Felix Gillette

Depictions of battlefield mutilation are fit to display in the District, but historical portrayals of open-air lovemaking apparently remain taboo. Until last week, the Castle of Coucy exhibition at National Geographic's Explorers Hall rendered a medieval battle in miniature, complete with a besieged castle, charging cavalry, and two mini-Brits copulating in an unhitched horse cart. The tiny hi-jinks caught the eye of an NG staffer, who urged a “cover-up.” The denouement? Staffers jury-rigged a makeshift crane and lowered burlap into the diorama, successfully hiding the paramours without disrupting their carnal embrace. So much for historical accuracy.