History

Barnum Brown, showing off his paleo pick in an August 1932 Popular Science

Barnum Brown’s Paleo Pick

Does "Mr. Bones" really deserve credit for inventing an essential field tool?

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Introducing New History Blog: Past Imperfect

Three historians bring their expertise together to provide history with all the interesting bits left in

A delicious and gooey practice.

S’mores: More American Than Apple Pie

Marshmallows are from Egypt; chocolate is Mesoamerican. But Graham crackers were invented—or at least inspired—by a Connecticut Presbyterian minister

Bananas have been cultivated for thousands of years. But are the days of the familiar Cavendish numbered?

Taming the Wild Banana

When and where did people learn to cultivate one of our favorite snacks?

One of the many dinosaur tracks figured in Edward Hitchcock's Ichnology of New England.

South America’s First Dinosaur Tracks

Tracks now readily recognizable as belonging to dinosaurs were once attributed to prodigious birds and other creatures

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The Rickey Declared D.C.’s Native Cocktail

Lobbyist and Confederate army veteran Colonel Joseph Rickey—or possibly his bartender, George Williamson—invented the concoction in 1883

The estimated sizes of several Allosaurus specimens, including "Epanterias."

A Truly Exceptional Allosaurus

Cope did not know it at the time, but he had described an especially large representative of a species his rival had named just a year before

The formidable hand claw of Dryptosaurus

Dryptosaurus’ Surprising Hands

This enigmatic tyrannosauroid may have had the novel combination of short arms with big hands

Cannons at Valley Forge

The Food that Fueled the American Revolution

A steady supply of preserved meats and flavorless flour cakes played a vital role in American patriots defeating the British during the American Revolution

What foods can't you get on a stick these days?

Insects as a Food Source

Entomophagy—the fancy Latin term for eating insects—is beginning to catch on in the Western Hemisphere

A view of the Dinosaur National Monument quarry before it closed for renovations in 2006

A Visit to Douglass’ Dinosaur

The site became a must-see dinosaur landmark in 1957, and in a few months, visitors will once again be able to see the spectacular quarry wall

Part of Plate XII from Leidy's Cretaceous Reptiles of the United States, showing some vertebrae from Hadrosaurus.

Dinosaur Classics: Leidy’s Dinosaur Inventory

Contrary to a snarky review, this monograph is one of the most important works ever published in the history of vertebrate paleontology

Birdshot + jello

Law and Order: Jell-O Gelatin Unit

From drunk driving to acts of Cold War espionage, here's a look at how Jell-O has sprung up in our criminal justice system

Salisbury steak TV dinner

Salisbury Steak: Civil War Health Food

After 30 years of research Dr. Salisbury finally published his ideas, setting off one of the earliest American fad diets

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A Visit to Dinosaur Court

See a gallery of images from a monument to a time when naturalists were only just beginning to understand prehistoric creatures

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The File Inside the Cake: True Tales of Prison Escapes

Jailbirds really have tried to fly the coop by way of contraband—files, handsaws and even guns—hidden inside baked goods

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Hidden Dinosaurs and Confusing Teeth

After many false starts, scientists finally understood the first fossils of horned dinosaurs

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The Joys of Jell-O

If you're feeling creative and adventurous and want to mount a Jell-O-based art project, you need to know a few things about how the stuff works

A line-drawing of the Triceratops known as "Raymond."

Triceratops: An A+ Dinosaur

Paleontologists have recently learned how these three-horned dinosaurs fought, grew up and socialized

A hump-backed Spinosaurus, restored by R.E. Johnson and from Bailey 1997.

Was Spinosaurus a Bison-Backed Dinosaur?

Spinosaurus and Ouranosaurus were fundamentally different, and they remain among the most bizarre dinosaurs yet discovered

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