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sold

Sold: Isaac Newton’s Notes About the Bubonic Plague

His scribbles—which mention the curative power of toad vomit—sold for $81,000.
June 15, 2020
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secret lives of museums

How D.C.’s Museums Plan to Preserve the New Era of Protest

The effort to document Black Lives Matter and more—in real time.
June 11, 2020
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drones

Scientists Tracked Truly Enormous Tuna From Way Up in the Air

Drones helped researchers keep up with fish that are longer than a person and as fast as a car.
June 10, 2020
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automata

This Gigantic Laughing Kookaburra Is Out to Brighten Your Day

A sculptor hitched the cackling bird to a trailer and is taking it on the road.
June 8, 2020
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race

How an Infamous Confederate Obelisk Finally Came Down

The monument in Birmingham, Alabama, became a flashpoint in the fight for racial justice.
June 5, 2020
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construction

How to Make a Wild, Wondrous, and Complicated Contraption With All the Stuff in Your House

The social-distancing era is the perfect time to build a Rube Goldberg machine.
June 3, 2020
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satellite

Find a Moment of Calm in These Cumulonimbus Clouds

A time-lapse shows that, before they unleash storms, the clouds look pretty soothing. (At least from space.)
June 1, 2020
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solar system

Why a 16th-Century Artist Imagined Comets as Glorious, Fiery Swords

Explore a captivating compendium of cosmic illustrations.
May 29, 2020
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time capsule

The Things Inside This 105-Year-Old Time Capsule Have Hardly Aged a Day

The slew of ephemera was tucked in a copper box behind a cornerstone at Arlington National Cemetery.
May 22, 2020
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citizen science

Michigan Archaeologists Want Your Help Scouting for Shipwrecks

Look, document, but please don't touch.
May 21, 2020
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quarantine

Life Under Lockdown, as Seen Through 16 Disposable Cameras

A collaborative photo project tells personal stories of the pandemic in the U.K.
May 19, 2020
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plastic

These Bugs Armor Themselves in Tiny Shards of Colorful Trash

Caddisfly larvae are adapting to polluted waterways, but their recycling strategy has its drawbacks.
May 13, 2020
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storms

The Slippery Problem of Measuring Enormous Hunks of Hail

They’re huge, rare, and melting all the time.
May 12, 2020
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pandemic

The Strange, Smelly Chores That Keep Natural History Museums Running

Even during a pandemic, someone's gotta feed the flesh-eating beetles.
May 12, 2020
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pandemic

In the Era of COVID-19, Fieldwork Is Scrappy and Socially Distant

And sometimes involves storing dead fish in your in-laws’ freezer.
May 7, 2020
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children

Cartographic Puzzles Are Poised for a Comeback

When nothing in the world seems to fit together, “dissected maps” offer a cognitive balm.
May 5, 2020
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pandemic

Tumbleweeds Usually Tumble, But Sometimes They Tornado

Matt McKnight caught a botanical maelstrom on camera in Eastern Washington.
May 4, 2020
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satellite

This Image Was Crowned NASA's Most Spectacular Portrait of Earth

Gaze into the depths of the ocean—from space.
May 1, 2020
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everyday wonder

A Cloud Gazer's Guide to Every Fluffy Thing in the Sky

Clouds are "a wilderness within everybody's grasp."
April 30, 2020
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how to

It's the Perfect Time to Record Your Family's History. Here's How.

Invite your relatives to share great stories with these tips from oral historians.
April 29, 2020
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obscura academy

Preserve Your Quarantine Nature Walks With a DIY Herbarium

Pressed plants can be your journal of the pandemic.
April 28, 2020
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coronavirus

How America's Botanic Gardens Are Growing Without Visitors

Watering and weeding can't wait until the pandemic has passed.
April 23, 2020
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obscura academy

Stay Home and Build Miniature Monuments, From Stonehenge to Giza

Who needs stones when you have marshmallows or foam?
April 21, 2020
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pandemic

How Museums Will Eventually Tell the Story of COVID-19

Masks, ventilators, and Zoom recordings may one day be the artifacts of our time.
April 17, 2020