific evidence points to Hannibal's legendary route to Rome

A painting of Martin Luther.

Trace Martin Luther's Footsteps Through Germany

It’s 500 years since the start of the Protestant Reformation—here’s what you can still see today

The Hell Gate Bridge in NY, one of the main targets

The Inside Story of How a Nazi Plot to Sabotage the U.S. War Effort Was Foiled

J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI took the credit, but it was really only because of a German defector that the plans were blown

The beast of Gévaudan terrorized French villagers for three years, killing around 100 and injuring nearly 300.

When the Beast of Gévaudan Terrorized France

The tale of this monster grew in the telling, but the carnage still left nearly 100 dead

PhD students experiment with the glove in professor Tolley's lab.

This Glove Makes VR Objects Feel Real

Pneumatic "muscles" on the glove simulate the feel of real objects

The fire ant has spread like wildfire around the world, thanks to a winning combination of traits and a little help from humans.

New Research

How Humans Helped Ants Invade the World

Waves of globalization brought these warriors to new shores, where certain species spread like wildfire

How GPS Learns to Speak Your Language

A peek into that voice that tells you when and where to turn

From Ptolemy to GPS, the Brief History of Maps

We now have the whole world in our hands, but how did we get here?

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