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Catherine Quayle

Contributor

Catherine Quayle launched the Need to Know website in May 2010 and served as its first editor-in-chief. She spent seven years at Court TV where she ran the award-winning daily news website, and previously worked as an editor for a long list of small magazines, where she wrote about the environment, technology, regulation, architecture, crime and robots. For her writing, she has a Lisagor Award for Exemplary Journalism from the Chicago Headline Club and two Excel magazine feature awards. Catherine has an MFA in writing from Columbia University and was a Lannan fellow.

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Keys to the kingdom: The story of a revolutionary taxidermist

The world’s most famous taxidermist, Carl Akeley hunted, sculpted, advanced photography and practically invented the modern natural history museum. Author Jay Kirk talks about this man of the Gilded Age.

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Question of the day: Can a clown elected to Congress read?

Those unhappy with the outcome of the midterm elections here in the U.S. might do well to take a moment to contemplate Brazil, where not only was an actual clown elected to Congress, but that same clown is being quizzed to determine if he can read and write.

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Photo: A fat monkey in flip-flops

The 45-foot-long monkey, designed by Florentijn Hofman, sprawls across a park in the center of Sao Paolo, Brazil

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In defense of the evil, awful Happy Meal toy

Sure, they lure “unsuspecting little children” into the supercaloric underworld. But they’re really cute.

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Schumer opens golden door for wounded Afghan eagle

With some high-level help, a bird survives a soldier’s bullet and immigrates to the U.S.

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Tomorrow and tomorrow and … today!

Geeking out to Shakespeare: Macbeth, Patrick Stewart, Klingons and the letter B.

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Television to die for

“The problem is our audience is literally dying. The average age is 55 years old. If we don’t reach the youth market, we’re finished!” said Richard Smith-Jones, who is not a PBS executive.

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Happy Battle of Brooklyn Day!

Citizens of Manhattan watched, waited and gradually flipped out.

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A good day for a colonoscopy, and other fantasies

Students start out the semester with such good intentions! Do all the reading! Start the papers early! And then something happens.

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