Editors' Picks
The Best Visuals from Smithsonian and the Web
Explore stunning videos, photos and interactive features on our Tumblr
The Stalking of the President
Charles J. Guiteau said he wanted to kill President James A. Garfield "in an American manner." He passed up several opportunities before he thought the time was right.
Could the Death Star Destroy a Planet?
Students in England concluded that the Star Wars space station could easily have destroyed an Earth-like planet
The Sistine Chapel of the Andes
Just miles from Peru’s Incan ruins lie artifacts from another era—beautiful Baroque churches that married Spanish design with indigenous culture
The Midday Ride of Paul Revere
Longfellow made the patriot’s ride to Lexington legendary, but the story of Revere’s earlier trip to Portsmouth deserves to be retold as well
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Paleofuture Blog
Lab-grown Babies in the Year 2030
A 1930 book argued that women's "liberation from the dangers of childbirth" would be a crucial first step toward gender equality.
By Matt Novak
Dinosaur Tracking Blog
Who Was the First to Discover Dinosaur Eggs?
Despite an immense wave of publicity heralding the discovery of dinosaur eggs in 1923, French paleontologists had discovered them decades earlier
By Brian Switek
Reel Culture Blog
When Uncle Sam Backs Your Film
How Act of Valor is only the latest in a long history of official military involvement in the film industry
By Daniel Eagan
Travel
The Mystique of Route 66
Foreign tourists and local preservationists are bringing stretches of the storied roadway back to life
By David Lamb
Food and Think Blog
Charles McIlvaine, Pioneer of American Mycophagy
"I take no man's word for the qualities of a toadstool," said the man who took it upon himself to sample more than 600 species
By Peter Smith
People & Places
The Devastating Costs of the Amazon Gold Rush
Spurred by rising global demand for the metal, miners are destroying invaluable rainforest in Peru's Amazon basin
By Donovan Webster
Surprising Science Blog
The Wandering Albatross and Global Warming
The giant oceanic birds are producing more and plumper chicks, at least for now
By Greg Laden
Travel
Would You Like Some Salt and Pepper? How About 80,000 Shakers' Worth?
Over the course of just a couple of decades, the Ludden family has amassed enough novelty shakers to fill two museums in the U.S. and Spain
By Derek Workman
Arts & Culture
Going Mad for Charles Dickens
Two centuries after his birth, the novelist is still wildly popular, as a theme park, a new movie and countless festivals attest
By Joshua Hammer
Arts & Culture
The Other Vitruvian Man
Was Leonardo da Vinci's famous anatomical chart actually a collaborative effort?
By Toby Lester
Science & Nature
The Orchid Olympics
Breeders from 19 countries put their creations to the test at the 20th World Orchid Conference in Singapore
By Somali Roy
Arts & Culture
How One Mummy Came to the Smithsonian
An American diplomat’s memento takes center stage after 125 years
By Owen Edwards
History & Archaeology
Revisiting The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
Recently reissued, William L. Shirer's seminal 1960 history of Nazi Germany is still important reading
By Ron Rosenbaum
Science & Nature
Meet Lucy Jones, "the Earthquake Lady"
As part of her plan to prepare Americans for the next "big one," the seismologist tackles the dangerous phenomenon of denial
By Amy Wallace
Arts & Culture
How Old is That Silk Artifact?
A chemist from the Textile Museum is perfecting a new technique for understanding the past
By Joseph Stromberg
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AT THE SMITHSONIAN
Scenes and Sightings from the Museums
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Weekend Events Feb 10-12: Mourning, The Power of Chocolate Festival, and the Emerson String Quartet
This weekend, go to the Iranian Film Festival, taste and learn why chocolate was called the "food of the gods" by the Aztecs and Mayans, and enjoy a p...
By Aviva Shen
How Much the Hope Diamond is Worth and Other Questions From Our Readers
From American art, history and culture, air and space technology, contemporary art, Asian art and any of the sciences from astronomy to zoology, we'll...
By Aviva Shen
Events Feb 7-9: Water Matters, Multiplicity, and Touki Bouki
This week, learn why water matters, take a guided tour of the American Art Museum's exhibition, Multiplicity, and enjoy a free film at the African Art...
By Aviva Shen
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