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Flying machine of the year 2012

The Fanciful, Chocolate-Filled World of 2012

In 1912, the French chocolate company Lombart printed a series of six collectible cards envisioning daily life one hundred years in the future

This ancient rock painting from Zimbabwe depicts a person smoking out a beehive.

Humans, the Honey Hunters

Energy-rich honey may have helped hominids evolve big brains

Join curators to learn about "Pair of Prickly Pairs" as part of a gallery talk.

Events Dec. 19-22: Fly Me To Mars, Holiday Arts and Crafts, American Craft Masterpieces, Butterfly Pavilion

This week, meet a children’s author and scientist, make holiday crafts, learn about a masterpiece tapestry, and see exotic tropical butterflies

Mashed potatoes for your holiday meal

Inviting Writing: Must-Have Potatoes

The ultimate holiday treat

How close are we to living to 150 years old?

One Step Closer to Beating Old Age

Thanks to medical innovations and research breakthroughs, living past your 100th birthday will one day not be such a big deal

Aspen trees in Colorado

What Was Killing the Aspens?

Scientists determine it was lack of water, not food, that was responsible for sudden aspen decline

World War I soldiers writing letters home

Military Mail Stories at the Postal Museum

A new exhibition covers the history of mail in the military

Bluto (in the role of Sindbad) and Popeye face off

Holiday Gift Guide for Film Buffs

Movies every fan should have

Raisins are a food that picky eaters won't touch.

Can a Picky Eater Change Her Ways?

Most expand their culinary horizons as they get older, but a few people hold fast to limited diets of familiar things like macaroni and cheese

A Suarophaganax (left) harries an enormous Diplodocus at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science

A Comedy of Dinosaur Errors

If any dinosaur has a tortured history, it’s the giant predator Saurophaganax

A game of chess on a fold-up travel board can break the ice between strangers in strange lands.

Holiday Gift Ideas for the Adventure Traveler

A chess set, soccer ball, bear spray and other items, even dog food, make the list of gifts to give your favorite hardened traveler

In this image from December 15, 2011, Comet Lovejoy appeared to be headed towards sure destruction in a collision with the Sun

A Comet’s Close Call

Scientists predicted that Comet Lovejoy would collide with the Sun

"Highways by Automation" by Arthur Radebuagh

Giant Automatic Highway Builders of the Future

Radebaugh’s vision of a road-creating machine may not have been a figment of just his imagination- a Disney-produced television program had a similar idea

Ariel and Taeping at sea during the great Tea Race of 1866. Oil painting by Jack Spurling, 1926

The Great Tea Race of 1866

At the height of the sailing era, four of the world’s fastest clippers raced home with the season’s precious early cargo of tea

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Nedoceratops: To Be, or Not to Be?

Should Nedoceratops and Torosaurus be sunk into Triceratops? The debate continues, and it’s not just a bit of paleontological arcana

How much technology is too much?

So Many Gadgets, So Little Time

Innovation happens so fast now that it’s harder and harder to keep up with the pace. But is it really innovation?

Joel McCrea, Dean Stockwell, and Ellen Drew in Stars in My Crown

Five Films About Faith

Movies that question your beliefs, from Steve Martin to Bengalese film to a nostalgic look at the old West

Enjoy an acoustic performance by John Davis of the DC-based group Title Tracks.

Weekend Events Dec. 16-18: Happy Feet Two, All About Me in D.C., and Title Tracks Unplugged

This week, see Happy Feet Two in 3D, meet a children’s author, and enjoy an acoustic performance by a local indie frontman

Consider food—and food-themed gifts—this holiday season.

Last Minute Food-Themed Gift Ideas

Food, jewelry, toys and books for those hard-to-shop-for people on your gift list

Nephila clavipes, a tropical spider, is big enough that it can keep all its brains in its body rather than in its legs

Some Spiders Have Brains in Their Legs

Just one more reason it’s not nice to pull the appendages off of creepy crawlies

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