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Sophie Blanchard – The High Flying Frenchwoman Who Revealed the Thrill and Danger of Ballooning

Blanchard was said to be afraid of riding in a carriage, but she became one of the great promoters of human flight

A 24,700-year-old leaf found beneath a Japanese lake, along with other samples, will help scientists more precisely date a range of ancient objects.

A New Leap Forward for Radiocarbon Dating

Sediments and ancient leaves recovered from the bottom of a Japanese lake will help scientists around the world more precisely date ancient objects

Start celebrating Día de los Muertos early with activities at the Smithsonian.

Events October 19-21: Star Music, Hollywood’s Gettysburg and Día de los Muertos

Hear from an astrophysicist who danced her PhD thesis, watch a classic Civil War film and start celebrating Day of the Dead a little early

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One Step Closer to a Brain

It sounds funny, but when Google created a huge computer network that was able to identify cats from YouTube videos, it was a big leap forward for artificial intelligence.

‘Eye Cells’ Hone in on Eye Contact, Create Special Connections with Others

Researchers may have pinpointed neurons responsible for that “special connection” feeling associated with first making eye contact

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Dinosaur Stampede, the Musical

What caused Australia’s dinosaur stampede? A short musical performance suggests an answer

161 Years Ago Today Ahab First Battled the White Whale, and Critics Hated It

Today marks the 161st anniversary of Moby Dick, the epic seafaring tale by Herman Melville, and Google is celebrating with its own Doodle

Who hasn’t imagined the things she could do with a larger kitchen and more storage and then imagined taunting her friends about it?

Designer Kitchens and the People Who Don’t Cook in Them

From designer appliances to bigger floorplans, Americans love kitchens, just not cooking in them

From Pardeon Records, A Grain of Sand was considered the first Asian American album in the music industry.

Joann Stevens: Arts Righting History

Japanese singer-dancer Nobuko Miyamoto will speak about her role in making a place for Asian Americans in music October 19th

As prim and tidy as hedges at the Queen’s palace, a vineyard in England reminds us that rising temperatures are now allowing for wine production in the world’s higher latitudes.

More Wines from Unexpected Places

Good, locally made wines can now be found in such unlikely locales as equatorial Kenya, the Texas Hill Country, and temperate and rainy Japan

An artist’s conception of the massive collision that would have produced the moon roughly 4.5 billion years ago.

How the Moon Was Made

A new type of evidence found in lunar rocks indicates that an enormous collision between a young Earth and a Mars-sized object formed the moon

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The Last Row

But at least two of the last three puzzles in the grid (including today’s!) may be among the hair-pullingest yet.  I’m not a sadist, mind you.  I genuinely think you’ll have fun with them.

14 Fun Facts About Hagfish

These frightening creatures defend themselves with slime and chow down on animal carcasses

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Whatever Happened to Kenyanthropus platyops?

Scientists disagree over whether a 3.5-million-year-old skull is a flat-faced species of hominid or just a distorted example of Australopithecus afarensis

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Turn Your Favorite Words of Wisdom into Beautiful Art

A new company called Epic Frequency turns historic audio files into artwork

This is the Lambda Centauri nebula, a star-forming cloud in our Milky Way galaxy, also known as the Running Chicken nebula.

Alpha Centauri Has a Planet

A newly discovered planet circling Alpha Centauri is only four light years away and could point the way to habitable planets nearby

A reconstruction of Patagonykus, one of South America’s alvarezsaurs.

Did Dinosaurs Eat Ants?

The weird alvarezsaurs look perfectly-adapted to eating termites, but how can we find out what they really ate?

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Analyst from Cuban Missile Crisis to Discuss Role of Aerial Photography on 50th Anniversary

Marking the historic Cold War confrontation, photograph analyst Dino Brugioni will discuss his role gathering intelligence during the crisis

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The Saddest Dinosaur Cartoon Ever

Mountain of Dinosaurs, from 1967, uses extinction as a metaphor for Soviet oppression

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What Is the Most Annoying Sound in the World?

A new study examines the neurological basis for unpleasant noises—and finds exactly which sounds are the most irritating

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