Articles

Meet the First and Only Foreign-Born First Lady: Louisa Catherine Adams

Almost 200 years ago, the wife of John Quincy Adams set a precedent

"One of the first questions I ask myself," says Washington, D.C.-based artist Linn Meyers is, "'How well can I approach the quirks of the architecture?'"

The Mesmerizing Results When a Museum Asks an Artist to Draw All Over Its Walls

Linn Meyers took on the monumental task of creating a 400-foot-long artwork at the Hirshhorn

A Search Engine That Matches Your Drawings to Photographs Isn't Too Far Off

Computer scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a new program that could let you Google your doodles

The Dueling Oaks in New Orleans' City Park

Discover America's Bloody History at Five Famous Dueling Grounds

Men defended their delicate honor at these bloody sites across the U.S.

The Three Ways to Test if Something Is Truly Solid Gold

When a stolen Kentucky Derby trophy from 1924 is uncovered, a series of tests are used to determine its authenticity

You Can Now Spend the Night in the Eiffel Tower

Be the first to spend the night in the night at this Parisian landmark

A trowel placed in a Native American oyster midden that dates to about 1,000 years ago shows the relative size of the shells. The average size of modern oysters is significantly smaller.

How Big Were Oysters in the Chesapeake Before Colonization?

A new multidisciplinary study reveals that yes, oysters were larger and more plentiful before European contact

Labyrinth of the Chartres Cathedral in France.

Walk the World's Most Meditative Labyrinths

History meets harmony on these time-worn paths

Sanora Babb with unidentified migrant workers

The Forgotten Dust Bowl Novel That Rivaled "The Grapes of Wrath"

Sanora Babb wrote about a family devastated by the Dust Bowl, but she lost her shot at stardom when John Steinbeck beat her to the punch

Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic Dome, 1967 World Exposition, Montreal

A Photographic Tour of the Wonders That World's Fairs Leave Behind

Jade Doskow goes to old World's Fair sites and photographs the remnants of once glorious visions

Entomologist Justin O. Schmidt holds the notorious tarantula hawk, one of the only creatures to rate a 4 on his pain index.

This Guy Got Himself Stung 1,000 Times For Science—Here’s What He Learned

A new book reveals what it’s like to be stung by nearly 100 species of insect, and some of the secrets of things that sting

Duke Riley's pigeons taking off for a performance of "Fly BY Night."

Cool Finds

A Giant Flock of Pigeons Is Lighting up New York’s Night Sky

The show is meant to illustrate that pigeons aren't rats with wings

Scorpions Choose Their Mates by Dancing With Them

Before a female scorpion chooses a mate, she must test the strength of her potential suitor. The only way to be certain it's the right match is to dance

Little penguins are the only penguins now found in Australia.

Australia Used to be a Haven for Giant Penguins

A single species, the little penguin, is left on Aussie shores today

Louis Armstrong's historic trumpet was a "great playing" instrument, says Wynton Marsalis, after his performance last Fall at the Smithsonian.

Breaking Ground

To Really Appreciate Louis Armstrong's Trumpet, You Gotta Play it. Just Ask Wynton Marsalis

It’s not always the white-glove treatment; some artifacts live on through performance

What the Oregon Trail Looks Like Today From Above

One of America's greatest highways is barely visible from the ground. It's only from the air that you can pick out the remains of the Oregon Trail

Fleet Farming turns yards into "farmlettes."

A Band of Biking Farmers in Florida Reinvents Sharecropping

Fleet Farming transforms lawns into farms to create a new local food system

An artists' rendering of Machairoceratops cronusi, or "bent sword face." Machairoceratops was found in 77-million-year-old rock in southern Utah.

Two New Discoveries Add to a Horned Dino Revolution

Twenty years ago, there were about 23 horned dinosaurs. Today, the count has more than tripled

Rocky Mountain National Park, CO

The Best National Parks for Wildlife Spotting

Plan your national park visits around prime viewing hours

Blair's Snow White Hair Beautifier

Old Cosmetics Made New Again Through the Art of Digitization

Arsenic Complexion Wafers? A whole new world of yesteryear cosmetics just got a refresh

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