History

Cannons at Valley Forge

The Food that Fueled the American Revolution

A steady supply of preserved meats and flavorless flour cakes played a vital role in American patriots defeating the British during the American Revolution

What foods can't you get on a stick these days?

Insects as a Food Source

Entomophagy—the fancy Latin term for eating insects—is beginning to catch on in the Western Hemisphere

A view of the Dinosaur National Monument quarry before it closed for renovations in 2006

A Visit to Douglass’ Dinosaur

The site became a must-see dinosaur landmark in 1957, and in a few months, visitors will once again be able to see the spectacular quarry wall

Part of Plate XII from Leidy's Cretaceous Reptiles of the United States, showing some vertebrae from Hadrosaurus.

Dinosaur Classics: Leidy’s Dinosaur Inventory

Contrary to a snarky review, this monograph is one of the most important works ever published in the history of vertebrate paleontology

Birdshot + jello

Law and Order: Jell-O Gelatin Unit

From drunk driving to acts of Cold War espionage, here's a look at how Jell-O has sprung up in our criminal justice system

Salisbury steak TV dinner

Salisbury Steak: Civil War Health Food

After 30 years of research Dr. Salisbury finally published his ideas, setting off one of the earliest American fad diets

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A Visit to Dinosaur Court

See a gallery of images from a monument to a time when naturalists were only just beginning to understand prehistoric creatures

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The File Inside the Cake: True Tales of Prison Escapes

Jailbirds really have tried to fly the coop by way of contraband—files, handsaws and even guns—hidden inside baked goods

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Hidden Dinosaurs and Confusing Teeth

After many false starts, scientists finally understood the first fossils of horned dinosaurs

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The Joys of Jell-O

If you're feeling creative and adventurous and want to mount a Jell-O-based art project, you need to know a few things about how the stuff works

A line-drawing of the Triceratops known as "Raymond."

Triceratops: An A+ Dinosaur

Paleontologists have recently learned how these three-horned dinosaurs fought, grew up and socialized

A hump-backed Spinosaurus, restored by R.E. Johnson and from Bailey 1997.

Was Spinosaurus a Bison-Backed Dinosaur?

Spinosaurus and Ouranosaurus were fundamentally different, and they remain among the most bizarre dinosaurs yet discovered

A Daily Food Guide. This graphic illustrates the four food group system that preceded the food pyramid model.

USDA Demolishing the Food Pyramid

USDA began offering nutritional advice in 1894. We had 12 food groups in the 1930s, seven in the 1940s, four in the 1950s, then a pyramid and now a plate

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June Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

The reconstructed skeleton of "Brontosaurus" from W.D. Matthew's 1915 book Dinosaurs.

Two Views on How to Make a Baby Sauropod

It took a long time—and a new understanding of sauropod lifestyles—to figure out whether they laid eggs or gave birth to live young

The horns of Marsh's Bison alticornis, now recognized as those of a ceratopsian dinosaur.

When Triceratops Was a Giant Bison

The giant with the "three-horned face" was originally mistaken for a very different creature

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The Hamburger: A Quintessential American Meal

The hamburger is a part of our national identity. But how did the U.S. come to "own" the little beef cake sandwiches?

Idaho Potato Museum

Five Funky Food Museums

Here's a quick look at five funky food museums worth visiting, including ones devoted to SPAM, mustard and Pez

Pulp wood (but not the kind that may appear in your cheese or bread).

The Wood in Your Food

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The Diplodocus Tripod

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