CURRENT ISSUE

July 2002

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Features

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Incident at Big Pine Key

A pod of dolphins stranded in the Florida Keys reignites an emotional debate over how much human "help" the sea mammals can tolerate

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Blast from the Past

The eruption of Mount Tambora killed thousands, plunged much of the world into a frightful chill and offers lessons for today

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Gaudí's Gift

In Barcelona, a yearlong celebration spotlights architecture's playful genius the audacious and eccentric Antoni Gaudí

Ida B. Wells

Against All Odds

A new play and photo exhibition call attention to Ida B. Wells and her brave fight to end lynching in America

Second Nature

More and more, innovative scientists are turning to the natural world for inspiration...and design solutions

Ring of Brodgar is on the Orkney Islands

Romancing the Stones

Who built the great megaliths and stone circles of Great Britain, and why? Researchers continue to puzzle and marvel over these age-old questions

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Getting to the Root of Ginseng

Questions about the herb's health benefits haven't cooled the red-hot market in wild American ginseng

Departments

From the Editor

Stimulants

Both ginseng and dolphins evoke passionate emotions

From the Secretary

A Pantheon After All

There's no more fitting venue for American initiative and American art than the old Patent Office building

Indelible Images

Training Wheels

The Object at Hand

Chilly Reception

Dr. John Gorrie found the competition all fired up when he tried to market his ice-making machine

Phenomena & Curiosities

Peewee Power

The invention of a gas-fueled generator the size of a quarter heralds a future of ever-smaller machines

People File

Casting for Souls

A dedicated nun spares not the rod (nor reel) in helping youngsters straighten up and fly right