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Blogs

Star gaze with the Smithsonian at the Saturday Star Party.

Events Nov. 9-11: Civil War Technologies, Star Parties and Steinways

This weekend, attend a Civil War symposium, star gaze and take in word class music with bassoon player Phillip Kolker

A new study shows that the equivalent of a few cups of coffee can help us process words more quickly and accurately.

In Experiments, Caffeine Accelerates the Brain’s Verbal Processing

A new study shows that the equivalent of a few cups of coffee can help us process words more quickly and accurately

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Underwater Light Show: The Wonders of Bioluminescence

Dr. Edith Widder has made a career documenting and studying the amazing phenomenon that lights up the dark sea

Small stone blades from South Africa dating to 71,000 years ago may be the earliest evidence of bow and arrows.

Early Bow and Arrows Offer Insight Into Origins of Human Intellect

Tiny blades discovered in South Africa suggest early humans had advanced intelligence and modern culture 71,000 years ago

Roasted cauliflower

Five Ways to Cook With Cauliflower

Roasted, grilled or pureed, the versatile vegetable can be served many ways beyond one mother’s love of deep-frying it

Mamenchisaurus, one of the longest-necked dinosaurs of all time, perfectly represents the bizarre nature of sauropods.

Did Sauropods Have Built-In Swamp Coolers?

Paleobiologists are still trying to figure out how large sauropods prevented themselves from overheating

Approaching Storm, by Ernest Lawson, 1919-20

Art as Therapy: How to Age Creatively

A new exhibition at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., showcases the work of elderly artists with memory loss and other chronic conditions

Eleanor Roosevelt and Marian Anderson in Japan

Marian Anderson: Freedom Singer and Mentor To Generations

How a gifted black singer transformed opera and the nation through a lifetime of giving

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Redesigning The Vote

Bad design can change the results of an election. But several professional design organizations have been working to ensure that every vote counts

Electronic government of the future from the 1981 kids book, World of Tomorrow by Neil Ardley

Five Past Visions of Our Political Future

Some people thought that once women were allowed to vote, men would soon lose that privilege

The upper and lower jaws of Duriavenator, illustrated when they were thought to belong to Megalosaurus, in A History of British Fossil Reptiles Vol. II.

Finding Duriavenator

Jaws once thought to be from Megalosaurus belong instead to this little-known species

Matchbook in the shape of a folded men’s shirt, with incised checkerboard-patterned weave, cuffs and bib, smiling child’s head peering out from opening at collar. Reverse inscribed “New York Clothing House, 102 & 104 Baltimore St., Baltimore.” Upper curved section swings open to reveal match compartment, c. mid-19th century.

Favorites From the Cooper-Hewitt’s New Online Collection

The museum’s clothing and textiles are unwrapped for view as never before

Many irrelevant factors have been found to sway voters at the polls.

5 Weird Things That Shouldn’t Influence Your Vote But Do

A number of irrelevant factors—from a polling place’s location to a home sports team’s winning percentage—have been found to sway voters

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Uncovering the Truth Behind the Myth of Pancho Villa, Movie Star

In 1914, the Mexican rebel signed a contract with an American newsreel company that required him to fight for the cameras. Too good to be true? Not entirely

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We Can Bank Online. Why Can’t We Vote Online?

Voting experts David Becker and Thad Hall discuss the technologies that could forever change the way we register and cast our votes

Retired Major General Ken Weir will present a special lecture at the Air and Space Museum.

Events November 6-8: Mark Catesby’s Wildlife, Wintering Insects and a U-2 Pilot

This week, celebrate the British illustrator’s 300th anniversary, learn about how insects survive the season and hear from a U-2 pilot

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The Long and Grueling Journey on the Presidential Campaign Trail

A look at each candidate’s long, long journey that ends at the polling booth

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Recapping ‘The Jetsons’: Episode 07 – The Flying Suit

Viewers got their first look at jetpacks as well as what actually happens on the ground beneath the Jetsons, and while it may not be zombies, it isn’t pretty

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The World’s Rarest Whale Species Spotted in New Zealand

A pair of spade-toothed whales washed ashore on a beach, the first time the complete body of a member of this species has ever been seen

The dinosaur William Parks described as Dyoplosaurus, showing where the bones would have fit on the actual animal.

D is for Dyoplosaurus

A hidden ankylosaur species changes how paleontologists understand the evolution of North America’s Late Cretaceous dinosaurs

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