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Articles

The Quadrantid meteor shower, as visible at twilight

How To See Tonight’s Meteor Shower

Take advantage of this rare chance to see the Quadrantid meteor shower

The X-Box Kinect is one of the ABCs to watch in 2012

The ABCs of 2012, Part II

Here are more of the terms you should know if you want to feel plugged into innovations changing the way we live this year

Laborers working at the face of the Thames Tunnel were protected by Marc Brunel's newly-invented "Shield"; behind them, other gangs hurried to roof the tunnel before the river could burst in. Nineteenth century lithograph.

The Epic Struggle to Tunnel Under the Thames

No one had ever tunneled under a major river before Marc Brunel began a shaft below London’s river in the 1820s

An elephant running in the Masai Mara, Kenya

14 Fun Facts About Elephants

#5: Cartoons lie—elephants don’t like peanuts

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Events Jan 3-5: Discovery Room, Creating a Totem Pole and Tarantula Feedings

This week, participate in hands-on science activity, watch a totem pole being made and see live tarantula feedings

Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe by Elliott & Fry in 1896

One Newspaper to Rule Them All

Lisa's post on why other countries don't use ice cubes was the most-read post on Food and Think in 2011

Food and Think’s Greatest Hits of 2011

A look at the most popular posts among our readers from the past year

The reconstructed skeleton of a Deinonychus, representing the modern image of dinosaurs, in front of Rudolph Zallinger's 'Age of Reptiles' mural in Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History.

Creating the Age of Reptiles

Why is an image of the Garden of Eden considered art, while an exquisitely detailed depiction of Jurassic life is derided as juvenile junk?

In 2007, cartoonist Kate Beaton, pictured on the right in a self-portrait, launched her webcomic "Hark! A Vagrant," which features spoofs on historical and literary characters.

Finding the Humor in History

The irreverent take on the giants of literature, science and politics could only have come from the brain of cartoonist Kate Beaton

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Letters

At the high Andes village of Chawaytiri, Secretary G. Wayne Clough took part in the Procession of the Llama.

Inca Highway

Thomas Jefferson believed that his version of the New Testament distilled "the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has never been offered to man."

How Thomas Jefferson Created His Own Bible

Thanks to an extensive restoration process, the public can now see how Jefferson created his own version of the Scripture

Author Judy Blume recently received the John P. McGovern Award from the Smithsonian Associates for her contributions to the American family.

Q and A: Judy Blume

The children’s book author speaks about her career and what it means to write a “banned book”

A beak-spouted vessel, circa 1000 B.C.

What’s Up

Koalas, kangaroos and wallabies are abundant on the island and not particularly fearful, so it’s possible to have close encounters with these distant mammalian kin.

Evotourism ®

Evolution World Tour: Kangaroo Island, Australia

Mammals come in three types and the best place to see them all in one place is this small island off the southern coast of Australia

Foraminifera provide scientists with an invaluable fossil record. Their exquisite outer shells, normally too small for the naked eye, inspired sculptures in Zhongshan, China.

Evotourism ®

Evolution World Tour: Foraminifera Sculpture Park, China

Some of the world’s oldest organisms left behind fossilized shells that, when translated to a large sculpture, bring an artistic edge to evolution

Wolves hunting moose on Isle Royale are a dramatic example of what scientists call co-evolution: two species, such as a predator and its prey, adapting to each other’s adaptations.

Evotourism ®

Evolution World Tour: Isle Royale, Michigan

Moose and wolves face off in the world’s longest-running study of predators and prey

Whales evolved from mammals that adapted to hunt in oceans. Skeletons of Basilosaurus, a whale ancestor, reveal the leviathan still retained tiny hind legs.

Evotourism ®

Evolution World Tour: Wadi Hitan, Egypt

In Egypt’s Western Desert, evidence abounds that before they were the kings of the ocean, whales roamed the earth on four legs

South Africa’s limestone caves, such as Sterkfontein often hold the fossilized skeletons of hominids who fell into holes or were dragged underground by predators.

Evotourism ®

Evolution World Tour: The Cradle of Humankind, South Africa

The world’s greatest source of hominid fossils is among dozens of caves just hours from Johannesburg

Far from the mainland and one another, the Galapágos Islands host animals with distinctive traits, such as the notched shell of Pinzón Island’s saddleback giant tortoise.

Evotourism ®

Evolution World Tour: Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

The exotic locale, home to tortoises, cacti, iguanas and finches, was a source of inspiration for Darwin’s theory of evolution

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