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Edinburgh’s Mysterious Miniature Coffins

In 1836, three Scottish boys discovered a strange cache of miniature coffins concealed on a hillside above Edinburgh. Who put them there—and why?

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Baseball brought the two men together, but even when Rickey left the Brooklyn Dodgers, their relationship off the field would last for years

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Page 10 of 61
Ben and Tony Bradlee at the White House

Kennedy After Dark: A Dinner Party About Politics and Power

In this exclusive transcript from the JFK library, hear what he had to say just days after announcing his candidacy for the presidency
October 2012 | By Ted Widmer

The Blazing Career and Mysterious Death of “The Swedish Meteor”

Can modern science determine who shot this 18th century Swedish king?
September 17, 2012 | By Mike Dash

The Unknown Story of "The Black Cyclone," the Cycling Champion Who Broke the Color Barrier

Major Taylor had to brave more than the competition to become one of the most acclaimed cyclists of the world
September 12, 2012 | By Gilbert King

The Anti-Skyscraper Law That Shaped Sydney, Australia

What happens when public safety clashes with modern architecture?
September 10, 2012 | By Matt Novak

The Ugliest, Most Contentious Presidential Election Ever

Throughout the 1876 campaign, Tilden’s opposition had called him everything from a briber to a thief to a drunken syphilitic
September 07, 2012 | By Gilbert King

Big Apple Apocalypse: 200 Years of Destroying New York City

What is it about New York that compels us to see it obliterated in fiction over and over again?
September 06, 2012 | By Matt Novak

My Robot Helper of Tomorrow

Forget flying cars and jetbacks, whatever happened to my cereal-serving robot?
August 31, 2012 | By Matt Novak

That Time a German Prince Built an Artificial Volcano

When a 18th century German prince visited Mt. Vesuvius in Naples, he insisted on building a replica of it on his estate back home. 200 years later, a chemistry professor brings it back to life
August 30, 2012 | By Andrew Curry

“Murder Wasn’t Very Pretty”: The Rise and Fall of D.C. Stephenson

The Grand Dragon of the Klan and prominent Indiana politician had a vicious streak that had horrifying consequences
August 30, 2012 | By Karen Abbott

The Neverending Hunt for Utopia

Through centuries of human suffering, one vision has sustained: a belief in a terrestrial arcadia that offered justice and plenty to any explorer capable of finding it
August 28, 2012 | By Mike Dash

The Top 10 Political Conventions That Mattered the Most

As the two parties bring together their faithful supporters, we look at those conventions in the past that truly made a difference in the country’s political history
August 27, 2012 | By Kenneth C. Davis

The Conversation: Steve Jobs' Greatest Contribution

As we near the first anniversary of the visionary's death, we ask you one simple question
August 01, 2012 | By Smithsonian magazine

The Robot Hall of Fame: Vote Rosey 2012

For the first time, Carnegie Mellon University's Robot Hall of Fame is allowing the public to vote on which robots will be inducted
August 22, 2012 | By Matt Novak

Document Deep Dive: What Did the Zimmermann Telegram Say?

See how British cryptologists cracked the coded message that propelled the United States into World War I
August 21, 2012 | By Megan Gambino

No, Really, There is No Secret Code in the Pyramids

Encoded mysteries have existed through history—especially imaginary ones
September 2012 | By Mark Strauss

How a New Yorker Article Launched the First Shot in the War Against Poverty

When a powerful 1963 piece laid out the stark poverty in America, the White House took action
September 2012 | By Jill Lepore

From the Editor

September 2012 | By Michael Caruso

The Smoothest Con Man That Ever Lived

"Count" Victor Lustig once sold the Eiffel Tower to an unsuspecting scrap-metal dealer. Then he started thinking really big
August 22, 2012 | By Gilbert King

Crowdfunding a Museum for Alexander Graham Bell in 1922

Long before the age of Kickstarter, Hugo Gernsback used his magazine to garner interest for a monument devoted to the inventor of the telephone
August 20, 2012 | By Matt Novak

Yesterday’s Tomorrows: How a Smithsonian Exhibit I Never Saw Changed My Life

Meet the historians who pioneered scholarship of retro-futurism
August 15, 2012 | By Matt Novak

Going Nuclear Over the Pacific

A half-century ago, a U.S. military test lit up the skies and upped the ante with the Soviets.
August 15, 2012 | By Gilbert King

How Would You Rank the Greatest Presidents?

In a new book, political junkie Robert W. Merry shares his three-part test
August 13, 2012 | By Megan Gambino

The Demonization of Empress Wu

"She killed her sister, butchered her elder brothers, murdered the ruler, poisoned her mother," the chronicles say. But is the empress unfairly maligned?
August 10, 2012 | By Mike Dash

Synthetic Food, Smart Pills and… Kangaroo Butlers?

In the 21st century, everyone will be smarter—even animals.
August 08, 2012 | By Matt Novak

Front Page of Evening Ledger, July 7, 1916

The Shark Attacks That Were the Inspiration for Jaws

One rogue shark. Five victims. A mysterious threat. And the era of the killer great white was born
August 07, 2012 | By Megan Gambino

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