Scholars
Leading intellectuals in the fields of history, philosophy and science
The Demise of a Wooden Dinosaur
A Victorian-era naturalist thought he'd found a new kind of dinosaur, and he threw a fit when other naturalists disagreed
May 08, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Wading With Sauropods
Even before the Dinosaur Renaissance moved sauropods out of the swamps, paleontologists recognized that some of these dinosaurs were better suited to life on land
April 17, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Why Brontosaurus Still Matters
Though it never actually existed, Brontosaurus is an icon of just how much dinosaurs have changed during the past century
April 10, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Edward Curtis’ Epic Project to Photograph Native Americans
His 20-volume masterwork was hailed as "the most ambitious enterprise in publishing since the production of the King James Bible"—and he paid dearly for his ambition
March 21, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
Arthur Conan Doyle’s Ethereal Dinosaurs
Prior to the 1925 debut of The Lost World, the novelist pulled a stunt to make people think dinosaurs might still be alive in a distant jungle
March 13, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Excavating the River of Giants
Rare footage shows how paleontologist R.T. Bird diverted a river to excavate a set of Texas dinosaur tracks in 1938
March 12, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Arabic Manuscripts: It Used To Snow in Iraq
Baghdad was the bustling capital of the vast Islamic Empire a thousand years ago, when the city's climate was much different than today
February 27, 2012 |
By Virginia Hughes
Alan Turing’s 60-Year-Old Prediction About Patterns in Nature Proven True
Sixty years ago, with nothing but numbers, logic and some basic know-how, the inventor of the Turing Test explained how to make a stripe
February 21, 2012 |
By Virginia Hughes
The Biggest Dinosaur Ever, Or Not
There are two "semi-apocryphal" dinosaurs that may have been significantly bigger than the biggest whales
February 21, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
The Mysterious Mr. Zedzed: The Wickedest Man in the World
Sir Basil Zaharoff was the archetypal "merchant of death"—an arms salesman who made a career out of selling to both sides in a conflict and stood accused of starting World War I for his personal profit.
February 16, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
How Did the Biggest Dinosaurs Get it On?
Of all the dinosaur mysteries, how dinosaurs like the 23-ton Apatosaurus mated is one of the most perplexing
February 09, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Who Was the First to Discover Dinosaur Eggs?
Despite an immense wave of publicity heralding the discovery of dinosaur eggs in 1923, French paleontologists had discovered them decades earlier
February 08, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Nice Things to Say About Attila the Hun
He was the barbarians' barbarian who called himself "the Scourge of God." But how did the terrible Attila command such loyalty—and why, in death, was he so mourned?
February 03, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
Scrambled Eggs and the Demise of the Dinosaurs
Did egg-eating lizards and snakes contribute to the dinosaurs' extinction?
February 02, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
The Other Vitruvian Man
Was Leonardo da Vinci's famous anatomical chart actually a collaborative effort?
February 2012 |
By Toby Lester
Revisiting The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
Recently reissued, William L. Shirer's seminal 1960 history of Nazi Germany is still important reading
February 2012 |
By Ron Rosenbaum
The Largest Ceratosaurus
How many species of this rare, ornamented genus were there?
January 19, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Dinosaur Division is All in the Hips
Thanks to one 1888 paper, paleontologists still divide dinosaurs between the bird-hips and lizard-hips
January 17, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
The Way of the Dinosaur
"Going the way of the dinosaur" is a popular phrase, but one drawn from bizarre 20th century ideas that dinosaurs were due for an extinction
January 11, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
Dinosaurian Snorkels, Air Tanks and Tubas
Parasaurolophus is one of the most perplexing dinosaurs - what did it use its huge crest for?
January 10, 2012 |
By Brian Switek
