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According to oral tradition, the Mayflower Pilgrims landed near Plymouth Rock in 1620—but first-person accounts of their arrival make no mention of it.

Did the Pilgrims Really Land on Plymouth Rock and More Questisons From our Readers

Where do hurricanes start, the Big Bang, sea gulls and other answers from the Smithsonian’s experts

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Spotlight

A still from Lincoln, directed by Steven Spielberg.

The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Mr. Lincoln Goes to Hollywood

Steven Spielberg, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Tony Kushner talk about what it takes to wrestle an epic presidency into a feature film

Water and sediment flowing from Malibu Creek and Lagoon impact the waves at Surfrider, especially after winter rains.

Malibu’s Epic Battle of Surfers Vs. Environmentalists

Local politics take a dramatic turn in southern California over a plan to clean up an iconic American playground

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Hints and Honors

The Great American History Puzzle lives on! Now complete with helpful hints and full explanations of answers! Plus, our Honor Roll of solvers

A Tale of Two Screams: Which Stock Horror Scream is Better?

Often, screams in horror movies come from stock files. Chances are, they’re one of two stock screams: the Wilhelm or the Howie

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What Scared Dinosaurs? The Terror Croc

Deinosuchus, an enormous alliagtoroid, undoubtedly gave dinosaurs much to fear

Black-headed Spider Monkey (Ateles fusciceps)

Alan Dudley’s Wondrous Array of Animal Skulls

A new book delivers fascinating photographs of over 300 skulls from the British taxidermist’s personal collection—the largest in the world

Red state, blue state; no matter what the regional specialty, this is candy country.

Candy Land: A Coast-to-Coast Tour of America’s Sweet Treats

A Twix is nice, but these local candies and treats provide some much-needed variety this Halloween season

An artist’s reconstruction of Purgatorius, a probable primate ancestor.

Five Early Primates You Should Know

Scientists have identified dozens of early primates, based on teeth, but still have a hard time assessing how these mammals relate to modern primates

Eating a fatty sandwich for breakfast could impact your cardiovascular health by the afternoon.

Even in Healthy Adults, High-Fat Fast Foods Affect Arteries Almost Immediately

In a new study, people who ate a pair of fatty sausage and egg sandwiches for breakfast showed reduced blood vessel health by the afternoon

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Why Does Dracula Wear a Tuxedo? The Origins of Bram Stoker’s Timeless Vampire

The evolution of Dracula, from the mind of a sickly youth to an iconic portrayal on the silver screen

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The Haunted and the Haunting: Best Places to Visit on Halloween

This Halloween, indulge in the the electric, nerve-zapping thrill of fear, and consider visiting real destinations of creepy history and ghostly legends

We love candy, to eat and to look at. Big Suckers, from the portfolio Seven Still Lifes and a Silver Landscape. Wayne Thiebaud, 1971.

Candy From Halloween’s Past

From candy’s lackluster beginnings to the Halloween boom, Smithsonian shares some tricks and treats

William H. Johnson donated his work to the American Art Museum, allowing for a look at the growing legacy of the late artist.

Events Oct. 31-Nov. 1: Empires, Spooky Stories and American Artists

This week, a look at changing relationships with Latin America, Halloween stories and the rise of the late William H. Johnson

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The Halloween Tradition Best Left Dead: Kale as Matchmaker

Be happy this Scottish tradition is passé, your future marriage may have depended on it

Fossil teeth, found by Ferdinand Hayden in Montana, which Joseph Leidy attributed to the dinosaur “Trachodon.”

Finding Hayden’s Dinosaurs

Thanks to some historical detectivework, a pair of researchers has relocated one of the earliest recognized dinosaur sites in the American west

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Women Who Shaped History

The Fox Sisters and the Rap on Spiritualism

Their seances with the departed launched a mass religious movement—and then one of them confessed that “it was common delusion”

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Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 06 – The Good Little Scouts

A camping trip to the moon might seem fanciful, but 1960s advertisers were already promoting space tourism

Models indicate that climate change will cause more frequent hurricanes, but the overall trend can’t be linked with a particular event, such as Hurricane Sandy (above, on October 29).

Can We Link Hurricane Sandy to Climate Change?

Models indicate that climate change will cause more frequent and intense hurricanes, but the overall trend can’t be linked with any particular storm

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