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Surveys say that nearly 73 percent of all Americans enter their houses via the garage—each of them staring straight ahead to avoid seeing the stuff piled up where the cars are supposed to go.

The Hoarding Instinct

Dispatches From My War on Stuff

Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home in Memphis, has been kept largely as it was when he lived there, from 1957 until his death in 1977. Dining room mirrors reflect a stairway to the private quarters.

Annie Leibovitz’s American Pilgrimage

In a new book and exhibition, the esteemed photographer pursues a passion for history and lets us see familiar icons in a fresh light

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Going Places

Whether as a tourist, an outcast or a pilgrim, traveling is discovering

“It is splendid to have people who refuse to recognise difficulties,” British Capt. Robert Falcon Scott wrote early in the expedition to the South Pole. But they would after they set out from the pole.

The Doomed South Pole Voyage’s Remaining Photographs

A 1912 photograph proves explorer Captain Robert Scott reached the South Pole—but wasn’t the first

After he was cast into the wilderness, Roger Williams argued that religion and government must be divided.

God, Government and Roger Williams’ Big Idea

The Puritan minister originated a principle that remains contentious to this day—separation of church and state

According to author John M. Barry, Roger Williams, center, had a great facility with language—a great curiosity for language—and began trading with Indians and trying to learn their language.

John M. Barry on Roger Williams and the Indians

The founder of Rhode Island often helped out the early colonists in their dealings with Native Americans

After 69 days trapped deep in Chile's San José copper mine, 33 miners, hauled from the depths one at a time, stepped out of the tiny capsule and into the embrace of a cheering world.

The Capsule That Saved the Chilean Miners

The Natural History museum offers an inside look at the dramatic rescue of men trapped half a mile underground in a Chilean copper mine

Along with co-authors Don DuRousseau and Joseph Cardillo, Galina Mindlin advise that repeated listening to selected songs can make you more productive, calmer or affectionate.

Music Playlists to Soothe Your Mind

Neuropsychiatrist Galina Mindlin suggests that listening to particular songs on your mp3 player can make you a more productive person

Considered a mere scavenger that robbed traps and ransacked cabins, the wolverine has recently earned respect and scientific attention.

The Way of the Wolverine

After all but disappearing, the mammals are again being sighted in Washington’s Cascade Range

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Wild Things: Killer Whales, Spiders and Woodpeckers

Yellow saddle goatfish, mastodon ribs and more in this month’s summary of wildlife news

The rusted three-story hubcap- and bicycle-based Cathedral of Junk was created by Vince Hannemann, a South Austin guy who decided his backyard was as good a place as any to build a cathedral.

Keeping it Weird in Austin, Texas

Aren’t the residents of the proudly hip city of Austin, Texas, just traditionalists at heart?

Cristián Samper, evolutionary biologist and the director of Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, discusses his favorite evotourism sites.

Cristián Samper on Appreciating Evolution

The director of the Natural History Museum discusses why understanding evolution is so critical

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EVOTOURISM: Because It’s Time for Travel to Evolve

Journey through the history of life from the Jurassic Coast to the Cradle of Humankind

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Where would you go to experience EVOTOURISM?

Where have gone that gave you a new appreciation of evolution? Where would you like to go? What evotourism destinations would you like us to look into?

Carole Lombard and John Barrymore in Twentieth Century

National Film Registry Selections for 2011

From Forrest Gump to silent comedies, 25 titles have been added to a list of our country’s most significant films

Lisa's last Food and Think post

The Food & Think Year in Review

Beer batter, doggie bags, culinary crimes, beer koozies… Lisa Bramen says farewell with a list of her favorite 2011 posts

The mountain lion is one of the most common large cats but also one of the hardest to see.

Best Bets to See a Big Predator

Get your grizzlies, polar bears, big cats, wolves and crocs here

Fireworks can startle birds so badly they become disoriented

Birds Have No Reason to Like Fireworks

New Year’s Eve fireworks can badly startle and disorient birds

Come see the ZooLights holiday festival on January 1st

Weekend Events Dec. 30-Jan 1: Treasures at the Museum, Flights of Fancy, and Last Day of ZooLights

This New Year’s weekend, meet a children’s book author and archivist, come to aviation story time, and catch ZooLights before it’s over

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The Greatest Dinosaur Hits of 2011

This was a big year for dinosaur discoveries and debates. Here are a few highlights

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