Costa Rica's Guanacaste region is among the country's many beautiful ecological zones—and the waste from local juice company is helping keep it that way.

Costa Rica Let a Juice Company Dump Their Orange Peels in the Forest—and It Helped

How a controversial experiment actually bore fruit

The Koh-i-Noor diamond set at the front of the crown made for the Queen Mother Elizabeth, set on her coffin in April 2002.

The True Story of the Koh-i-Noor Diamond—and Why the British Won’t Give It Back

A star of London’s Crown Jewels, the Indian gem has a bloody history of colonial conquest

This Man Is the Father of Modern American Suburbia

By 1951, two thirds of Americans lived in urban areas. Enter William Levitt, who would utilize construction techniques he learned to build affordable homes

Made of sugar, these milk pods could someday replace traditional creamer cups.

Milk and Sugar Pods That Dissolve in Coffee Could Replace Single-Serve Containers

Why use plastic when you can use sugar?

The Whiskey Rebellion

History of Now

The First Presidential Pardon Pitted Alexander Hamilton Against George Washington

How to handle the Whiskey Rebellion was the first major crisis faced by the new government

Caribou herd mountain crossing in Alaska Range.

New Research

How Killing Moose Can Save Caribou

Conservation often requires difficult decisions

Robots can also lend a hand of sorts.

How Robots Could Help the Elderly Age in Their Homes

But these helpful machines won’t be the humanoid butlers of science fiction

And you thought your alarm clock was rough.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

11 Cool, Funny or Just Plain Strange Patents for Back to School

From alarm clocks that pummel you in the head to ingenious devices to save your crayon nubs, a peek into the patent archives for back to school season

This Man Betrayed Nazis by Stealing Looted Jewish Valuables

In April 1944, the Nazis began to systematically terrorize the Jews living in Hungary. Shortly afterwards, they forced them to hand over their valuables

Backyard Worlds is using the power of citizen scientists to search for the elusive Planet 9.

The Universe Needs You: To Help in the Hunt for Planet 9

How one citizen science endeavor is using the Internet to democratize the search for distant worlds

This Cleveland DJ Popularized Rock ‘n’ Roll

Dancing – and dancing shows – became a teenage craze in the 1950s, spurred by figures like Cleveland DJ, Alan Freed

Neil Armstrong's lunar spacesuit had a life expectancy of about six months. The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum wants to exhibit it for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moonwalk.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

A Moonwalk Did Not Destroy Neil Armstrong’s Spacesuit. Now Time Won’t Either

Conservators are bringing new innovations to save the 80-pound suit that allowed the first astronaut on the moon to take that giant leap

A witness tree on Stuart's Hill loop trail in Manassas National Battlefield Park

American South

These Five “Witness Trees” Were Present At Key Moments In America’s History

These still-standing trees are a living testament to our country’s tragic past

United Farm Workers leader Dolores Huerta organizing marchers on the second day of March Coachella in Coachella, CA 1969

Civil Rights Icon Dolores Huerta Offers Advice to a New Generation of Activists

A new documentary charts the 87-year-old leader’s advocacy across the decades

A geologist looks out into a caldera in Nevada's McDermitt Volcanic Field.

Future of Energy

Will Supervolcanoes Help Power Our Future?

Vast new deposits of lithium could change the global politics of battery production—if we can get at them

How 9/11 Altered Laura Bush’s Role as First Lady

Six days after 9/11, first lady Laura Bush spoke at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at the memorial for the victims of Flight 93

Anandibai Joshee (left), Kei Okami and Tabat M. Islambooly, students from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania.

Women Who Shaped History

This 19th Century “Lady Doctor” Helped Usher Indian Women Into Medicine

Ananabai Joshee dedicated her career to treating women and helped blaze a path for international doctors training in the U.S.

His teeming canvases were like a “browser window with lots of different tabs open,” says Nairne.

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Artwork Is Appreciated Now More Than Ever

Decades later, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s complex works are increasingly prescient—and valuable

Tuskegee Airmen and P-47

Why African-American Soldiers Saw World War II as a Two-Front Battle

Drawing the connection between fascism abroad and hate at home, pre-Civil Rights activists declared the necessity of “double victory”

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