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Mutineers walk in on a chaplain "with a smoking pistol in his hand" in the Arthur Conan Doyle short story "The Adventure of the Gloria Scott."

Thank Sherlock Holmes for the Phrase 'Smoking Gun'

From its origins to modern day, the favorite cliché of detectives and journalists everywhere refuses to kick the bucket

Police remove peaceful protestors from a sit-in at the U.S. Capitol in 1965.

Martin Luther King and Gandhi Weren’t the Only Ones Inspired By Thoreau’s ‘Civil Disobedience’

Thoreau's essay became a cornerstone of 20th-century protest

Josiah Wedgwood, of Wedgwood pottery fame, was also a staunch abolitionist and designed this medallion to further the cause.

This Anti-Slavery Jewelry Shows the Social Concerns (and the Technology) of Its Time

The 'Wedgwood Slave Medallion' was the first modern piece of protest jewelry

Researchers tested the fungus that grew in this isolated habitat as four people lived in it for a month.

Space-Bound Humans Bring Fungus Aboard—And the Stowaways Could Cause Trouble

Microscopic life is everywhere, but it could be dangerous for future astronauts bound for Mars

One of the tablets found at the fort

Cool Finds

Cache of Roman Messages Found Near Hadrian's Wall

The 25 well-preserved wooden tablets include a soldier's request for time off

The Lenox Madeira

Cool Finds

New Jersey Museum Discovers Stash of Madeira from 1796

Liberty Hall Museum owns the wine and will decide if anyone will be allowed to sample the Revolutionary libation

Vatican Vetoes Gluten-Free Communion Wafers

It’s a sticky issue for Catholics with celiac disease or other gluten sensitivities

The Declaration of Independence in its first known newspaper printing on July 6, 1776.

Watch How (Slowly) News of the Declaration of Independence Spread in Real Time

Before social media, TV, radio and even telegraphs, news of America's independence took a long time to reach some Americans

The women faced temperatures of almost -50 degrees Fahrenheit, blasting winds and ever-changing ice conditions.

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The Amazing Story of the First All-Women North Pole Expedition

Answering an ad in a newspaper, 20 amateur explorers attempted to ski from Arctic Canada to the top of the world

The first page of 'Measure For Measure' in the First Folio of 1623. Set in Vienna and full of less-than-proper characters, this play proved the most challenging to bowdlerize.

The Bowdlers Wanted to Clean Up Shakespeare, Not Become a Byword for Censorship

Thomas and Henrietta Bowdler started out with relatively noble intentions

This island has been a boy's club for hundreds of years.

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This Island Can Only Be Visited by Men

Okinoshima is officially an Unesco world heritage site—but tradition bans women from its shores

Smithsonian Curator Weighs In on Photo That Allegedly Shows Amelia Earhart in Japanese Captivity

A History Channel special claims that a National Archives photo shows the pilot sitting on a dock in the Pacific, but experts are skeptical

Beet armyworm caterpillars turned to eating each other when the leaves they were placed on were made to taste foul.

Strong Plant Defenses Made These Hungry Caterpillars Eat Each Other

When left with the choice of nasty-tasting plants or each other, the choice is clear for the beet armyworm caterpillar

Professor Lyndal Ryan poses with the online map of colonial Frontier massacres in Eastern Australia.

Online Map Charts Massacres of Indigenous Australians

European settlers waged more than 150 attacks against Aboriginal groups along the country’s east coast, resulting in the deaths of some 6,000 people

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Genetically Modified Moth May Soon Be Coming to New York Crops

The move is an attempt to limit crop damage by the diamondback moth

Experts say that Raphael painted an allegorical figure of Justice on the far right of this elaborate fresco, which depicts the battle between Constantine and his rival, Maxentius.

Unknown Raphael Paintings Discovered in the Vatican

Restoration work in the Hall of Constantine uncovered two allegorical figures that Raphael appears to have painted before his untimely death in 1520

Maurice Sendak signing prints from "The Mother Goose Collection" in 1990.

Forgotten Children’s Book by Maurice Sendak Will Be Published in 2018

The "Where the Wild Things Are" author collaborated on the manuscript with long-time friend Arthur Yorinks

Among the sketches found was a study by Gainsborough for his 1748 painting "Cornard Wood," which depicts a forest scene near his hometown of Sudbury.

Early Sketches From Famed English Painter Found Hidden in Royal Library

Discovered mislabeled in a Windsor Castle book, the drawings are the work of a young Thomas Gainsborough

Baum produced a stage version of his children's book two years after it came out. This work was aimed primarily for adults, and was the first time the Tin Woodman was referred to as the Tin Man.

The Tin Man Is a Reminder of L. Frank Baum’s Onetime Oil Career

Baum had a number of careers before he hit it big with 'The Wizard of Oz'

Paris may still be congested in 2040, but fossil fuel congestion will fall with a new ban on gas- and diesel-burning vehicles.

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France May Say ‘Au Revoir’ to Fossil-Fueled Vehicles

It’s a bid to dramatically reduce the country’s carbon emissions

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