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Tutored in several European languages for hours on end and strapped to a steel rod for posture, Consuelo Vanderbilt's childhood was anything but easy.

Could You Have Endured Consuelo Vanderbilt's Upbringing? (4:30)

Prepare to be amazed.

Ask Smithsonian: What’s a Stone Baby? (1:07)

It's commonly known that a single asteroid set off the dinosaurs' extinction. Even more destructive than its impact was the chain of events it set into motion.

How a Single Asteroid Wiped Dinosaurs Off This Planet (1:14)

In 1828, John Jacob Astor built a trading post on the Missouri River. Business was so profitable that it only took four decades for Astor to become America's first multimillionaire.

America's First Multimillionaire (2:49)