In the 1940s, Frances Glessner Lee created a series of tiny crime scenes known as the “Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death.” They were designed to train homicide investigators to observe evidence scientifically, carefully, and without bias. Remarkably, they are still used in forensic training today.
Sources:
Primary reporting and historical information for this episode come from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian Magazine, The New Yorker, and research by author Bruce Goldfarb, including public commentary and archival clarification.