USA
Mesa Verde’s Mary Jane Colter Collection (But Don’t Call it That)
Among the treasures that will be on display when the park's new museum opens later this year are 30 pieces donated by the legendary architect
July 18, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
U.S. Faces Worst Drought Since 1956
Drought grips 55% of the US mainland causing a shortfall in crop production, with very low chances of it ending any time soon.
July 17, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
NASA (and XBox Gamers) Prepare for Terrifyingly Hard Mars Landing
Though NASA's video shows the intricate and disaster-prone landing sequence, there is also a free Xbox 360 video game that lets you see if you can make it safely down to the surface.
July 17, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Where the Buffalo No Longer Roamed
The Transcontinental Railroad connected East and West—and accelerated the destruction of what had been in the center of North America
July 17, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
3 Ways Emergency Preparedness Is Like Wedding Planning
Last week, the CDC released its Wedding Day Survival Plan, a document which reads like a natural disaster preparedness checklist.
July 16, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
A Treasure Trove of Old Maps at Your Fingertips
Soon, all of the United States Geographical Survey's old topographical maps will be available online
July 16, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
Americans Are Really Bad At Living Green But Aren’t Too Upset About It
Americans are “most confident that their individual actions can help the environment,” while simultaneously, “trailing the rest of the world in sustainable behavior.”
July 13, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Return of the King Salmon
In the ocean waters just off California's Central Coast, the fish are swarming this summer like they haven't in years
July 12, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
For Coal Miners, Back to Black Lungs
Though Congress promised back in 1969 that mines would clean up their act, the miner's bane seems to be back in Appalachia's coal mines. Black lung has returned to the scene.
July 11, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Smithsonian Gets Google Mapped
Smithsonian and Google Maps launched an easy to use application Tuesday providing step by step directions inside 17 museums and the National Zoo.
July 11, 2012 |
By Leah Binkovitz
A Short Walking Tour of New York’s Lower East Side
In the 1860’s the Lower East Side was deluged in a wave of immigrants from Germany; known as Klein Deutschland, it had the 5th largest German-speaking population among cities in the world at the time
July 11, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
Hungry? Pull Over. Here’s Your Guide to the Best Bets of Roadside Foraging
All along the roadways of America—and the world—there's figs, avocados and wild berries ripe for the picking
July 10, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Why Store-Bought Popsicles Drip Less
Just in time for another scorching July day, the history of the modern popsicle - and why the store-bought ones are less drippy than the DIY kind.
July 09, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
This One Beautiful Video Sums Up All of Space Shuttle History
This weekend marked the one-year anniversary of the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis for STS-135, the final Shuttle mission, and artist McLean Fanestock 's video Grand Finale 2010-11 brings the Shuttles' 30 year tenure together by simultaneously displaying all 135 flights, from 1981 right on through to 2011.
July 09, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Meet Edith and Fanny, Thomas Jefferson’s Enslaved Master Chefs
Monticello research historian Leni Sorensen offers an impression of what life was like for these early White House chefs
July 09, 2012 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Flower Children on the North Shore of Kauai
In the late 1960s, a gorgeous stretch of beach in Ha’ena State Park was the site of a hippy haven called Taylor Camp.
July 09, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
When Russia Colonized California: Celebrating 200 Years of Fort Ross
A piece of history on the Pacific Coast was almost lost to budget cuts, until a Russian billionaire stepped in to save the endangered state park
July 06, 2012 |
By Amy Crawford
The Tallest, Strongest and Most Iconic Trees in the World
Its bark is fire resistant. Its fruit is edible. It scoffs at the driest droughts. It shrugs, and another decade has passed. It is the baobab tree, one of the longest-living, strangest looking plants in the world
July 05, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
North Carolina Rep Pushes Wrong Button and Approves Fracking in the State
Fracking can go ahead in North Carolina, all because one tired legislator pushed the wrong button.
July 05, 2012 |
By Sarah Laskow
The Woman Who Took on the Tycoon
John D. Rockefeller Sr. epitomized Gilded Age capitalism. Ida Tarbell was one of the few willing to hold him accountable.
July 05, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
