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More Astounding Modern Art Collectors

Like the Steins, other collectors and patrons influenced 20th-century art by supporting new genres and unheralded artists

Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso courted the Steins by doing portraits of them. Pictured are Gertrude, left, and Leo, center, by Picasso and sister-in-law Sarah by Matisse.

An Eye for Genius: The Collections of Gertrude and Leo Stein

Would you have bought a Picasso painting in 1905, before the artist was known? These siblings did

Three-toed horses such as Cormohipparion occidentale were adapted to forests prior to 12 million years ago. As the climate dried, one-toed horses became prevalent.

Evotourism ®

Evolution World Tour: Ashfall Fossil Beds, Nebraska

Prehistoric rhinoceroses and horses died of volcanic ash inhalation 12 million years ago – their fossils are studied now as an example of natural selection

Although he didn’t realize it at the time, friar Gregor Mendel, statue in the Abbey of St. Thomas, had discovered a crucial genetic mechanism underlying natural selection.

Evotourism ®

Evolution World Tour: Mendel’s Garden, Czech Republic

At an abbey in the Czech town of Brno, a friar studied peas and laid the groundwork for modern genetics

The Jurassic Coast encompasses 185 million years of history.

Evotourism ®

Evolution World Tour: Jurassic Coast, England

The best opportunity to play paleontologist is on the southern coast of England, a site rich with marine reptile fossils

Heavily forested slopes near Spirit Lake were devastated by the eruption as shown in this photo in 1982.

Evotourism ®

Evolution World Tour: Mount St. Helens, Washington

Over thirty years after the volcanic eruption, plant and animal life has returned to the disaster site, a veritable living laboratory

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What’s Up

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”

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

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

Inca Highway

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Letters

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

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Four Food-Themed Resolutions For 2012

Never mind losing weight. Isn’t it possible to make a few resolutions that embrace food?

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