THE BRITISH MUSEUM, London: "The Rosetta Stone - arguably the most significant archaeological discovery ever made - is only in the museum because of the undignified wrangling between French and British forces in 1801, and ended up being transferred to the British in the streets of Cairo on a cart," says archaeologist Lawrence Owens, who leads walking seminars for Context in London. "The Brits were so pleased that they even carved some graffiti on the side of it. Some of the early exhibits were pure theatre and typical of the Enlightenment curiosity cabinet. These notably included a dried thumb dug up from basement of St. James coffeehouse in 1766, a pair of glasses made from the beard of a shellfish found off Sicily in 1764, and a 1762 gift of a piece of lace made from the hair of Elizabeth the First." (Photo: Trustees of the British Museum)

THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, Washington: Art historian and curator Liz Tunick, who leads walking seminars for Context in Washington, D.C., tells us that the West Building of the National Gallery housed a gymnasium for museum staff until it was converted into gallery space. The locker rooms for showering still remain. (Photo © 1989, Dennis Brack/Black Star. Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington)

THE GETTY MUSEUM, Los Angeles: Take a close look at two works: Jan Brueghel the Elder's "The Entry of the Animals into Noah's Ark" and Peter Paul Rubens' "The Calydonian Boar Hunt." No, they don't bear much outward resemblance, but it turns out that the panels they were painted on were cut from the same tree, which the Getty discovered by matching up the tree rings. The two panels were reunited after 400 years. "Rubens and Brueghel were the most renowned painters in 17th-century Antwerp, and they were also neighbors, close friends, and shared a dealer" says Julie Jaskol, the museum's assistant director of media relations. "And they clearly bought their panels from the same provider!" (Photo: J. Paul Getty Trust)