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Both beer and wine are thought to predate distilled spirits.

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'Which Came First: Beer or Wine?' and More Questions From Our Readers

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James Smithson was the Smithsonian’s founding donor, bequeathing approximately one ton of gold British sovereigns.

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Why Did James Smithson Leave His Fortune to the U.S. and More Questions From Our Readers

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NASA's Ingenuity helicopter arrived on Mars on February 18, 2021.

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Why Did NASA Test a Helicopter on Mars?

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Some designers promote fashion lines based on kente cloth from Ghana.

When Is Kente Cloth Worn and More Questions From Our Readers

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When suburbanites want to limit the number of deer in their area, it can be easier said than done.

How Can Suburbs Control Deer Populations? And More Questions From Our Readers

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Could humans be visiting Venus in the future?

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Will We Ever Send Humans to Venus?

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North American species like the Colorado potato beetle and the fall armyworm have become invasive elsewhere.

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Have Any North American Species Become Invasive Elsewhere in the World?

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The planets in our solar system all orbit the Sun in one shared plane.

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Why Do the Planets All Orbit the Sun in the Same Plane?

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Why does smaller size, like that of the anteater, benefit species in different environments, wondered one Smithsonian reader.

Why Are South American Animals Smaller Than Those on Other Continents?

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Halahtookit, a Nez Perce man, widely believed to be the son of William Clark.

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Are There Native Descendants of the Lewis and Clark Expedition? And More Questions From Our Readers

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Amelia Earhart mounted publicity stunts to earn money for her flights.

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How Did Amelia Earhart Raise the Money for Her Flights?

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In Africa, ivory has been a status symbol because it comes from elephants, a highly respected animal, and because it is fairly easy to carve into works of art.

Why Is Ivory So Precious? And More Questions From Our Readers

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How Much Pressure Is at Earth’s Center and Other Questions From Our Readers

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Fumigation was used on library book collections in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when book-borrowing was seen as a possible disease vector.

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How Do Libraries Clean Books? And More Questions From Our Readers

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Eugene V. Debs was in a West Virginia penitentiary when he lost the 1920 presidential election.

Has Anyone Ever Run for President While in Prison? And More Questions From Our Readers

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As climate change brings moister, warmer air, lightning is increasing and causing fires in the boreal forests where that used to be rare.

Why Does Lightning Rarely Strike in the Arctic? And More Questions From Our Readers

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Oscillations originating deep inside the sun become detectable only on the surface.

How Do Scientists Record Sounds From the Sun? And More Questions From Our Readers

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The North Island brown kiwi is a flightless, nocturnal bird that lays the biggest egg relative to its body size.

What Bird Lays the Biggest Eggs Compared to Its Body Size? Where Does 'Lame Duck' Come From? And More Questions From Our Readers

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While mosquitoes can be pesky, they're an important part of the food chain.

Why Do Mosquitoes Exist? Why Do Elephants and Donkeys Represent the G.O.P. and the Democrats? And More Questions From Our Readers

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The Wright brothers' 1903 flight made history, regardless of other claims about earlier flights.

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Was Jakob Brodbeck First in Flight? And More Questions From Our Readers

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