To buy me some time while I get the hang of this whole blogging thing, I thought I’d post links to some of my previous work on other websites. In particular, I thought I’d highlight several brief posts I wrote for The Bigger Picture, the official blog of the Smithsonian Institution Archives.
“Sounding the Old Wolf-Cry”
Since its establishment more than a century ago, the National Zoo in Washington DC has hosted more than a hundred gray wolves, some of whom made unlikely contributions to American culture. (Note: This post contains an embedded video, which I’ve noticed won’t play on all devices. If you find that the video won’t play on your computer, you can watch the same clip at this link.).
“Dog Days at the Zoo, Part I”
In the late nineteenth century, thousands of stray dogs roamed the streets of Washington DC. At the same time, the National Zoo opened a new exhibit on domestic dogs, which was intended to showcase the diversity within a single species.
“Dog Days at the Zoo, Part II”
Even after the National Zoo closed its dog exhibit, free-roaming canids continued to make trouble for the park. This post tells the story of a “mad” wolf who escaped from the Zoo, and the hysteria that ensued thereafter.