space exploration
Aliens Might Never Appreciate How Cool Voyager's Golden Record Is
If they find it, they may just be confused.
Articles by Cara Giaimo
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Stories
Stories shared by this traveler.
animals
Dispatches From Inside a Record-Breaking Bird Migration
What it's like to find yourself among 721,620 warblers, all in a hurry.
miniatures
The World's Tiniest City Park Just Got a Little More Official
Mill Ends Park in Portland, Oregon, now has its own sign.
dinosaurs
We Have Probably Been Imagining Pterosaurs All Wrong
New research suggests we've misunderstood the legs of these prehistoric flyers.
government
Remembering One of the Most Violent Days in the History of the U.S. Senate
On May 22, 1856, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives caned a Senator into unconsciousness.
science
The World's Best Violins Sing Like Humans
Some are baritones, some are tenors.
royalty
In the U.K. You Need Permission to Put 'Royal' in Your Business Name
It's not a word you can just throw around.
art
The Endlessly Adaptable Skeletons of José Guadalupe Posada
Calaveras created by the Mexican artist have been repurposed for generations, with wildly varying intent.
maps
This 11-Foot 'Ribbon Map' Puts the Whole Mississippi River in Your Pocket
Steamboat tourists of the late 1860s wrapped it around a spool.
music
Freddy, Manitoba's Beloved Rogue Bison, Has Been Immortalized in Song
"Run, Freddy, Run!" features Renaissance-style singing, Metís fiddle, and electronically distorted bison noises.
art
The Artist Making Tapestries Out of Aquatic Trash
Jo Atherton's colorful works turn our plastic crisis into a meditation on memory and time.
sounds
An Algorithmic Investigation of the Highfalutin 'Poet Voice'
New research suggests that the affected reading style consists of a particular set of attributes.
national parks
The World's Tallest Active Geyser Keeps Erupting
Steamboat, normally quiet for months at a stretch, has already blown its top three times this spring.
genetics
Galapagos Tomatoes Are Surprisingly Pest-Resistant
New research reveals that they can protect themselves from a number of common bugs.
art
The Uncanny Delights of the World Balloon Convention
Competitors create a universe where everything is bright and round.
maps
Mapping the Lost Countercultural Hotspots of Cambridge, Massachusetts
Local librarian Tim Devin has found hundreds of buildings that once housed utopian groups.
churches
The Sistine Chapel Streamed a Concert Online for the First Time Ever
Don't worry if you missed it—the entire performance is available on Facebook.
astronomy
Solved: A Decades-Old Ansel Adams Mystery
The answer was hidden in the shadows.
radio
The Day Without News
On April 18, 1930, the BBC made a surprising announcement.
objects of intrigue
Making Art for Bees
Michael Candy's Synthetic Pollenizer is "a sculpture for a different species."
objects of intrigue
How Better to Protest Federal Policy Than With an Embroidered Scorpion Demon?
Eleanor B. Roosevelt—no, not THAT Eleanor Roosevelt—thought the New Deal was monstrous.
mummies
Found: A Mummified Monkey in the Ceiling of a Department Store
Thanks to the sleuths in a Facebook group, we may even know how it got there.
space exploration
There's Now a Space Mountain Named for Octavia Butler
It's on Pluto's moon, Charon, which also boasts landscape features that honor Stanley Kubrick and Dorothy Gale.
science
Everything We Know About Birds That Glow
Owls, puffins, and lots of other flying friends exhibit fascinating patterns under blacklights.
