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How do you ensure documents left in a time capsule will be legible after 100 years?

How Do You Keep Items Safe in a Time Capsule and More Questions From Our Readers

Also learn more about the jaw harp, why it takes three days to get to the Moon and more

Tea for One (2002)

Spotlight

Jim Thorpe's epic performance in the 15 events that made up the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Summer Games remains the most solid reflection we have of him.

Why Are Jim Thorpe’s Olympic Records Still Not Recognized?

In 1912, Jim Thorpe became the greatest American Olympian of all time, but not if you ask the IOC

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Torch Song

Ode to an ancient summer rite, excesses and all

The vice-presidential learning center features a sweatshirt worn by the young Dan Quayle.

The Vice Presidents That History Forgot

The U.S. vice presidency has been filled by a rogues gallery of mediocrities, criminals and even corpses

The Games may not exist at all were it not for the perseverance of the Brits.

The Paris Olympics

The Little-Known History of How the Modern Olympics Got Their Start

Acclaimed sportswriter Frank Deford connects the modern Games to their unlikely origin—in rural England

J. Allyn Rosser is an American poet and currently teaches at Ohio University.

Summer Olympics Look, a Poem

Poet J. Allyn Rosser’s new piece on watching the Olympic Games

Kayakers on the Thames in London go with the flow near Parliament and Big Ben.

The Long and Winding History of the Thames

Float down England’s longest river, from its origin in the Cotswolds to its ramble through London, a journey through centuries of “liquid history”

At Dorney Lake, scullers try out for Britain’s Olympic women’s rowing team.

300 Years of Rowing on the Thames

There must be something in the water at Eton, where rowing rules as the sport of choice

George Clinton and crew brought the crowd to their feet on the opening night of the Festival.

June 30: Today’s Events at the Folklife Festival

Today at the Folklife Festival: Mississippi Hills cultural tourism, traditional Indiana cooking, and a tattoo workshop with Coco Bayron.

The Mother Ship Model, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” is on display in the Rockets and Missiles exhibition station at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

Insider Tips for the Tourists in Town

Think you know all of the cool sights on the Mall? We bet you’ll find these insider tips from the Institution helpful this tourist season

The system detects patients’ thoughts via an fMRI machine and translates these into specific letters.

New Mind-Reading Device Lets Paralyzed People Type

Using an fMRI machine and innovative software, researchers have figured out how to enable typing without moving a muscle

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Quite Likely the Worst Job Ever

A British journalist provides us with a window into the lives of the men who made their living from combing for treasures in London’s sewers

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Will We Ever Find Dinosaurs Caught in the Act?

Is there any chance that paleontologists will one day find mating dinosaurs?

Most corn grown in the U.S. is genetically modified.

Food, Modified Food

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What If the Founding Fathers Had Known About Voltron?

Olly Moss, a UK-based graphic designer, riffs on Benjamin Franklin’s 1754 political cartoon, “Join, or Die.”

Hemingway’s Old Man Inspires Shark Oil for HIV Vaccine

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At the Portrait Gallery: “One Life: Amelia Earhart” Opens 75 Years After Her Disappearance

Eddi Tornberg’s self-powering desk

Body Heat From Your Seat Can Juice Your Laptop

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World’s Oldest Purse Adorned with Dog Teeth

The world’s oldest purse features a decoration that doesn’t look so different from modern beading. It’s just way more gruesome

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