Like his life's work, Edgar Allan Poe's death remains shrouded in mystery.

Halloween

The (Still) Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe

Was the famous author killed from a beating? From carbon monoxide poisoning? From alcohol withdrawal? Here are the top nine theories

One of the 4,700-year-old impact craters at Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve in Australia.

To Find Meteorites, Listen to the Legends of Australian Aborigines

Oral traditions may have preserved records of impacts over thousands of years and could lead to fresh scientific discoveries

Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler tags out Tampa Bay Rays' Sam Fuld on a stolen base attempt.

Breaking Down the Science of the Stolen Base

What does it take to swipe second? Math and physics lend their advice

A new Archives of American Art exhibition, "A Day in the Life," looks inside 35 diaries of American artists.

Peering into the Secret Diaries of American Artists

A new Archives of American Art exhibition looks at how artists documented their lives before social media

Anthropocene

A Poem Dedicated to Earth in the Age of Humans

National Portrait Gallery historian David Ward writes a new ode for the Anthropocene

Vice-grips Fossil (detail), 2014, wood, oil paint, polyurethane, pigment, marble dust, cast plastic.

Anthropocene

What Will We Leave in the Fossil Record?

Artist Erik Hagen considers the remnants of modern human life that may be found in rock strata millions of years from now

These satellite images were captured by DigitalGlobe’s GeoEye-1 satellite on Oct. 6, 2014.

How the Artist Behind the Giant Landscape Portrait on the Mall Used a Super-Precise GPS Satellite System as a Paintbrush

To create the National Portrait Gallery’s “facescape,” artist Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada got some high-tech help

I don't mind being nursed along, ca. 1915: In addition to being associated with loose morals and lower class status, private duty nurses at the turn of the century were also often portrayed as romantic love interests for their patients.

The Evolution of the Nurse Stereotype via Postcards: From Drunk to Saint to Sexpot to Modern Medical Professional

A postcard exhibit at the National Library of Medicine shows how the cultural perception of nurses has changed over the decades

People's Design Award collage

The People’s Design Award Promises a Very Cyborg Future

This year’s nominees focus on wearable technology

Artist Clement Valla finds irregularities in Google Earth imagery and compiles his findings in a series, "Postcards from Google Earth." This landscape is in Italy.

This Artist Finds Strange Beauty in Google’s Apocalyptic Glitches

Clement Valla makes art out of Google Earth’s surrealist irregularities

"Out of Many, One" by Jorge Rodrígues-Gerada on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Want to See the New Massive Portrait on the National Mall? Go Up

The project, made of soil and sand, will cover five acres between the Lincoln Memorial and World War II Memorial

Ridley's film focuses on Hendrix in the years before he became famous, 1966-1967.

The Oscar-Winning Writer John Ridley, Talks About His New Jimi Hendrix Movie

The writer and director of Jimi: All Is by My Side speaks about making living history from legend

Smithsonian Folkways is re-releasing its classic catalog of songs about the Spanish Civil War.

Revisiting the Timeless Tracks of the Spanish Civil War

Smithsonian Folkways is re-releasing its catalog of Spanish Civil War songs

Salvador Dalí

Paris Match Opens its Archives and Shares a Trove of Images of Artists in Their Studios

A traveling exhibition, curated by Picasso’s grandson, reveals an intimate look at the places where artists craft their works

A shop sells nostalgic souvenirs, including a UK coat of arms, at the Portobello Road market in London.

Ten Unusual National Animals That Rival the Unicorn

Scotland doesn’t have the market cornered on exotic national symbols—check out the mouflon, the takin and the xoloitzcuintli

Zero Mostel in the original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof.

Six Things You May Not Have Known About Fiddler on the Roof

As the acclaimed musical turns 50 years old this week, relive the tradition with these interesting factoids

In The Neighborhood Tour, Michael Vasquez says he is telling the story of a boy who grew up without a father.

Six Artists In Search of Themselves

With drama, theater, magical realism and a twist of the absurd, these artists give the self-portrait a makeover

Revelers celebrating Oktoberfest Brisbane

Best Places to Celebrate Oktoberfest Other Than Munich

If drinking beer and eating schnitzel alongside 6 million people doesn’t appeal to you, here are places to celebrate while avoiding Munich’s crowds

Art Meets Science

Secretive Victorian Artists Made These Intricate Patterns Out of Algae

A new documentary profiles Klaus Kemp, the sole practicioner of a quirky art form that is invisible to the naked eye

Ai sits in a replica of the prison cell in which he was detained in 2011. No one in China, he has said, "has a solid belief or trust in society."

Why is Ai Weiwei Breaking Into Alcatraz?

China’s most controversial artist selected America’s most notorious prison as the home for his new show

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