The Crowninshield Elephant

The surprising story of Old Bet, the first elephant ever to be brought to America

Lost Continents

Ever since the days of the Greeks, people have tried to prove that thriving civilizations once existed on huge islands that have since sunk beneath the sea.

The Pearl of Allah

The giant clam yielded its 14-pound pearl only after slaying a native diver trapped when its great jaws snapped shut.

“Robinson Crusoe’s Children”

The Strange Story of Nine English Mutineers Who Took Up Their Abode With Their Native Tahitian Wives, on a Desert Island in the South Seas.

Monkeys Trained as Harvesters

Instances of a Practice Extending from Remote Times to the Present

insects congo

Insects as Food

How They Have Augmented the Food Supply of Mankind in Early and Recent Times

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Mothers and Others

From queen bees to elephant matriarchs, many animal mothers are assisted by others in rearing offspring.

White-tailed deer mandibles

Bone Collectors and Sacred Trash

To the Maya, throwing away the bones of hunted animals is as wasteful as throwing away the entire animal itself.

khan

Khan-Quest

An Internet guide to the realm of Khan

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Allergic Reaction

An Internet guide to allergies and the immune system

Recent Stories

The way they live, the food they eat, and the effect on us

A true but unlikely tale

Story and Photographs by William Rowan

Increasing day length on the early Earth boosted oxygen released by photosynthetic cyanobacteria.

Genomic evidence shows that Denisovans and modern humans may have overlapped in Wallacea.