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Articles

The original 1967 cover illustration of The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

The True Story Behind Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and Her Mixed-Up Files

Fifty years ago, author E.L. Konigsburg wrote her children’s literature classic that highlighted the wonder of museums

Hamilton Mausoleum, Scotland

From Whispering Galleries to Echo Chambers, These Five Architectural Structures Have Extraordinary Acoustics

Hearing things? Listen closely and you’ll begin to understand why

Today the desert tortoise faces a variety of new human-associated threats: off-road vehicle use, the illegal pet trade, and now, an influx of deadly ravens.

Future of Conservation

To Save Desert Tortoises, Make Conservation a Real-Life Video Game

Traditional techniques weren’t working for the raven-ravaged reptile. So researchers got creative

The Mona Lisa's sparse setting may help visitors better appreciate its beauty, according to a new psychology study.

New Research

Distraction May Make Us Less Able to Appreciate Beauty

Truly experiencing the beauty of an object could require conscious thought, vindicating the ideas of Immanuel Kant

Seedsheet bills itself as the best way to know where your food comes from by allowing you to grow it yourself. The container gardens come with pre-selected plants that can spice up a salad, garnish a cocktail or fill a taco.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

This Invention Makes a Gardener Out of Anyone

Seedsheets founder and CEO Cameron MacKugler designs the garden. You just have to water it.

The First Couple head to the inauguration ceremony, Washington, DC, January 20, 1961

JFK’s Presidency Was Custom Made for the Golden Age of Photojournalism

A new exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum concentrates on the White House’s most photogenic couple

Five Can’t-Miss Summer Light Festivals

From Sydney to Providence, the world will be set aglow with millions of lights this season

German infantrymen aim machine guns from a trench near the Vistula River in 1916.

How WWI Sparked the Gay Rights Movement

Soldiers came home from the Great War with a demand—full equality under the law

This App Could Bring Sex Ed To All Students

Real Talk helps middle schoolers access reliable sex ed information using storytelling, regardless of whether they have internet at home

Peles Castle

These Stunning, Less-Visited Castles in Europe Are Straight Out of a Fairy Tale

Europe’s hidden fortresses are postcard-perfect

"This book was representative of an era during which colonialism and the associated conversion to Christianity oppressed the indigenous population in often violent ways,” says curator Gabriela Pérez-Báez.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

A Rare Public Display of a 17th-Century Mayan Manuscript

With the book newly digitized, scholars are reinterpreting a story of native resistance from within its pages

Ultrasonic “tractor beam”

Five Ways Ultrasound Is Changing Medicine, Martian Exploration and Even Your Phone

If you thought ultrasound was only for prenatal care, think again

This illustration puts the blame of the murder of Edward on Elfrida.

Medieval Mothers Had to Marry and Murder to Get Their Way

The stories are below aren’t pulled from “Game of Thrones.” Promise

Krunan Lusikka

Europe

On Restaurant Day in Helsinki, Unofficial Pop-up Eateries Take Over Everything from Home Kitchens to Tattoo Shops

The facade of the U.S. Appraiser's Building on 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco, California

History of Now

A Federal Immigration Building With a Dark Past

In post-war San Francisco, discrimination against Chinese immigrants resulted in tragedy

Fossils provide potential evidence that ancient life thrived Australia's Dresser Formation, a region composed of 3.5-billion-year-old hot springs.

New Research

Fossils From Ancient Hot Springs Suggest Life May Have Evolved on Land

These 3.5-billion-year-old rocks could vindicate Darwin’s claim that life evolved in “some warm little pond,” and not in the ocean

Would you trust nutrition research underwritten by a GMO company?

People Don’t Trust Scientific Research When Companies Are Involved

But sometimes, they should

A raccoon butterflyfish on a coral reef in Egypt's Red Sea. The vast majority of aquarium fish come from countries with known cyanide fishing problems.

Future of Conservation

Soon, You Could Be Able to Tell if Your Aquarium Fish Was Caught With Cyanide

A new handheld detector aims to root out this widespread, destructive practice

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing a bill that gave J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI enormous power, in 1934. The bureau has been heavily involved in politics since its origin.

History of Now

Has the FBI Ever Been Divorced From Politics?

From its earliest days, Congress feared it would act as a “secret federal police”

What Does Thoreau’s Walden Pond Look Like Today?

Photographer S.B. Walker captures the pond’s eternal glow

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