Getting Naked: How Early Humans Lost Their Fur

Humans have been called “the naked ape”. But how did we get that way? When did early humans lose their fur, and why?

Homo erectus reconstruction                   (photo from Wiki Commons)

Written in Bone: The Murtchison Meteorite

How did life on Earth begin? It is one of the most basic questions asked by science. And it still remains a mystery.

A fragment of the Murtchison Meteorite, on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Edison, Westinghouse, and the “Current Wars”

In our modern world, we take electricity for granted. It powers most of the conveniences of 21st century life. But the use of electricity, particularly in the home, is not much more than 100 years old. And in its beginning, home electric power was the subject of a bitter and long-running feud between two of the most brilliant and famous inventors in history–Thomas Edison and Nicola Tesla.

Thomas Edison                                          photo from Wiki Commons

Milestones in Space Exploration: Surveyor

When President John Kennedy set the goal of landing a human safely on the Moon, the US had a grand total of fifteen minutes’ worth of manned spaceflight, and astronomers knew next to nothing about what the conditions on the Moon’s surface were like. Would a landing craft be swallowed up in a deep layer of lunar dust? No one knew.

A Surveyor moon lander, on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

Martha: The Last Passenger Pigeon

In the times before the Europeans reached North America, the entire eastern half of what is now the United States was covered with unbroken forest. It was said that a squirrel could run from Maine to Texas without ever touching the ground. And one of the myriad of species that lived in this forest was the Passenger Pigeon. One hundred years ago, the last Passenger Pigeon died in a cage.

Passenger Pigeon.                                    Illustration from Wiki Commons

The “Wow!” Signal

It’s the clearest indication we have ever had yet of an extraterrestrial intelligence–a powerful narrow-bandwidth radio signal that gave every indication of coming from outside the solar system. But is the “Wow!” Signal for real . . . ?

Computer printout of the “Wow! Signal”.

Chicken Politics: Life in the Flock

In evolutionary terms, the humble domestic chicken is one of the most successful species on Earth. There are an estimated 20 billion chickens alive right now–almost three times as many as there are humans. Apparently, “tasting good to people so they’ll protect you” is a pretty effective evolutionary strategy–well, aside from that whole “they eat you” thingie. Statistically, every human on the planet eats the equivalent of 27 individual chickens every year. The only other terrestrial vertebrate that may rival the chicken in sheer numbers is the Norway Rat.

And even the lowly chicken has important things to teach us. It was through the careful observation of a backyard chicken flock that one of the most important principles of social biology was uncovered–one that applies equally well to humans.

Not such a dumb cluck after all….

Fat Man and Little Boy: The Design of the Atomic Bombs

In the aftermath of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the US tried desperately to keep the “nuclear secret” secret, and released virtually no information about the design and construction of the two atomic bombs–there was not even an acknowledgement that two different methods of ignition had been used. Today, however, although many details of the atomic bombs remain classified, we know a great deal about how the Manhattan Project bombs were constructed.

Turtles on the Brink

One of the least-noticed and little-discussed environmental disasters has been taking place around the world over the past two decades, as turtle species have dwindled at an alarming rate. The problem all traces back to just one nation–and this time, it isn’t the US. . . .

Florida Softshell Turtle

The Fish That Walked

It was one of the most momentous events in the history of life–about 375 million years ago, a freshwater fish, probably related to today’s lungfish, flopped out of the water onto dry land, gulped air, ate insects, and began the long pathway towards the evolution of land-dwelling amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and, ultimately, us.

The ancestor of us all . . .

“Sue”: The Most Complete T Rex Skeleton Ever Found

In 1990, paleontologists working in South Dakota discovered the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found. Scientifically priceless, the fossil skeleton (named “Sue” after the person who found it) became the center of a legal controversy around Native American rights and Federal lands, was seized and confiscated by armed federal agents in a spectacular raid, and was crated up for years before finally being sold at public auction for a record price and ending up on display at the Field Museum in Chicago.

“Sue”, on display at the Field Museum in Chicago.

The Sky is Falling: The Life and Death of Skylab

By 1970, NASA was looking for a continued reason to exist. President Kennedy’s goal of reaching the Moon by 1970 had been reached; twelve men (only one of them a scientist) had walked on the moon in six separate landings. As far as the US Government was concerned, the Moon program (which had after all been largely a political stunt to top the Russians) had accomplished its purpose. Congress slashed funding for NASA, Apollo 17 became the last Moon mission. Three already-scheduled missions–Apollo 18, 19 and 20–were cancelled.

Skylab’s backup, on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

Mary Anning and British Paleontology

She was one of the most successful fossil hunters in history and a central figure in the history of paleontology, her discoveries are displayed in major museums, she was a self-taught woman in a field dominated by men from Oxford and Cambridge, and she was even the subject of the childhood tongue-twister “She sells seashells by the seashore”–yet Mary Anning is today largely unknown and virtually forgotten.

A Plesiosaur skeleton collected by Mary Anning, on display in the British Museum of Natural History.

When Whales Walked: The Evolution of Cetaceans

The whales are the largest animals that have ever lived on earth. The Blue Whale is over 100 feet long and weighs up to 190 tons–its tongue alone weighs more than an African Elephant, the largest living land animal. But the huge marine whales evolved from a small land-dwelling animal about the size of a large dog.

Reconstructed whale evolution (photo from Tumblr)

The Langley Aerodrome A: The Story of “Almost”

Everyone knows that the first manned airplane flight was made in December 1903, by two obscure bicycle manufacturers from Ohio named Wilbur and Orville Wright. But many people don’t know that the Wright Brothers had competition, and one of the most famous scientists in the country, with generous government financing, was also attempting to get into the air. His last attempt was on December 8, 1903–just nine days before the Wright Brothers . . .

The Langley Aerodrome A, on display at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center