From The Archive

What Is a Confidential Marriage License and Why Does California Offer Them?

California is the only state that offers both a regular public marriage license and a confidential marriage license. Here's why.

11 Incredible Animals You Only Find in Costa Rica

Get ready for the bare-necked umbrellabird.

New York City Used to Have an Official Magician

During the Great Depression, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia appointed Abraham Hurwitz the city's first official magician.

Why Does Radio Static Go Away Whenever You Touch the Dial?

Radios, it turns out, are dimwits.

The Obscure 1990 Horror Movie That May Have Inspired Wes Craven's Scream

In 1989, 19-year-old Rolfe Kanefsky made what's been called the first post-modern horror movie.

11 Ways to Maximize Your Time in Any City

Make the most of your vacation no matter how short your itinerary, just remember these tips for maximizing your trip to any city.

How Can We Feel When People Are Looking at Us?

Everyone has felt like they were being watched before. But how?

10 Vigilant Facts About The Boondock Saints

It started with a bidding war, following by a blacklist, and ended up becoming a cult classic.

How to Take a Dog Kayaking

Doggy paddling—literally.

10 Hotels Where You Can Live Like James Bond

You can't compete with 007's superspy skills, but you can match his passport game.

How One Institution is Helping to Revive the Lakota Language

Without a new generation of Speakers, the Native American language could die out in a few generations.

Photos of Californians Casually Hanging Out With Alligators in the Early 1900s

During the first few decades of the 20th century, the people of Los Angeles had alligator fever.

Why There Are So Many Bicycles in the Netherlands

How a 1973 initiative revolutionized transportation for the Dutch.

What's the Right Way to Make a Blood & Sand Cocktail?

It sounds like it would be an expensive, unbalanced disaster, but somehow, by shaking it together, it works.

Volkan Aktuna / 2015 National Geographic Photo Contest

10 Dazzling Pictures From the National Geographic Photo Contest

Every year, National Geographic holds a contest for the best photographs.

When the Pope Ordered the Death of Adolf Hitler

'Church of Spies' by Mark Riebling tells the gripping history of the Vatican’s covert operations during World War II.

What is a World in Which Commercials Make You Cry?

Celebrate Your Next Holiday With a Meat Cake

Make cake the main course.

Why Did ‘Disabled’ Replace ‘Handicapped’ As the Preferred Term?

4 Symbols Without Actual Meanings

These icons have lost their meaning somewhere along the way (or never had one to begin with).

8 Crafty Ways to Make Your Hotel Room Feel Like Home

For those times you’re not lodging in luxury, a little preparation is all it takes to transform your hotel room into a cozy haven.

5 Places to Visit Around the Panama Canal

From museums to national parks, there's plenty to admire alongside the engineering feat.

92-Year-Old 'Bluebird Man' is the Epitome of Citizen Science in Action

We often think of citizen or crowd-sourced science as a flashy, new function of our modern, inter-connected world. But public participation in research has been happening for much of human history.

11 Ways Science Is Making Play Better

Presented by Toyota.

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