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How much is the Hope Diamond worth? Ask Smithsonian.

Our inquisitive readers are rising to the challenge we gave them last month. The questions are pouring in and we’re ready for more. Do you have any questions for our curators? Submit your questions here.

How much is the Hope Diamond worth? — Marjorie Mathews, Silver Spring, Maryland

That’s the most popular question we get, but we don’t really satisfy people by giving them a number. There are a number of answers, but the best one is that we honestly don’t know. It’s a little bit like Liz Taylor’s jewels being sold in December—all kinds of people guessed at what they would sell for, but everybody I know was way off. Only when those pieces were opened up to bidding at a public auction could you find out what their values were. When they were sold, then at least for that day and that night you could say, well, they were worth that much. The Hope Diamond is kind of the same way, but more so. There’s simply nothing else like it. So how do you put a value on the history, on the fact it’s been here on display for over 50 years and a few hundred million people have seen it, and on that fact it’s a rare blue diamond on top of everything else? You don’t. – Jeffrey E. Post, mineralogist, National Museum of Natural History

What’s the worst impact of ocean acidification so far?- Nancy Schaefer, Virginia Beach, Virginia

The impacts of ocean acidification are really just starting to be felt, but two big reports that came out in 2011 show that it could have very serious effects on coral reefs. These studies did not measure the warming effect of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but rather its effect of making the ocean more acidic when it dissolves in the ocean. Places where large amounts of carbon dioxide seep into the water from the sea floor provide a natural experiment and show us how ocean waters might look, say, 50 or 100 years from now. Both studies showed branching, lacy, delicate coral forms are likely to disappear, and with them that kind of three-dimensional complexity so many species depend on. Also, other species that build a stony skeleton or shell, such as oysters or mussels, are likely to be affected. This happens because acidification makes carbonate ions, which these species need for their skeletons, less abundant.

Nancy Knowlton, marine biologist
National Museum of Natural History

Art and artifacts from ancient South Pacific and Pacific Northwest tribes have similarities in form and function. Is it possible that early Hawaiians caught part of the Kuroshio Current of the North Pacific Gyre to end up along the northwest coast of America from northern California to Alaska? — April Croan, Maple Valley, Washington

Those similarities have given rise to various theories, including trans-Pacific navigation, independent drifts of floating artifacts, inadvertent crossings by ships that have lost their rudders or rigging, or whales harpooned in one area that died or were captured in a distant place. Some connections are well-known, like feather garment fragments found in an archaeological site in Southeast Alaska that appear to have been brought there by whaling ships that had stopped in the Hawaiian Islands, a regular route for 19th-century whalers. Before the period of European contact, the greatest similarities are with the southwest Pacific, not Hawaii. The Kushiro current would have facilitated Asian coastal contacts with northwestern North America, but would not have helped Hawaiians. The problem of identification is one of context, form and dating. Most of the reported similarities are either out of their original context (which can’t be reconstructed), or their form is not specific enough to relate to another area’s style, or the date of creation cannot be established. To date there is no acceptable proof for South Pacific-Northwest Coast historical connections that predates the European whaling era, except for links that follow the coastal region of the North Pacific into Alaska.

William Fitzhugh, archeologist
Natural History Museum

Giants and patriots come in all forms, as seen in "Giant Demon Attacks a Ship," an Indian watercolor ca. 1775. Photo courtesy of the Freer and Sackler Galleries

Take a look at our photo gallery of giants and patriots in the Smithsonian Institution.

In honor of Super Bowl Sunday, we’ve come up with our own contest of “giants” and “patriots.” A disclaimer, though: it has nothing to do with football. We’ve combed through archives and collections across the Smithsonian Institution to come up with a unique set of patriots and giants for you to check out to get ready for the game.

If you’re a Giants fan, we’ve got everything from giant pandas to giant sequoias to “Elaganeek: the Eskimo Giant.” “Giant’s Thumb,” a 1926 woodcut by Howard Cook in the American Art Museum, depicts one of the artist’s favorite natural spots in New Mexico, his adopted home.

For New England fans, though, the Smithsonian is filled with patriots both real and invented. Uncle Sam, of course, is the country’s iconic patriot, but real-life figures like George Washington and Samuel Adams were the original embodiments of patriotism during the birth of the country. The concept of patriotism is so powerful that the U.S. military has named missiles after it.

“Giant Demon Attacks a Ship,” an Indian watercolor painted by a Jain artist sometime around 1775, is the one piece that Giants fans might interpret as a good omen for the game. In the painting, a large blue demon seems poised to destroy a British ship, filled with sailors dressed not so differently from the Patriots original mascot, Pat Patriot. Watch on Sunday to see how the real life matchups turns out.

Now that you’ve probably burned through the lists of historians, innovators, and food-writers to follow this year, we’re bringing it back home to the Smithsonian. As always, the Mall is cooking up some fascinating, crazy, and sometimes grotesque stuff for 2012. Bookmark these people and projects to keep up with this year:

Nicholas Pyenson: Pyenson studies and curates fossils of marine mammals. Get a feel for what is going on inside his lab and follow his team into the field—fresh from an expedition in Chile—at his blog, Pyenson Lab.

Postal Museum: Time for a pop quiz: A “hamper dumper” is:

a) machine in postal processing

b) bin of misprint stamps

c) failed mail vehicle

d) philatelic tool.

If you know the answer, you should be following the Postal Museum (@postalmuseum) for their daily #PostalQuiz and other philatelic factoids.

Biodiversity Heritage Library: As part of the Biodiversity Heritage Library consortium, the Smithsonian Libraries collects and digitizes biodiversity research for open online access—essentially, a bio-wiki. Check out @biodivlibrary for the species of the day: plants that eat worms, albino penguins and other bizarre creatures you never knew existed.

Archives of American Art Pinterest: The American Art Pinterest lets you browse the archives and “pin” the images you like to your virtual board. Mix and match from collections like “facial hair of note” and “ain’t no party like an artist’s party.”

Book Dragon: The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program’s Book Dragon is the pet project of former APA Media Arts Consultant Terry Hong, featuring reviews of “books for the multi-cultural reader.” Hong highlights literature for kids and adults alike that speaks to the Asian American experience. Follow her at @SIBookDragon.

Smithsonian Vids: For a moving view of the Institution, follow @SmithsonianVids. Meet a scientist studying frog-eating bats, or get a video tour of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings from Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart.

Smithsonian Marine Station: This Natural History Museum field station, located in Fort Pierce, Florida, tweets news updates and photos from the field (er, coral reef) @SmithsonianSMS. Plus, there’s #followfriday trivia every week.

Field Book Project: Also, from the Natural History Museum and the Smithsonian Institution Archives check out this blog, where researchers post updates on their initiative to compile an online database of field books and journals documenting biodiversity research. Besides progress updates, you’ll also find excerpts of century-old field notes from explorers, birdwatchers and scientists (including lots of fun, old-timey sketches) and learn a lot more than you ever thought there was to know about indices.

Encyclopedia of Life: Take your best shot and enter the picture in the Smithsonian’s Encyclopedia of Life Flickr photo contest. The bi-weekly contest could be (and has been) any theme from “backyard life” to “sexual dimorphism.” Even if you don’t enter, be sure to browse the entries for gems like this.

And of course, if you’re not following them already, the museums are always Tweeting up a storm. Here’s the checklist:

American Indian Museum: @SmithsonianNMAI

National Portrait Gallery: @npg

American Art Museum: @americanart

Anacostia Community Museum: @anacostiamuseum

American History Museum: @amhistorymuseum

Air and Space Museum: @airandspace

Museum of Natural History: @NMNH

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden: @hirshhorn

Freer and Sackler Galleries: @FreerSackler

Museum of African Art: @NMAfA

National Zoo: @NationalZoo

Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum: @cooperhewitt

Smithsonian: @Smithsonian

Come make your own stamp collection at a drop-in workshop at the Postal Museum. Photo courtesy of the museum

Friday, January 6 “This is Not a Film”

The Iranian Film Festival kicks off with “This is Not a Film,” a last-minute Cannes submission shot secretly on an iPhone and smuggled into France on a flash drive hidden in a cake. The film depicts the sequestered life of famed director Jafar Panahi (The Circle; Offside), whose 2010 arrest sparked an international outcry. Banned from traveling, giving interviews, or making films, Panahi is seen talking to his family and lawyer on the phone, discussing his plight with Mirtahmasb, and reflecting on the meaning of the art of filmmaking. (Dirs.: Mojtaba Mirtahmasb and Jafar Panahi, Iran, 2010, 75 min., Persian with English subtitles) Free. 7:00 p.m. Freer/Sackler Gallery.

Saturday, January 7 Stamps!

Jumpstart your own stamp collection in a hands-on workshop for all ages, then join curator Daniel Piazza on a tour of the philatelic rarities of “Collecting History: 125 Years of the National Philatelic Collection” before it closes on January 9. Highlights include rarities that once belonged to Egypt’s King Farouk and Japanese-American internment camp mail from World War II. Free. 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. Postal Museum, Museum Atrium.

Sunday, January 8 Masterworks of Three Centuries

Celebrate the Smithsonian Chamber Music Society’s 35th season with an eclectic Baroque concert, as Kenneth Slowik presents Bach’s compendious Goldberg Variations, BWV 988.  $22 member, $20 senior member, $28 general admission. Pre-concert talk at 6:30 p.m. Concert begins at 7:30 p.m. American History Museum, Hall of Musical Instruments.

For a complete listing of Smithsonian events and exhibitions visit the goSmithsonian Visitors Guide. Additional reporting by Michelle Strange.

World War I soldiers writing letters home. Photo courtesy of the National Postal Museum

With the war in Iraq officially declared over yesterday, it seemed appropriate to head to the National Postal Museum to reflect upon the experiences of servicemen who are stationed abroad. “Mail Call: A History of America’s Military Mail,” an exhibition that opened last month, tells the stories of individual soldiers through their mail, and traces the history of mail delivery for the military from the Revolutionary War through today.

“Mail sustains the spirits, both on the home front and for the people who are on the front line,” says Lynn Heidelbaugh, curator at the museum. “We wanted to show visitors how it keeps up this connection, and keeps up this sense of community.”

The exhibition features a number of letters that serve as windows on the personal lives on soldiers stationed abroad. One was sent by John H. Zimmer, a serviceman stationed in France during World War I, to his younger sister Frances. “Just a few lines to let you know that I received your letter today and was very glad to hear from you,” he wrote. “I haven’t been getting many letters for several weeks until today when I received seven. But gee, I was awful glad to get them.”

The show also covers the evolution of the military mail system across the full sweep of its history, starting with the country’s founding. “Mail was really expensive during the Revolutionary War—most people were writing just for business purposes, because postage was too much to use otherwise,” says Heidelbaugh. Over time, as prices came down, mail became the sole source of communication between distant points. With the Spanish-American War and World War I—the first U.S. global wars—the challenges confronting the Postal Service grew dramatically.

A letter from Operation Desert Storm. Photo courtesy of the National Postal Museum.

Mail officials responded with a number of innovations, sending postal employees around the world to carry out the mission. During World War II, the Postal Service promoted the sending of “Victory Mail,” which were letters written on a standardized stationary and projected onto microfilm to save shipping weight. The reels of microfilm were sent to processing centers abroad, and letters were reproduced on quarter size pieces of paper to be delivered to recipients.

Audio reels were sometimes used during the Vietnam War for the same reason. ”We have one recording from a soldier stationed in Vietnam,” Heidelbaugh says. “He actually talks about what mail has meant to him, and his outlook in the future—everything you expect in a letter from wartime.”

When all of the varied locations where mail is delivered during times of war is considered, the strategic operation is mind-boggling. “The Postal Service tries to make sure that all services are available to everyone,” Heidelbaugh says, “whether they’re in a tent somewhere or in a submarine.” On display is an actual door from the post office that was aboard the U.S.S. Thomas S. Gates, a Navy cruiser, as well as a camouflaged, waterproof mail bag that was used for aerial mail drops to troops in the jungles of Vietnam.

Other items in the exhibition remind visitors of the grim truth of war. Many letters bring news of horrific tragedy. One is a Certified Mail stamp that was salvaged from the Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The date on the stamp is still December 6, 1941—the day before the infamous attacks on the base that claimed the lives of thousands.

The other is a letter addressed to a Union soldier’s wife at the height of the Civil War. “One of the pieces I find most touching—and sadly, the most typical kind of letter—is this condolence letter,” says Heidelbaugh. “It’s from a commanding officer, and he’s had to write to a widow, and confirm that her husband has died in a POW camp.”

Appropriately, the show concludes with a package sent from the recent conflict in Iraq. ”We chose this because it’s representative of contemporary mail,” says Heidelbaugh. The package was sent by Chief Warrant Officer Peter Paone to his son Tom, back in Pennsylvania, and carried souvenirs from his time abroad. “A lot of people ask, ‘with so many more options for communication now, what are people even sending mail for?’ But there’s no other way to send packages. We wanted to show people that mail is still vitally important.”

“Mail Call: A History of America’s Military Mail” is on display at the National Postal Museum