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Articles

Frederick Douglass

Conventional Facts

Hungarian water polo player Ervin Zador's eye is injured during the closing minutes of a game against the Soviets.

Blood in the Water at the 1956 Olympics

Political turmoil between Hungary and the Soviet Union spills over into an Olympic water polo match

Jamar Roberts and Amos J. Machanic Jr. help Olivia Bowman defy gravity at the Ailey studio in 2007.

Points of Interest

Notable American Destinations and Happenings

Paul Polak, author of the book, "Out of Poverty: What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail."

Paul Polak, Social Entrepreneur, Golden, Colorado

His new book advocates helping the world’s poorest people one tool at a time

Sun Zhenyuan views preserving the wall as a sacred mission: “If you had an old house that people were damaging, wouldn’t you want to protect it?”

The Great Wall of China Is Under Siege

China’s ancient 4,000-mile barrier, built to defend the country against invaders, is under renewed attack

William Edgar Geil on the Great Wall at Luowenyu, June 7, 1908. William Lindesay had thumbed through Geil’s book The Great Wall of China, and was stunned by the photographs, particularly one showing Geil near a tower on a remote section of the wall. Lindesay had a photo of himself in that very spot but noticed that in his the tower was missing.

A Yankee in China

William Lindesay follows the trail of forgotten traveler, William Edgar Geil, the first man to traverse the Great Wall of China

Basking sharks can be found in coastal waters and feed on plankton.

Wild Things: Life as We Know It

From zombie caterpillars to basking sharks at sea

Pseudoryx nghetinhensis Saola (aka Vu Quang ox) 4 - 5 month old female at the Forest Inventory & Planning Institute Botanical Garden. Hanoi, Vietnam

A Wildlife Mystery in Vietnam

The discovery of the saola alerted scientists to the strange diversity of Southeast Asia’s threatened forests

Where did you think tomato paste came from? A harvester in California’s Sacramento Valley gathers tons of Roma-type tomatoes for Morning Star, the world’s largest tomato-processing company.

A Passion for Tomatoes

Whatever the variety—commercial hybrid or precious heirloom—the plump juicy “vegetable” has a place in our hearts

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Tainted Tomatoes

A food-poisoning scare spurs debate

When it dives, the platypus closes its eyes, ears and nostrils and finds its food through electrical receptors in its bill that detect the movement of small prey.

On the Evolutionary Gold Mine Down Under

What the platypus and other Australian species reveal about genetics

Termite digestion of wood pulp is the subject of research into potential new biofuels

Termite Bellies and Biofuels

Scientist Falk Warnecke’s research into termite digestion may hold solutions to our energy crisis

China Counts Four Bundles of Panda Joy

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A New Exhibition Gets All The Dirt on Soil

I don’t know how dirt got its bad reputation. The word is a catch-all for every vile behavior humankind can muster…

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Spoken Word Comes to the Smithsonian

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Blue Ridge Bluegrass

The town of Floyd, Virginia draws jam-ready musicians and some toe-tapping fans

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Fingers Crossed. A Panda Preggers at the National Zoo???!

On March 20, Mei was anesthetized and artificially inseminated. Since then, the public has waited anxiously for the pitter patter of panda paws

A Triceratops roams Michigan

Dinosaur Dig Checks in from Montana

Hat tip to Bad Astronomy, who is currently on something of a lunar bender owing to Apollo 11′s 40th anniversary and an actual time-lapse, color video of the moon crossing in front of the Earth.

Fly Me to the Moon

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Test Your Knowledge: Who is Mark Catesby?

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