The story of the ignorance that led us here to this small bit of good news is nearly unbelievable. It’s a stupid, regrettable path we, America 2017, have been forced… Read more »

As the ship of fools known as 2016 goes down for the third time, we’re revisiting some of our favorite MobyLives posts from the past year. This one originally ran on April 27. John… Read more »

John James Audubon’s exquisitely detailed ornithological study The Birds of America was a monumental work, revealing 25 new species of American birds and defining the style of much of the… Read more »

The Smithsonian has put hundreds of artists’ books online this month, as part of a collaborative efforts with institutions like the National Design Library, the American Art Museum, the National… Read more »

Because, as they write, “Ink fades with time, and individual scrawls sometimes resemble hieroglyphics,” the Smithsonian is undertaking an effort to digitize their archives. With the help of volunteers working… Read more »

If you’ve long harbored a desire to print out a Revolutionary War gunboat on your local 3-D printer, your day has come. Starting this Wednesday, the Smithsonian is making many… Read more »

Did you know that there are whales alive today that were born before Moby-Dick was written? Being an acute cetaphobe I’ve had to conduct my research from halfway beneath my… Read more »