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History

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The Million Word March

What defines a word? Lexicographers and other experts don’t always agree

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September Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

Piccolo Lagazuoi as seen from Cinque Torre, an Italian position overlooking the front line

Climbing the Via Ferrata

In Italy’s Dolomites, a Hike Through World War I History

Sun Zhenyuan views preserving the wall as a sacred mission: “If you had an old house that people were damaging, wouldn’t you want to protect it?”

The Great Wall of China Is Under Siege

China’s ancient 4,000-mile barrier, built to defend the country against invaders, is under renewed attack

"Minnesota's" vasectomy was reversed due to his species becoming nearly extinct.

Making History

Role Reversal

Buck's Row, site of the murder of Mary Ann Nichols

August Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

Quebec city's Parliament building, the site of the Place de l'Assembée-Nationale.

Let Me Be Franc

A Look Back for Quebec City’s 400th

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Stouthearted Men

Brutal, yes, but also strong-willed

Beirut, from an apartment damaged by Hezbollah shelling. As sectarian tensions flared this past May, hostilities escalated. The renewal of violence dashed hopes that Lebanon could soon become -- once again -- "a freewheeling place where everybody could live his own life.”

Precarious Lebanon

For decades, this tiny Mediterranean nation of four million has segued between two identities

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July Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

View of Beirut, Lebanon, with palm and pine trees in the foreground

Times of Trouble

Flashpoints in Modern Lebanese History

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Space Fashion

Erin Gann as Xerxes and Helen Carey as Atossa in the Shakespeare Theatre Company's production of Aeschylus' "The Persians," a new version by Ellen McLaughlin, directed by Ethan McSweeny.

The Persians Revisited

A 2,500-year-old Greek historical play remains eerily contemporary

Peter Marra, with a cardinal.

Making History

Early Birds

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June Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

Xu Bing's Book from the Sky(1987-1991), hand printed books, ceiling and wall scrolls printed from wood letterpress type using false Chinese characters, dimensions variable, installation view at "Crossings," National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (1998).

China’s Artistic Diaspora

For sixty years, upheavals in Chinese politics have not only remade the country’s economy–they have remade Chinese art

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May Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

The Hoover Dam in 1933

Excessive Withholding

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Dispatch from Stonehenge, Day 14

April 13: The Druids Bless Our Departure

The dig’s emerging physical evidence—including fragments of bluestone and sarsen scattered throughout the site—reflect a complex history.

Dispatch from Stonehenge, Day 10

April 9: Archaeology in a Fishbowl

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