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Travel

Place des Vosges in Paris. The location of Victor Hugo's apartment for 16 years.

Victor Hugo: Acclaimed Author, Unknown Furniture Designer

The apartment once occupied by the author of Les Miserables is now a museum dedicated to his life and to 19th century Paris

"You're in three dimensional space": "Aerial America" got the swoop on Padre Island during the series' visit to Texas.

How the Crew of “Aerial America” Gets its Stunning Shots

A new fusion of camera and captor gives us a bird’s-eye view of America

Matera’s paleolithic past has made it a thriving tourist destination: It is competing with cities like Siena and Ravenna to be the European Capital of Culture 2019.

How Matera Went From Ancient Civilization to Slum to a Hidden Gem

Once the “shame of Italy,” the ancient warren of natural caves in Matera may be Europe’s most dramatic story of rebirth

Art Meets Science

The Beautiful Flight Paths of Fireflies

Flirting lightning bugs illuminate a dark forest with golden flight during mating season

Photos: Namibia’s Wild Places

Journey through Namibia’s beautiful landscapes with these photos submitted by our readers

Ballistic Recovery Systems, based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, has outfitted small aircraft with parachutes designed to support as much as 4,000 pounds.

Tech Watch

Will Commercial Airplanes Have Parachutes Someday?

Whole-aircraft parachutes are already being used in small planes to save lives, but one company believes they are also feasible for commercial airlines

What’s the Conflict Over the Museum of Conflict?

The outside of the museum is almost done, but it’s the content inside that is raising concerns

A time capsule of life in the Eocene: Ailuravus, a three-foot-long, squirrel-like rodent

Evotourism ®

The Evolutionary Secrets Within the Messel Pit

An amazing abundance of fossils in a bygone lake in Germany hints at the debt humans owe to animals that died out 48 million years ago

Going the distance: Evolution mavens in the Quantock Hills of England walked for some 3.5 billion years.

Evotourism ®

Take a Hike on Britain’s Ancestor’s Trail and Travel Back 10,000 Years

On a wild hike inspired by famed evolutionist Richard Dawkins, every step promises a strange encounter with the origins of species

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London-to-New York Passenger Captures Spectacular Northern Lights Timelapse Out Airplane Window

Being unable to sleep on a red-eye can have occasional advantages

Vying for tamale-downing dominance, Carter demolished 16 of the Delta delicacies. A key part of his strategy: swigging from his opponent’s water bottle.

How the Hot Tamale Conquered the American South

Our intrepid reporter heads back to the Mississippi Delta in search of his favorite food—and the title of tamale-eating champ

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Is the World Empty? Or Overcrowded? It’s Both

This interactive map takes you to the world’s densest and most remote locales

Watchtower Near Desert View Point on the South Rim.

Rare Look: Spectacular Photos Capture the Grand Canyon Filled With Fog

Weekend visitors witnessed a “once in a decade” weather event

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Step Inside Yayoi Kusama’s Dazzling “Infinity Rooms”

The artist’s New York exhibition, “I Who Have Arrived In Heaven,” invites viewers to get lost in new mirror-lined installations

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This Thanksgiving, Step Back in Time and into 17th-Century Plymouth Colony

Reenactors in this “living museum” bring the Pilgrim’s homestead back to life

Sleeping in This Underwater Hotel Room Is Like Staying in an Artificial Reef

Swedish artist Mikael Genberg explains how his underwater room off the coast of Tanzania can actually be good for the environment

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The World’s Tallest Water Slide Is More Than 134 Feet Tall

Riders—who will descend in inflatable rafts of four rather than alone—will reach speeds of more than 65 miles per hour

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This New Plane Seat Morphs to Make You and Your Seatmate More Comfortable

Shape-shifting seats with adjustable widths promise more choice for passengers, but aren’t they really a sneaky way to discriminate?

The Bird in the World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock Weighs 330 Pounds

The clock is based on a much smaller cuckoo clock that is about 100 years old - scaled up sixty times

A páramo ecosystem in the Andes.

This Spot in the Andes May Be the Fastest-Evolving Place on Earth

Like isolated islands, evolution in these mountainous, unique environments seems to be ticking away at a faster beat than run-of-the-mill habitats

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