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Arts & Culture

Paul Cézanne’s Bathers, 1877-1878

“Freakish Absurdities:” A Century Ago, An Art Show Shocked the Country

The Armory Show provoked reactions of love and hate; today it is recognized as changing American art forever

Mates for Life

A Valentine for Sci-Art Lovers

A clever print by designer Jacqueline Schmidt pays homage to 12 different species with one thing in common—they mate for life

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Outrageous Taxidermy, the Subject of a New Show on AMC

Former Smithsonian taxidermist Paul Rhymer is a judge on “Immortalized,” a TV competition that pits up-and-comers against superstars in the field

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The Origins of Wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve

Valentine’s Day can be an occasion for quirky expressions of love

Scientists are still wrestling with how love works.

10 Fresh Looks at Love

Don’t understand love? Not to worry. Scientists continue to study away to try to make sense of it for the rest of us

On Black Day, single Koreans drown their sorrows in a bowl of jjajang myeon noodles.

Korea’s Black Day: When Sad, Single People Get Together And Eat Black Food

Each year on April 14, singles in South Korea drown their sorrows in a bowl of black noodles

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World War I: 100 Years Later

Unmanned Drones Have Been Around Since World War I

They have recently been the subject of a lot of scrutiny, but the American military first began developing similar aerial vehicles during World War I

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The Masked Merriment of Mardi Gras

For centuries, the day’s revelry has featured the liberated feeling of hiding in plain view

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This Artist Uses Meat As His Medium

Dominic Episcopo’s red and raw images capture the spirit of Americana.

Shura City

Imagining a Drone-Proof City in the Age of Surveillance

As drones become common as tools of the military and intelligence agencies, how are architects and designers responding?

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The Unsettling Beauty of Lethal Pathogens

British artist Luke Jerram’s handblown glass sculptures show the visual complexity and delicacy of E. coli, swine flu, malaria and other killing agents

Lipstick stencil, 1920s

The History of the Flapper, Part 2: Makeup Makes a Bold Entrance

It’s the birth of the modern cosmetics business as young women look for beauty enhancers in a tube or jar

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The Privacy Wars: Goggles That Block Facial Recognition Technology

For designers, the battle over what it means to be private in a very public world is a new frontier to be conquered

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The Year’s Most Outstanding Science Visualizations

A juried competition honors photographs, illustrations, videos, posters, games and apps that marry art and science in an evocative way

Delphine Atger, 1920s

The History of the Flapper, Part 1: A Call for Freedom

The young, fashionable women of the 1920s define the dress and style of their peers in their own words

Made from vinyls and plastics, these fake foods on display in Japan aren’t the only fakes around.

Don’t Get Duped: Six Foods That Might Not Be The Real Deal

Colored sawdust instead of saffron? Corn syrup instead of honey? It’s all in the newly updated USP Food Fraud Database

A leaf grasshopper (Phyllophorina kotoshoensis).

Honey, I Blew Up the Bugs

Italian artist Lorenzo Possenti created 16 enormous sculptures of giant insects, all scientifically accurate, now on display at an Oklahoma museum

A traditional Punch and Judy puppet show.

Are Punch and Judy Shows Finally Outdated?

For a wife-beating, baby-squashing scofflaw, Mr. Punch has done pretty well for himself

A plate of buffalo chicken wings

A Brief History of the Buffalo Chicken Wing

How the wing went from a throwaway to a delicacy in 50 years

The Stealth Wear hoodie in thermal IR

Drone Couture: Designing Invisibility

While scientists work toward perfecting the invisibility cloak, one designer has already developed a line of clothing that makes people invisible to robots

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