Smithsonian articles from February 2008

Smithsonian archives from February 2008

Bound & determined: reflecting on resistance.(FROM THE EDITOR)(Editorial)
February 1, 2008... JOSHUA HAMMER was in Brazil for SMITHSONIAN in the fall of 2006 when he heard about some legal problems a noted Dutch-born primatologist was having there. He made a mental note and moved on to other assignments. Many months later, Hammer read...

On the morning of June 6, 1944 ("Ike at D-Day"), I was in an Army hospital in Chamblee, Georgia.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2008... READERS RESPOND TO THE DECEMBER ISSUE On the morning of June 6, 1944 ("Ike at D-Day"), I was in an Army hospital in Chamblee, Georgia. It was still dark when an attendant whispered to a patient near the door. Two words--"It's...

D-day intelligence.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2008... IMPORTANT information about whether German forces were anticipating the Normandy landings came from pictures taken by the 423rd Night Fighter Squadron early on the morning of June 6th. Its photographs of the roads of the Cherbourg Peninsula...

Revolutionary real estate.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2008... ISAAC FRANKS, who first rented his house in Germantown, Pennsylvania, to George Washington in 1793, was not a colonel in the Continental Army ("Revolutionary Real Estate"). He became known as "Colonel" Franks after he was appointed a lieutenant...

Clarification.(Correction notice)
February 1, 2008... For his article "Keepers of the Lost Ark?" about the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's claim that it holds the biblical ark of the covenant at a chapel in the town of Aksum, Paul Raffaele studied a documentary movie and read published works on the...

Correction.(Correction notice)
February 1, 2008... The toy in Emmet Gowin's 1971 family portrait ("Married With Camera") is not a train set, as described, but a Hot Wheels racetrack.

Gaga over a gargoyle: from Margaret Bourke-White to Annie Leibovitz, photographers have scaled dizzying heights to frame the perfect prop.(INDELIBLE IMAGES)
February 1, 2008... THE 61ST-FLOOR TERRACE of the Chrysler Building in Manhattan had rarely seen such a large crowd. There was photographer Annie Leibovitz and her assistant Robert Bean, standing on one of the eight gargoyles that grace the building's exterior....

Alarming taste.(LIFE AS WE KNOW IT)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Most Papilio caterpillars--future swallowtail butterflies--taste horrible to birds, but only some species (like this one) sport bold colors. Why? University of Arizona-based research shows that such species favor narrow-leaf plants where they...

The evolution of sharing.(LIFE AS WE KNOW IT)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Common marmosets display what researchers in Zurich call "unsolicited prosociality"--that is, they will slide a tray of food to a marmoset in a nearby cage even if there's no chance of getting something in return, and even if the other animal...

Precocious.(LIFE AS WE KNOW IT)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Neanderthal children (right: an artist's conception) grew up fast, say scientists at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig and elsewhere. In a study of a 100,000-year-old jaw, growth lines in the teeth show that the Neanderthal was only 8 years...

Coral grief.(LIFE AS WE KNOW IT)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can harm coral reefs by dissolving in seawater, making it more acidic and reducing levels of calcium carbonate--a mineral corals need to build their skeletons. Researchers from Stanford and elsewhere suggest...

Observed.(LIFE AS WE KNOW IT)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... NAME: Lilium longiflorum, or the Easter lily, variant Nellie White. PRETTY LITTLE FEATURES: White, trumpet-shaped flowers; sweet fragrance. CREEPY LITTLE SECRET: The Nellie White's bulb can move. In the dirt. Where no one can see it....

Interview Amy Chua, Yale law professor, New Haven, Connecticut: the key to the rise of the Romans, the Mongols--and the U.S.? Ethnic diversity, Chua says in a new book.(Day of Empire)(Interview)
February 1, 2008... YOU SAY YOUR BOOK, DAY OF EMPIRE, IS A WARNING. HOW SO? I'm suggesting that, ironically, the secret to becoming a world "hyperpower" is tolerance. If you look at history, you see great powers being very tolerant in their rise to global...

Rocks of ages.(THIS MONTH'S GUIDE TO NOTABLE AMERICAN DESTINATIONS AND HAPPENINGS)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... MOAB, UTAH -- The sandstone spires, balanced rocks, slot canyons and huge arches seem to call out to be explored. Or photographed. With its dramatic red rocks and perpetually blue skies, Arches National Park is about as photogenic as a place...

Where eagles feast.(THIS MONTH'S GUIDE TO NOTABLE AMERICAN DESTINATIONS AND HAPPENINGS)(Chilkat River)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... HAINES, ALASKA -- Every winter, more than 3,000 bald eagles swoop down on the sandy flats of the Chilkat River, forming the world's largest gathering of regal raptors. They dive and jockey for position on the narrow shoals or perch by the...

Atomic legacy.(THIS MONTH'S GUIDE TO NOTABLE AMERICAN DESTINATIONS AND HAPPENINGS)(Atomic Testing Museum)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... LAS VEGAS -- In the 1950s, tourists stood atop hotel roofs here to watch mushroom clouds rising from the Nevada Test Site (NTS) 65 miles away. These days they'll have to settle for the Atomic Testing Museum just minutes from the Strip. The...

When Hawaii had a king.(THIS MONTH'S GUIDE TO NOTABLE AMERICAN DESTINATIONS AND HAPPENINGS)(David Kalakaua)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... HONOLULU -- On a wide lawn punctuated with palms and an enormous banyan tree sits the only royal palace in the United States: the Iolani Palace, completed in 1882 for Hawaiian king David Kalakaua. February marks the 125th anniversary of...

At least there's no lift line.(THIS MONTH'S GUIDE TO NOTABLE AMERICAN DESTINATIONS AND HAPPENINGS)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO -- Cabin fever finds curious expression in this cowboy ski town, home to 69 winter sports Olympians over the decades: every February residents strap on skis or snowboards, harness themselves to horses and career down...

February anniversaries: momentous or merely memorable.(THIS MONTH IN HISTORY)(Calendar)
February 1, 2008... 30 YEARS AGO RAIL TO MAIL Harriet Tubman (c. 1820-1913), the former slave and Union scout who led some 300 people out of bondage on the underground railroad, becomes the first African-American woman featured on a postage stamp, February...

Barcoding 101.(FROM THE CASTLE)(deoxyribonucleic acid bar coding)
February 1, 2008... MOSQUITOES CAUSE half a billion malaria infections that kill a million people annually. The mosquito Anopheles oswaldoi causes malaria only in northern Brazil, even though it is found throughout the country. Why? There are 3,500 mosquito...

Aerosol art: largely dismissed as vandalism, graffiti migrates from city streets and subway cars into major galleries.(SCENES AND SIGHTINGS FROM THE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS AND BEYOND)
February 1, 2008... WHILE BROWSING the National Portrait Gallery this month, visitors initially might think that the museum walls have been defaced. But the four 20-foot-long graffiti murals that cover the corridors are actually part of "Recognize! Hip Hop and...

Jukebox.(SCENES AND SIGHTINGS FROM THE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS AND BEYOND)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... JAZZ REQUIEM Trumpet player Ernest "Doc" Paulin, New Orleans' oldest traditional jazz musician, led brass bands at parades, churches, funerals and, of course, Mardi Gras for more than 60 years. During those decades, his band served as a...

Less was more: Marcel Breuer's Bauhaus minimalism redefined a household basic.(THE OBJECT AT HAND)
February 1, 2008... TO PARAPHRASE the great comic-strip possum Pogo, "We have seen chairs, and they are us." Unlike the practical table or the bland, beckoning bed, a chair is never simply a chair. Taking the shape of a person, chairs are the most metaphoric...

Q & A.(SCENES AND SIGHTINGS FROM THE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS AND BEYOND)(question and answer)(Interview)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... Retired country star GARTH BROOKS donated a collection of mementos to the American History museum, including his trademark cowboy hat, an acoustic guitar, a gold record and a handwritten lyric sheet. He spoke with the magazine's Jess Blumberg....

Making history.(SCENES AND SIGHTINGS FROM THE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS AND BEYOND)(Brief article)
February 1, 2008... THE DIRT ON MUD As rapid advancements in technology render last year's inventions obsolete, it's reassuring to know that a 13,000-year-old innovation is still being used today: mud. This economical building material aids in the construction of...

What's up.(SCENES AND SIGHTINGS FROM THE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS AND BEYOND)(Brief article)(Calendar)
February 1, 2008... ALL A-FLUTTER The morpho butterfly (right) owes its iridescent wing color to small scales that reflect blue light. See this species and hundreds of others take flight in a walkthrough pavilion, and visit the accompanying exhibition--both...

Unlocking mysteries of the Parthenon: efforts to restore the 2,500-year-old temple of Athena are yielding new insights into the astonishing feats of the golden age's master builders.
February 1, 2008... DURING THE PAST 2,500 YEARS, the Parthenon--the apotheosis of ancient Greek architecture--has been rocked by earthquakes, set on fire, shattered by exploding gunpowder, looted for its stunning sculptures and defaced by misguided preservation...

Monumental mission: assigned to find and repatriate countless works of art looted by the Nazis in World War II, the Western Allied forces known as "Monuments Men" faced a challenge whose scope is only now coming to light.
February 1, 2008... THE BEST BIRTHDAY present Harry Ettlinger ever got arrived on the frigid morning of January 28, 1945. The 19-year-old Army private was shivering in the back of a truck bound from France toward southern Belgium. There the Battle of the Bulge,...

Big love; In a mating ritual, male humpback whales leap, splash and fight. But researchers ask: just what does a female whale want?
February 1, 2008... It's a perfect morning for sighting humpback whales. The water is calm under a slight breeze. Researchers Lou Herman and Adam Pack and three assistants scan the horizon with binoculars, looking for the characteristic misty plume blown into the...

Portraits of resistance: the inaugural show of the National Museum of African American History and Culture focuses on people who battled injustice, whether from the boxing ring, the bandstand or Congress.
February 1, 2008... Sarah Vaughan looks enraptured--eyes closed, lips parted, hands held at her chest in an almost prayerful gesture. This photograph of the late "Divine One," nicknamed for her otherworldly voice, introduces visitors to an exhibition of 100...

Heaven scent: a 600-year-old pharmacy started by Florentine monks is now a trendy global marketer of perfumes and medieval elixirs.(Santa Maria Novella)
February 1, 2008... AMONG FLORENCE'S CHURCHES, Santa Maria Novella is often overlooked: it lacks the grandeur of the Duomo and the poignancy of Santa Croce, where Michelangelo and Galileo are entombed. And while its Renaissance frescoes may rival those of San...

Trials of a primatologist: how did a renowned scientist who has done groundbreaking research in Brazil run afoul of authorities there?(Marc van Roosmalen)(Interview)
February 1, 2008... AT SEVEN O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING ON JUNE 15, 2007, THE BELL RANG AT THE FRONT GATE OF MARC VAN ROOSMALEN'S MODEST HOUSE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF MANAUS, BRAZIL. For van Roosmalen, a Dutch-born primatologist and Amazon adventurer who had been chosen...

Infinite jest: stop me if you've heard this one ...(THE LAST PAGE)
February 1, 2008... "GUY GOES TO A PSYCHIATRIST," said a friend at dinner, interrupting an earnest discussion of HMOs. "Psychiatrist says, 'You're crazy.' Guy says, 'I want a second opinion.' Psychiatrist says, 'You're ugly, too.'" We chuckled politely. "The...