Discoveries
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All discoveries
21 stories-
Materials & Manufacturing
What did the lines in Jefferson’s paper give away?
A scrap from an early draft of the Declaration had lost the part of the sheet that might have named its maker. A conservator still had two sets of lines to go on.
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Materials & Manufacturing
Can a watermark date an undated list of lead prices?
Sir G. W. Denys left a list of prices. A papermaker left a year. Which one belongs at the top of the page?
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Weather & Climate
Can a pine cone tell you when it’s going to rain?
A fallen cone can close its scales long after the cells inside them have died. To read that weather sign, it helps to know what makes the wood move.
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Weather & Climate
Does a ring around the Moon mean rain?
In a photograph from a Chilean mountaintop, the Moon wears a ring wide enough to hold a handful of stars. Its inner edge gives away what’s floating overhead.
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Everyday History
How did a grocery receipt learn the names of the groceries?
An early register could give a sale its own number and still have no idea what went into the bag. A slip of paper, a Florida grocer’s pen, and a pack of gum explain how that changed.
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Architecture
How did daylight reach the middle of an old house?
A staircase on the Ohio River, a landing in Washington, D.C., and a New York City tenement reveal who got a share of the daylight.
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Everyday History
What did $19.13 buy at a Florida grocer in 1911?
A grocer kept nearly a month of charges on one sheet. Seven little figures above a line of handwriting show how to read it.
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Inventions & Technology
What was a hole worth in an early cash register?
In a Dayton register, a pin did the writing. Try three money keys and see if you can count the take from the marks they leave.
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Weather & Climate
Which weather signs can you trust?
A red sky needs a compass. A pine cone knows its own porch. An old Great Lakes storm warning shows what happens when you can see the weather from the next town over.
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Architecture
Why leave a hole in a perfectly good row house?
The pantry window faced another wall of the same house. A floor plan from Washington, D.C., shows why that narrow gap was worth the space.