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The Great British Tea Heist
Botanist Robert Fortune traveled to China and stole trade secrets of the tea industry, discovering a fraud in the process
March 09, 2010 |
By Sarah Rose
Abraham Lincoln, True Crime Writer
While practicing law in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln defended a man in a highly unusual case and later recounted the mystery as a short story
February 10, 2010 |
By Laura Helmuth
The Top Ten Important Moments in Snowboarding History
Since its mid-1960s inception, snowboarding has seen such a boom in popularity that it is now an event at the Winter Olympics
February 05, 2010 |
By Paul J. MacArthur
The Scurlock Studio: Picture of Prosperity
For more than half a century the Scurlock Studio chronicled the rise of Washington's black middle class
February 2010 |
By David Zax
The Changing Definition of African-American
How the great influx of people from Africa and the Caribbean since 1965 is challenging what it means to be African-American
February 2010 |
By Ira Berlin
Renoir's Controversial Second Act
Late in life, the French impressionist's career took an unexpected turn. A new exhibition showcases his radical move toward tradition
February 2010 |
By Richard Covington
Radio Activity: The 100th Anniversary of Public Broadcasting
Since its inception, public radio has had a crucial role in broadcasting history - from FDR's "Fireside Chats" to the Internet Age
January 26, 2010 |
By Marina Koestler Ruben
Sugar Masters in a New World
Sevilla la Nueva, the first European settlement in Jamaica, is home to the bittersweet story of the beginning of the Caribbean sugar trade
January 12, 2010 |
By Heather Pringle
A Forgotten Tennessee Williams Work Now a Motion Picture
Written in the 1950s, The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond was forgotten until it was recently adapted into a major motion picture
January 04, 2010 |
By Chloë Schama
Sherlock Holmes' London
As the detective stalks movie theaters, our reporter tracks down the favorite haunts of Arthur Conan Doyle and his famous sleuth
January 2010 |
By Joshua Hammer
A Spectacular Collection of Native American Quilts
Tribes from the Great Plains used quilts as both a practical replacement of buffalo robes and a storytelling device
January 2010 |
By Owen Edwards
Phineas Gage: Neuroscience's Most Famous Patient
An accident with a tamping iron made Phineas Gage history's most famous brain-injury survivor
January 2010 |
By Steve Twomey
Man-Eaters of Tsavo
They are perhaps the world’s most notorious wild lions. Their ancestors were vilified more than 100 years ago as the man-eaters of Tsavo
January 2010 |
By Paul Raffaele
Tai Shan Will Return to China
The panda who has the distinction of being the first surviving cub born at the National Zoo will be returning to China
December 04, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
Crawling Around with Baltimore Street Rats
The “urban ecosystem” serves as a research lab for scientist Gregory Glass, who studies the lives of the Charm City’s rats
November 18, 2009 |
By Abigail Tucker
Man Ray’s Signature Work
Artist Man Ray mischievously scribbled his name in a famous photograph, but it took decades for the gesture to be discovered
November 10, 2009 |
By Abby Callard
Meet Sesame Street's Global Cast of Characters
Over the course of the 40 years that the program has been on the air, Sesame Street has spawned versions in countries around the world
November 06, 2009 |
By Abby Callard
Evolution in the Deepest River in the World
New species are born in the turbulence of the Congo River
November 03, 2009 |
By Kyle Dickman
Decoding Jackson Pollock
Did the Abstract Expressionist hide his name amid the swirls and torrents of a legendary 1943 mural?
November 2009 |
By Henry Adams
Drawn From Life
Artist Janice Lowry's illustrated diaries record her history—and ours
November 2009 |
By Owen Edwards


