1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

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VOLUME 1 — 1997

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Number 1 — January 1997

COVER: Good Ideas – Where do they come from?

FIRST PAGE: Good Ideas

The Ancient Muses. The New Muses.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Animal Mummies, by Kathie R. Kerler Bastian
• Radio Nights, by Paul Fleischman
• Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, by Emma Curzon and Fritz Wegner
• Life from Mars, by Ray Jayawardhana
• Rediscovery of Ancient Egypt, by Elizabeth Payne
• The Rosetta Stone
• Champollion, by Normandi Ellis
• “America’s Smithsonian” traveling exhibition.
• Muse News
• Muse Reviews
• Muse on the Mall: Dr. Doug Ubelaker, forensic anthropologist.

Number 2 — March 1997

COVER: “Please Don't Eat Me” [vegetarianism]

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Kokopelli cooks dinner for Feather; first mention of Feather’s fondness for doughnuts.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Comets, by Ray Jayawardhana
• Jiggling Atoms, by Richard Feynman
• Kid Collectors, by Jan Adkins
• Vegetarianism, by Judy Krizmanic
• Diego Rivera’s mural “Piñata”
• Information Supermarket, by Pidgeon O'Brien and Jane Caminos [spread of the Internet]
• Muse Reviews
• Veggie Links, comet links, sausage links

LAST PAGE: Museum Piece, by Jan Adkins: Model airplanes

POINTS OF INTEREST: On page 10, Mimi interprets for Aeiou. On page 39, Aeiou talks.

Number 3 — May 1997

COVER: Predicting the Future

KOKOPELLI & CO.: Chad invents a fortune-telling machine.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Spider vs. Moth, Battle of the Eons
• Unuseless Inventions
• Predicting the Future
• George de la Tour’s painting “The Fortune Teller”
• Search for the Lost City of Ubar
• Inventing the Bicycle
• Muse Reviews: Roald Dahl movies

LAST PAGE: Museum Piece: The world’s worst pet, Komodo dragons

Number 4 — August 1997

COVER: What’s the Big Deal About Art?

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Urania and Pwt try to turn each other into works of art.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS

• Clones, Clones, Clones [Dolly, Sheep of the Future], by Elizabeth Pennisi
• The Languages of Art, by John Grandits
• The Mall [in Washington, D.C.]
• History’s Mysteries: Interview with John Brinkman
• Mars Pathfinder, by Ray Jayawardhana
• Esperanto, by Robert Coontz

LAST PAGE: Museum Piece, by Jan Adkins: How Matthew Brady photographed Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad

Number 5 — October 1997

FIRST PAGE: Alien Life?

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Kokopelli gives Feather an alien doughnut.

MUSE MAIL: a reader gets steamed about Noam Chomsky’s theory of universal grammar.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS

• Life in the Universe, by Ray Jayawardhana
• Inside the National Museum of American History, by Jan Adkins
• Gems, by Robert Coontz
• My Family and Other Animals, by Gerald Durrell
• Chameleons, by James Martin
• Mixing Paints, by Richard Feynman

LAST PAGE: Museum Piece, by Jan Adkins: A Tale of Two Georges

POINTS OF INTEREST: Koko proposes to Urania in the margin of “Gems.” She almost accepts, but things go sour.

Number 6 — December 1997

COVER: Why Sleep?

FIRST PAGE: Zzzzzzzz...

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Crraw turns out to be Pwt's worst nightmare.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS

• Naked Mole-Rats, by David S. Kessler
• "Experiment with an Air Pump" [painting by Joseph Wright]
• Sleep, by Patricia Daniels
• Star Wars: It's Just Another Myth, by Mary Henderson
• Muse Update: Sojourner Mars probe
• Muse Reviews: TV series, movie, and books by Carl Sagan

LAST PAGE: Museum Piece, by Jan Adkins: baby giraffe at National Zoo

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VOLUME 2 — 1998

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Number 1 — February 1998

COVER: Fixing Nature?

FIRST PAGE: Muse Interview
Bo explains how to save the planet, between mouthfuls

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Feather grows doughnut trees.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS

• Leaves Are Such a Drag, by Mike May
• Climbing the Tower, by Jan Adkins
• Fixing Nature? by Marguerite Holloway
• Jaques-Henri Lartique: Photographer at Play, by John Cech
• Anesthesia, by Julie M. Fenster
• Meet Our Muses; Muse Reviews;

LAST PAGE: Museum Piece, by Ray Jayawardhana: Mount Hopkins Observatory, Arizona

POINTS OF INTEREST: On page 4 a reader refers to Pwt as “she,” launching a historic debate. (Feather and Mimi think Pwt is a boy, but Urania says Pwt is a girl.)

Number 2 — April 1998

COVER: Can Machines Learn to Think?

FIRST PAGE: The Muse Interview: The Milk Mystic

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Aeiou’s computer helps her talk but doesn't know when to shut up.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Making Intelligent Machines, by Mike May
• Turing’s Test, by Brian Hayes
• The Mystery of the Cottingley Fairies, by Tom Huntington
• Touchdown in Peekskill, by Steve Mirsky [meteorite crash in New York
• Gold, by Jan Adkins
• The Mystery of the Damascus Sword, by John Verhoeven and Alfred Pendray
• Muse Reviews: Elephant Woman: Cynthia Moss Explores the World of Elephants, by Laurence Pringle; The Most Beautiful Roof in the World: Exploring the Rainforest Canopy, by Kathryn Lasky

LAST PAGE: Tiger, Tiger

Number 3 — June 1998

FIRST PAGE: Where Did the Moon Come From? [Odin, Kawachi, Kurami, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and other notables weigh in]

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Chad helps Bo jump over the moon.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• The Origin of the Moon, by Ray Jayawardhana
• The Day the Gulls Went Crazy, by Susan E. Quinlan
• Faces, by Jan Adkins
• The Heidelberg Project, by John Grandits
• Discovering Insulin, by Julie E. Fenster
• Muse Reviews: Three books by Edward Tufte

LAST PAGE: Night Light [light pollution], by Agnieszka Biskup

Number 4 — August 1998

COVER: “The Sky Is Falling!” Chicken Little Was Right. [Extinction of dinosaurs]

FIRST PAGE: Why Aren't the Dinosaurs Alive Today?

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Koko realizes how much he needs his friends.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Finding the Crater of Doom, by Steve Mirsky
• The End of a World, by Walter Alvarez
• Where, Oh Where, Has My Albatross Gone, by Mike May
• Spanning Niagara, by Patricia Daniels
• Clean Cats Cut Coughs, by Steve Mirsky
• Rubber, by Robert Friedel
• Thylacine, by Jan Adkins
• Muse Reviews: Art books by sculptor Andy Goldsworthy

LAST PAGE: Not Just Your Ordinary Textbook, by Agnieszka Biskup

Number 5 — October 1998

FIRST PAGE: After El Niño

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Kokopelli makes it rain pies and trucks.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS

• El Niño, by Fred Pearce
• A Disturbance in the Field, by David L. Wheeler [fourth-grade researcher
• debunks “therapeutic touch”]
• The Woman Who Loves Bones, by Marguerite Holloway [Elizabeth Pillaert, osteologist]
• Charles Darwin and the Galápagos Islands
• The Rhinoceros Graveyard, by Terry Devitt
• Lucy, by Donald Johanson
• Crash! by David L. Wheeler [roadside guardrails]

LAST PAGE: BEMs and SEMs [bug-eyed monsters and scanning electron microscopes]

Number 6 — December 1998

COVER: Do Animals Think?

FIRST PAGE: The Muse Interview: Bo, Crraw, and Feather

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Pwt catches Crraw, with the help of a helium balloon

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• The Animal Mind, by James L. Gould and Carol Grant Gould
• The Think Tank, by Patricia Daniels
• Following a Star, by Steve Kawaler
• Language Barrier [computer translation]
• Who Blew Up the Maine? by Tom Miller
• Learning to Disobey, by Margery Facklam [training guide dogs and monkeys]
• Singing Salmon Take the Stage, by David Simpson

LAST PAGE: Are You a Man or a Mesa? [the Martian face, de-faced]

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VOLUME 3 — 1999

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

[Muse starts to publish 10 issues a year]

Number 1 — January 1999

COVER: Endangered Animals: How are zoos trying to save them?

FIRST PAGE: Endangered Animals [list, from the southern acornshell to the mountain zebra]

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Chad builds extinction-proof animal robots.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Captive Breeding, by Robin Meadows
• Wildlife Mis-Management [humor], by Serena Lacegun and Bob Byrd
• The Golden Lion Tamarin Comes Home, by George Ancona
• I Was a Teenaged Eclipse-Chaser, by Trudy E. Bell
• Painting by Numbers [a computer that makes art], by Harold Cohen
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Chasing Arrows [Möbius strips]

LAST PAGE: Oasis for the Eyes [Fly Geyser, Nevada]

POINTS OF INTEREST: First "Math Page" column

Number 2 — February 1999

COVER: Where Does Your Trash Go?

FIRST PAGE: Talking Trash

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Kokopelli’s littering gets on Mimi’s nerves.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS

• Garbage, by Brian Hayes
• Killer Flu, by Julie Fenster
• Thin Rhinos, Fat Hippos [animal weight control at the National Zoo], by Jan Adkins
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Square Wheel, Round Hole
• Chief Big White, by Rhoda Blumberg [Lewis and Clark]
• Sea Hares, by Kim McDonald
• The Mystery of the Missing Painting

LAST PAGE: Trashformation

Number 3 — March 1999

COVER: Dinosaurs: How’d They Get So Big?

FIRST PAGE: No Dino I Know

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Kokopelli meets an insulting sauropod dinosaur.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Big Dinos, by Robert Coontz
• The Great Dinosaur Feud, by Tom Huntington [Cope vs. Marsh]
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Knot Magic Not Magic
• The Woman Who Clicks with the Fishes, by Mary Roach
• Little Dancer, by A. Clarke Bedford

LAST PAGE: Felice Frankel’s Fabulous Ferrofluid Fotograph

Number 4 — April 1999

COVER: Rare Breeds

FIRST PAGE: The All-in-One Farmer’s Friend

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Chocolate-eating grasshoppers ravage Feather’s doughnut trees.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Vanishing Farm Animals, by Janet Raloff
• Saving America’s Rare Breeds, by Catherine Paladino
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Lizard Game
• The Magic of Masks, by Mary Amato
• Poogweese, by Chief Lelooska
• Robin Hood: The Making of a Legend, by Jeffrey Singman

LAST PAGE: A Drop of Water, by Walter Wick

Number 5 — May/June 1999

COVER: Learn the Secrets of the Maze / Learn the Secrets of the Toilet

FIRST PAGE: A Reader’s Guide to Muse

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Urania needs a toilet, fast.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• The Toilet, by Margaret Mahy
• The Sultan of Slime, by Mary Roach
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Fair Shares
• Island Plants, by Robin Meadows
• The Secrets of the Maze, by Adrian Fisher and Howard Loxton
• Theseus and the Minotaur, by Edith Hamilton

LAST PAGE: Toilets of the World

Number 6 — July/August 1999

COVER: Meteorite Hunting in Antarctica / Finding a Baby Solar System

FIRST PAGE: The Amazingly Not-So-True But Extraordinarily Cool Story of the Origin of the Solar System

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Mimi is afraid of getting hit by a meteorite.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Meteorites, by Mary Roach
• Caught in the Act, by Ray Jayawardhana
• Scritch, Swoosh, Foom, Boom, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley [how fireworks are made]
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Covering Up
• Lawn Crazy, by Virginia Jenkins
• Death and the Miser, by Hieronymus Bosch

LAST PAGE: Take a Closer Look... [fool-the-eye soda fountain]

Number 7 — September 1999

COVER: Under the Black Flag [pirates]

FIRST PAGE: Modern Pirates

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Koko turns pirate.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Under the Black Flag, adapted from the book by David Cordingly
• The Ravens, by Richard Wolkomir
• Bad Boy Makes Good...um...Dino Hunter, by Mary Roach [paleontologist Paul Sereno]
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Food Counts [colors of M&Ms]
• Flying Snakes, by Sharon Parmet

LAST PAGE: The Phantom of the Forest, by Walter Wick

POINTS OF INTEREST: In September and November 1999 and January and March 2000, Muse ran installments of “Fast Lane,” an anti-drug Spider-Man advertising supplement created by Marvel Comics and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Number 8 — October 1999

COVER: The Terrifying Truth about Urban Legends

FIRST PAGE: Create your own fill-in-the-blank urban legend

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Kokopelli’s urban legend scares Feather out of a slice of watermelon.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Too Good to Be True, by Jan Harold Brunvand
• The Young Witch Hunters, by Rhoda Blumberg [Salem witch trials]
• Playing with Your Food, by Aline McKenzie
• High Society Spiders, by Cynthia Mills
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: How to Lace Like an Ace
• Tarantulas: Up Close and Personal
• Plant Traps, by Mary Losure
• Robo-baby, by Robert Adler

LAST PAGE: From the Land of Dairy Queen... Not! [Zebra Canyon, Utah]

Number 9 — November 1999

COVER: Is This the Coolest Bug in the World?

FIRST PAGE: Bitten by the Bug, by Michael H. Robinson [the Director of the National Zoo describes his fascination with insects — and eats a broiled spider]

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Pwt chases Crraw into the rain forest and meets a Thunder-Pigeon.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• The Variety of Life, by Virginia Morell [counting insects in the rain forests of Ecuador]
• The Most Wonderful Bugs in the World?
• The Case of the Mummified Pigs, by Susan Quinlan [studying how dead animals decay]
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Nature’s Numbers [the Fibonacci sequence]
• Star Wars: Science Fact, Science Fiction, by Philip Plait
• Leonid Showers, by Trudie E. Bell [meteors]
• Bloodhound, by Aline McKenzie [artificial dog for studying fleas]
• Q & A: Flying cars, collecting bacterial samples (don't), solar and lunar eclipses, and why cloned cows don't look exactly alike

LAST PAGE: None; instead, second installment of “Fast Lane” Spider-Man comic.

POINTS OF INTEREST: First Q & A column; “Fast Lane: Feel the Rush”

Number 10 — December 1999

COVER: The End of the World

FIRST PAGE: Muse’s Tips for a Hassle-Free Endtime

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Pwt thinks the end of the world sounds like fun.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• The End of the World as We Know It, by Robert Coontz
• Aquavet, by Andrew McBee
• Tickle Theory, by Rosalind Reid
• The Worst Journey in the World, by Doug McInnis
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Glitter Trap
• The Big Fridge, by Peter and Elaine Faletra
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz: Why space is dark, and the Year Zero

LAST PAGE: Snowflakes That Will Never Melt [fractals]

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VOLUME 4 — 2000

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Number 1 — January 2000

COVER: Tomorrowlands That Never Made It / Future Pets That Might

FIRST PAGE: The Pet of Tomorrow

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Urania stumbles over Chad’s invisible inventions.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Tomorrowlands That Never Made It
• Hunting Neutrinos at Super-K, by Kate Scholberg
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Nice Guys Finish First (Sometimes)
• Muse’s 200th Anniversary Spectacular!
• Maps, by Yvette La Pierre
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz: How are popcorn kernels made? Is fire a solid, liquid, or gas?

LAST PAGE: Monkey Trouble

POINTS OF INTEREST: Third installment of “Fast Lane” Spider-Man comic.

Number 2 — February 2000

COVER: The Quest for the Giant Squid

FIRST PAGE: The Quest for the Jumbo Shrimp

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Pwt meets squid.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• The Quest for the Giant Squid, by Clyde F. E. Roper
• The Mystery of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, by Hershel Shanks
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Juggling by Number
• Cutters, Carvers, and the Cathedral, by George Ancona
• The Eagle People, by Stephen Bodio
• What’s the Buzz? by Bob Adler
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz: Why there are 26 letters in the alphabet; also cats, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, sleep, and Monty Python

LAST PAGE: Making Tracks [self-propelled boulders in Death Valley]

Number 3 — March 2000

COVER: High-Five a Cave Man! / Swimming into the Ice Age / The Unknown Discoverers of Cosquer Cave

FIRST PAGE: The Unknown Discoverers of Cosquer Cave

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: The muses go caving.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Swimming into the Ice Age, by Dave Getz
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Mirror, Mirror
• Telling Stories with Molas, by Maricel E. Presilla
• Penicillin, by Stuart B. Levy
• Super Potatoes, by Doug McInnis
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz: Can llamas and alpacas interbreed, exploding meat, why light is both wave and particle

LAST PAGE: None. Final installment of Spider-Man comic.

POINTS OF INTEREST: Guest appearance in Q & A by string theorist Ed Witten.

Number 4 — April 2000

COVER: Ancient Mummy Found ALIVE! / Ancient Mummies Still Dead! / Ancient Tomb Rediscovered!

FIRST PAGE: Ancient Mummy Found Alive!

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Pwt collects items needed for a happy afterlife.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Golden Mummies, by John Noble Wilford
• "Orbiter” Flunks Math Test, by Peter Banks
• Talking to Faith Ringgold, by Faith Ringgold, Linda Freeman, and Nancy Roucher
• Fire Underground, by Gail Skroback Hennessey
• Slow Burn, by Renée Jacobs
• Triceratops on the Move, by Patricia Daniels
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz: Corn snakes, dinosaurs, eyelashes, and which kinds of light work best for growing plants.
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Four Colors, Four Faces

LAST PAGE: Unreal Reality [artist Sandy Skoglund]

POINTS OF INTEREST: Table of Contents page redesigned to divide items into “New Stuff” and Regular Stuff”; on letters page; child-protection policy goes into effect, last initials instead of last names

Number 5 — May/June 2000

COVER: How Do You Handle a Five-Ton Elephant?

FIRST PAGE: Muse Elephant Survey

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: The Muses encounter a rampaging elephant

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• An Elephant-Sized Job, by Steve Miller
• The World Series of Birding, by Susan Milius
• What to Read While You're Waiting for the Next Harry Potter
• Vikings in America, by Elisabeth Ward
• Solving the Mystery of a Plane Crash, by Peter Banks
• How to Steer a Plane, by Ken Blackburn and Jeff Lammers
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz: How much does a head weigh, goldfish gender
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Weird Dice

LAST PAGE: Egg Art

Number 6 — July/August 2000

COVER: All About Roller Coasters / Our Picks for the Worst Rides Ever

FIRST PAGE: Bad Rides

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Chad builds the scariest roller coaster in the world

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Scream Machines, by Peter Banks
• Computer Catastrophe, by Steve Mirsky
• The Mystery Spot, by Robin Meadows
• Hip Hip for Zips, by Nancy Kangas
• Custard’s Last Stand, by John Allen
• Monster Watching: A Field Guide to the (Really Big) Flora and Fauna of America’s Roadsides, by Steve Mirsky
• Do Pumped-Up Toys Make Pumped-Up Boys? by Aline McKenzie
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Tricky Tables
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz: Are dogs and cats really carnivores, and what’s earwax for?

LAST PAGE: Art on the Rocks [Petroglyphs in the Sahara]

POINTS OF INTEREST: KOKOPELLI & COMPANY reveals the Muses’ greatest fears

Number 7 — September 2000

COVER: Finally, There’s Proof! The New Loch Ness Monster Photo / Read All About It / Read All About Hoaxes

FIRST PAGE: The Muse behind the Loch Ness Monster

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Kokopelli promises Feather doughnuts from space

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Tricky Science, by Steve Miller
• The Man No One Believed, by Charles Flowers [Joseph Goldberger and pellagra]
• How to Sing Duets Alone, by Pam Nevar [Tuvan throat-singers]
• Matching Wits with the Hyrax, by Truman P. Young
• Nine Ways to Look at a Comet, by Jay M. Pasachoff and Roberta J. M. Olson
• Waterphone, by Rocky Maffit
• Burning Rubber, by Peter Banks
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Tesseracts
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz: What if Napoleon had had a B-52 at Waterloo

LAST PAGE: Smash! [Trompe l’oeil art]

Number 8 — October 2000

COVER: Beads African Style

FIRST PAGE: Beads American Style

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Chad makes an African beaded crown

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Beads: Body and Soul, by Henry John Drewal
• Synthetic People, by Joann Mazzio
• Unnecessary Things, by Steve Mirsky
• Exploring the Cave of the Sulfur Eaters, by David Getz
• The Daily Crossword, by William J. Cannon
• Bouncing Horses, by Robert Adler
• The Funeral Banquet of King Midas, by John Fleischman
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz: Is smoke flammable, and do fish drink water?
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Views from Flatland

LAST PAGE: Plant or Animal?

Number 9 — November 2000

COVER: Cracking the Maya Code

FIRST PAGE: The Cat of the Century

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Koko tries to sacrifice a book

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• A Message in a Cave, by Michael D. Coe and Justin Kerr
• Destroyer and Preserver, by Carolyn Meyer and Charles Gallenkamp [Maya codex]
• If People Wrote It, People Can Read it, by Michael D. Coe
• The Great American Art Heist, by Robert Byrd
• Close Encounters of the Bear Kind, by Susan Quinlan
• Dorothea Lange: Compassionate Photographer, by Elizabeth Partridge
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Morphing Art
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz: Do planets line up, are cats right- and left-pawed?

LAST PAGE: The Case of the Face on the Vase

Number 10 — December 2000

COVER: Who Killed Coelophysis?

FIRST PAGE: The Muse Cheat Sheet

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Jellyfish rain on Urania.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Dinosaur Ghosts: The Mystery of Coelophysis, by J. Lynett Gillette
• Three Feet of Slime, by Mary Roach
• Yaaaaaaawning, by Haleh V. Samiei
• Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World, by Jennifer Armstrong
• The Great Pretender, by Agnieszka Biskup [octopi]
• Dive to the Abyss, by Robert Evans
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz: Does cold water boil faster, and what is dust?
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Ant math

LAST PAGE: Photograss, by Michelle Hoffman

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VOLUME 5 — 2001

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Number 1 — January 2001

COVER: Taming the Horse

FIRST PAGE: Wild Pets

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Koko rides Bo.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Living with Horses, by Stephen Budiansky
• About Face, by Diana Steele
• Snake Rescuer, by Ken MacDonald
• Warrior Artist, by Herman J. Viola
• Wegener’s Crackpot Theory, by Charles Flowers
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Data in Hiding
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz: lifespan of pollen, do archaeologists rebury mummies?

LAST PAGE: Thunder Beings

Number 2 — February 2001

COVER: The Roswell Incident

FIRST PAGE: Alien or Human?

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Kokopelli shoots a documentary about aliens.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• The Roswell Incident, by Robert L. Park
• Anne Simon: The Science Adviser to Whaaat? by Carey Goldberg
• Taking a Stand: Dian Fossey Keeps Watch over the Mountain Gorillas, by Tom Lalicki
• Dream Houses, by Mary Roach
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz: Why are moths drawn to light? Are night-lights bad for your eyes?

LAST PAGE: Barkitecture

Number 3 — March 2001

COVER: Swimming into Space: Astronauts Get All Wet

FIRST PAGE: Homeschooled Astronaut

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: The Muses visit the space station.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Two Men in a Tub, by Mary Roach
• Pyramid Builders, by Robert Adler
• Book of the Dead, an excerpt from Time-Life Books
• A Concrete Vision
• Picture This: How Pictures Work
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz: Is solitaire good for your brain? Can a broken-off starfish arm grow a new starfish?
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Fancy Folding

LAST PAGE: Spineless Wonder

Number 4 — April 2001

COVER: Friendship Matters [chimpanzees]

FIRST PAGE: Dear Miss Monkey Manners

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Pwt befriends a chimp

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Franz de Waal: Friendship Matters, by Deborah Blum
• A Magician Among the Spirits, by Tom Lalicki
• DNA for Dinner, by Dora Lee
• Ancient Arts and Crafts, by Karen Kreeger
• Packing and Cracking, by Pat Murphy
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz: Underground roller coasters, April Fools’ Day
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Tile Puzzles

LAST PAGE: Red Soda Lake

Number 5 — May/June 2001

COVER: It’s a Small World -- (and It’s Getting Even Smaller...) [nanotechnology]

FIRST PAGE: Think BIG

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Pwt eats a billion of Chad’s nano-doughnuts

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• It’s a Small World, by D. L., Arthur Ellis, and colleagues
• There’s Lots of Room at the Bottom, by Ed Regis
• A Foggy Future
• Lord of the Fleas, by Thomas Wilke
• A Walk on “The Far Side,” by Natalie Angier
• Exploring Color, by Pat Murphy and Paul Doherty
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Tilt-a-Whirl Chaos
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: how dogs recognize masters

POINTS OF INTEREST: Weirdest Muse cover (flea-circus flea on human nose); Rosanne Spector joins Q & A

Number 6 — July/August 2001

COVER: “You Can't Lose If You Choose Muse!” Ads: Why We Buy What We Buy

FIRST PAGE: Misfit Mascots

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Koko gives Chad’s unfinished invention the hard sell

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Ads: Why We Buy What We Buy, by Richard and Joyce Wolkomir
• Is It Art or Advertising? by John Grandits [Andy Warhol]
• Peanut Butter Love Explosion, by Nancy Kangas
• What a Blast! by Peter Banks
• Robomotion, by Steve Miller
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: Lunar eclipses vs. phases of the moon
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Dots and Boxes

LAST PAGE: Metal Monster! by Steve Miller

Number 7 — September 2001

COVER: Are There Neandertals Among Us? The Mystery of the Neandertals

FIRST PAGE: Interview with a Neandertal

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: The Muses wonder how they'll go down in history

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• The Mystery of the Neandertals, by Yvette La Pierre
• I'll Be Back, by Steve Mirsky [how to become a fossil]
• Whirly Science, by Paul Doherty
• Ant Castles, by Frank Stephenson
• Think Different: Frank O. Gehry, by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: Why do you sleep? Who wrote the first book?
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Weird Bottles [Klein bottles]

LAST PAGE: Veggiemorph

Number 8 — October 2001

COVER: Can You Still Believe Your Eyes? Playing Fast and Loose with the Truth

FIRST PAGE: The Easy Guide to Photo Retouching

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Crraw and Aeiou trick Koko into getting a puppy, Devil.

ARTICLES & COLUMNS:

• Playing Fast and Loose with the Truth, by Robert Evans
• A Digital Artist Carves a Pumpkin
• Elliott Erwitt: Have a Camera with You at All Times, by Charles Flowers
• And the Waters Prevailed: The Violent Birth of the Black Sea, by Doug McInnis
• Days of the Dead, by Charles Flowers
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Defending the Roman Empire
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: Chocolate; how many stars are there?

LAST PAGE: Olden Boy [what Leonardo DiCaprio will look like when he's 75]

Number 9 — November 2001

COVER: What’s Wrong With This Picture? The True Story of the First Thanksgiving

FIRST PAGE: You've Got Mail, Pilgrim

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Koko steals the Muses’ Thanksgiving turkey

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• The True Story of the First Thanksgiving, by Patricia Scott Deetz
• Tuberculosis: Kathleen’s Narrow Escape, by Jeanette Farrell
• The Art of the Dart, by Robert Sapolsky
• Vincent: Extreme Painter, by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
• Can You Spot the Faux Van Gogh? by Joan Beljan
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: Intestines; plutonium in space probes
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Decoding Bar Codes

LAST PAGE: Eel—It’s What’s for Dinner!

POINTS OF INTEREST: Agnes Biskup leaves the team; Michael Gerber comes on board

Number 10 — December 2001

COVER: Making Movie Monsters

FIRST PAGE: A True Hollywood Story

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Pie-throwing flip book

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Stuffed Monsters, by Richard Rickitt
• Virtual Monsters, by Richard Rickitt
• Pick a Little, Talk a Little, by Rosanne Spector
• Chicken Chatter, by “Phineas Bantam-Pullet”
• SantaLand Diaries, by David Sedaris
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: How many kinds of cats? Why does sweat stink?
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Bunching Buses

LAST PAGE: Truth Is Stranger—and Uglier—Than Fiction [deep-sea swallower fish]

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VOLUME 6 — 2002

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Muse cuts back to nine issues a year.

Number 1 — January 2002

COVER: What’s Dangerous? What Just Seems That Way?

FIRST PAGE: Do Not Remove This Title

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Urania tries to talk Pwt out of being afraid to leave the house.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• To Risk or Not to Risk? by David Ropeik
• Mystery on Everest, by Audrey Salkeld
• Something Happened to My Brain! by Karen Hopkin
• Going Solo, by Roald Dahl
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz: How they bury people where there's permafrost; why mosquito bites itch.
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Poe’s Secrets

LAST PAGE: An Eye on the Fly

POINTS OF INTEREST: First of many letters mentioning tenrecs (from Rachel, age 9)

Number 2 — February 2002

COVER: Animal Dads

FIRST PAGE: Animal Kids

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Koko takes care of Chad and Aeiou’s robot “baby.”

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Animal Dads, by Meredith F. Small
• The Big Bear Bust, by Alberto Enriquez
• Protecting the Earth from the Scum of the Universe, by Volker Steger with Michael Gerber
• A Big Stinker, by Terry Devitt
• Carnival in Rio, by Helmut Teissl
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: Is it possible to fill a swimming pool with Jell-O?
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Multicolored Maps

LAST PAGE: The Great Eight.

POINTS OF INTEREST: First photo of Muse reader in an exotic place (observation deck of Empire State Building in New York City).

Number 3 — March 2002

COVER: Are birds Related to Dinosaurs?

FIRST PAGE: Silly-o-saurus

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Crraw proclaims himself “Corvus Rex” and displays family portraits of his dinosaur relatives.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Feathered Dinosaurs, by Christopher Sloan
• The Great Cuttlefish Explosion, by Oliver Sacks
• Notes of a Cereal Spy, by Nancy Kangas
• Decorated Downspouts, by Darlene Trew Crist
• Happy Gargoyles, by Paul Palnik
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: What happens when a cobra bites itself?
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: What a Coincidence!

LAST PAGE: Now You See It... Soon you Won't? [Hawaiian koa bug.]

POINTS OF INTEREST: First "Cat Counter" introduced on Muse Mail page, set to 6,084,531,972. Pwt catches Crraw in Koko & Co. First full-page cartoon by Paul Palnik.

Number 4 — April 2002

COVER: Exposing the Moon Hoax; Why We Can't Get There [Deep Space] from Here

FIRST PAGE: The Muses: Fiction or Fantasy?

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Koko transports Urania to the planet Relnak in the star Banana Centauri.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS

• Why We Can't Get There from Here, by Neil de Grasse Tyson
• To the Moon and Back, by Robert Zimmerman
• Were the Moon Landings Faked? by Philip Plait
• A Chat with the Czar of Conspiracies
• Life without Gravity, by Robert Zimmerman
• Those Pesky Moon Landings Again! by “Dr. Hieronymous Lunatick”
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: Why teeth fall out instead of grow.
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Mental Math
• Amazing Hoaxes, by Paul Palnik

LAST PAGE: A Lumpy Planet

POINTS OF INTEREST: Cat counter reaches 7,683,940,251.

Number 5 — May/June 2002

COVER: Hairy Barbarians on the Silk Road

FIRST PAGE: A Brief History of the Silk Road

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Koko meets a mummy.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Taklamakan Mummies Step onto the World’s Stage, by Heather Pringle
• The Puzzle of the Taklamakan Mummies, by Elizabeth Barber with D. L.
• Did Marco Polo Go to China? by Tom Huntington
• Misadventures of Marco Polo, by M. G. [Michael Gerber]
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: Who named the planets?
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Batting Streaks
• The Million Lies of the Great Marco Polo? by Paul Palnik

LAST PAGE: What, No Broomstick?

POINTS OF INTEREST: Cat counter reaches 8,367,940,251

Number 6 — July/August 2002 (Cats)

COVER: The Cat Buddy System

FIRST PAGE: If You Don't Like Cats...

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Crraw teaches Pwt to hunt like a cat.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Are Cats Antisocial? by Susan Milius
• Killer Cats, by Susan Milius
• Petting Preferences, by Susan Milius
• Ancient Cats, by Jaromir Malek
• A Declaration of Independence, by M.G. [Michael Gerber]
• A Cat’s Prayer, by Carmen Bernos de Gasztold
• The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, by Terry Pratchett
• We Are Siamese If You Please..., by Peter Brown
• The Pied Piper of Glass, by Nancy Kangas
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: Sulfur-eating bacteria on Io? Growing new blood?
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Unfolding Wonders
• Odd Cats Through History, by Paul Palnik

POINTS OF INTEREST: Dog Counter on Muse News page starts out at 3.

LAST PAGE: Feline Free-for-All

Number 7 — September 2002 (Chess)

COVER: Chess for Kids Who Don't Play Chess

FIRST PAGE: Some Fun Facts about Chess!

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Aeiou’s two chess-playing computers pit logic versus emotion.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• A Chess Piece, by Colleen Schafroth
• Harry Potter’s Chess Teacher, by Robert Coontz
• Back to School Agane, by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle
• Nature’s Blimps, by Richard and Joyce Wolkomir
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: why diet sodas float; how fast hair grows; watermelon stripes and seeds; lightning rods; really making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
• Chess Secrets, by Paul Palnik
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Global Views

POINTS OF INTEREST: Dog Counter reaches 23; Bo’s Page replaces Muse News.

LAST PAGE: Nighty-Knight

Number 8 — October 2002

COVER: Why Did They All Die? The Black Death

FIRST PAGE: A Plague of Posers

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Kokopelli decides Feather has come down with the Orange Death.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Looking into the Pit, by Daniel Defoe
• The Black Death, by T. K. Dennison and A. W. Carus
• A Turning Point? by T. K. Dennison and A. W. Carus
• What Disease Was It? by D. L. and T. K. Dennison
• Sun Suckers and Moon Cursers, by Richard and Joyce Wolkomir
• Full Moon Friday the Thirteenth, by Atul Gawande
• A School Story, by M. R. James
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Tricky Choices
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: Do ants and bees revolt? What is color blindness?
• Memorable World Superstitions, by Paul Palnik

LAST PAGE: Who Are You Calling “Happyface”?

POINTS OF INTEREST: In Muse Mail, five readers and 18 non-readers request a dog issue; Dog Counter soars to 31.

Number 9 — November/December 2002 (Dogs)

COVER: How Dogs Tamed Us

FIRST PAGE: Anything You Can Do... [Dog and Cat Sing-Off]

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Koko’s dog Devil trashes the house.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• The Irredeemable Weirdness of the Dog, by Stephen Budiansky
• Are Dogs Dumb? by Karen Hopkin
• Stickeen, by John Muir
• A Dog’s Life, by Iain Zaczek
• The Dog that Bit People, by James Thurber
• Lost Dog [from Lost: Lost and Found Pet Posters from Around the World, collected by Ian Phillips]
• When Larry Got Lost, by Paul Palnik
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: Why do dogs like being petted? Why do some dogs drool so much?
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Gambling Dogs

LAST PAGE: Stop and “Go”

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VOLUME 7 — 2003

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Number 1 — January 2003

COVER: Was Napoleon Killed by His Wallpaper?

FIRST PAGE: Napoleon: International Man of Mystery

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Chad and Mimi offer to rescue Napoleon from exile.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• The Murder (Maybe) of Napoleon, by Richard and Joyce Wolkomir
• Was Captain Kidd a Pirate? by Richard Zacks
• How to Plunder a Galleon, by Adam Goodheart
• The Plague of Sailors, by Kristin Cobb
• Hornblower Almost Hangs a Pirate, by C. S. Forester
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: What causes hiccups? Why are mountaintops colder than lowlands?
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Monopoly Cheat Sheet
• Captain Kidd’s Long Lost Log Book, by Paul Palnik

LAST PAGE: Mystery Island

Number 2 — February 2003

COVER: How to Catch a Cold

FIRST PAGE: Germ Warfare

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Feather and Mimi try to treat Pwt’s cold symptoms.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Catching a Cold, by Atul Gawande
• The Lost History of the Sword, by Jeffrey L. Forgeng and Mark Millman
• Muse Guide to Swordfighting Movies
• How to Fight a Duel, by Adam Goodheart
• Night of the Living Unculus
• Sandy Skoglund, by Sylvia Wolf [artist]
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Hailstone Numbers
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: Movie popcorn; sand, soil, dirt, etc.
• Your Honor Has Been Challenged, by Paul Palnik

LAST PAGE: Sight Gag

POINTS OF INTEREST: On page 44, the editors introduce hot-pink bunnies to replace passages in Muse Mail letters debating whether cats are better than dogs.

Number 3 — March 2003

COVER: Call of the Cryptile Lizard

FIRST PAGE: The 2,000,021st Century

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Feather and Pwt conjure up a bizarre vision of life 100 million years in the future.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Future Beasts, by D. L. with Thomas Holtz, Jr., and John Merck, Jr.
• Are You Human?
• The Call of the Kakapo, by Douglas Adams and Mark Cardwardine
• How to Illuminate a Manuscript, by Elizabeth B. Wilson
• Cooked Books
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: It's Not You, It's the Puzzle
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: Chocolate chip cookies; nail-polish danger?
• The Kakapo Hall of Fame, by Paul Palnik

LAST PAGE: Beach Walker

Number 4 — April 2003 (Fashion)

FIRST PAGE: Clothes Make the Pet

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Urania describes her personal fashion statement.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Putting It On, by Alison Lurie
• Giving Clowns Happy Feet, by Richard and Joyce Wolkomir
• The Fork Comes to the Table, by James Cross Giblin
• Smudging the Linen, by Nancy Kangas
• When Etiquette Ruled the Earth, by Nancy Kangas
• Regrettable Food, by James Lileks
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: Flipping a Coin
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: Hamsters vs. mice in psychology experiments; hungry hiccups.
• Oddities in the History of Fashion, by Paul Palnik

LAST PAGE: What to Wear?

Number 5: May/June 2003

COVER: Rube Goldberg Machines / Perpetual Motion Machines

FIRST PAGE: We're on Your Side

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Koko builds a machine that works forever.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• Something for Nothing? by David Lindley [perpetual motion]
• Perpetual Motion Quiz, by Larry Gonick
• Doing Things the Hard Way, by Lawrence Biemiller
• Dr. Decibel: Noise-Fighting Superhero, by Richard and Joyce Wolkomir
• Kokopelli Gets a Music Lesson, by Paul Baker
• Odd Instruments, by Rena Archwamety
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: What’s the Deal?
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: Swiss cheese; numb, tingly feet.
• Odd Musical Instruments through the Ages, by Paul Palnik

LAST PAGE: Feel the Beat?

Number 6: July/August 2003

COVER: Who Should Design Skateboard Parks?

FIRST PAGE: What Were They Thinking?

KOKOPELLI & COMPANY: Pwt and Koko go skateboarding.

ARTICLES AND COLUMNS:

• A Good Thrashing, by William Thompson
• Skatepark Reviews, by Thrasher magazine
• Beyond Plastic Turtles [playground design], by Joan Kuckkahn
• Why Mosquitoes Want to Drink Your Blood, by Richard and Joyce Wolkomir
• You Reek! by Nancy Kangas
• Math Page, by Ivars Peterson: One-Cut Angelfish
• Q & A, by Robert Coontz and Rosanne Spector: Do insects catch colds? How many vocal cords do cats and dogs have?
• The Mosquito Cafe Menu, by Paul Palnik

LAST PAGE: How to Do an Ollie