History

101 Objects that Made America: America in the World

Pulled from the Smithsonian collections, these items range millennia, from pre-historic dinosaurs to the very first supercomputer

Have you carved your pumpkin yet?

The Patents Designed to Make Carving Your Pumpkin a Little Less Messy

A group of innovators set out to simplify how we make classic Jack-o-Lanterns and their ghoulish grins

Mary Rogers in the river, 1841

Edgar Allan Poe Tried and Failed to Crack the Mysterious Murder Case of Mary Rogers

After a teenage beauty turned up dead in the Hudson River, not even the godfather of detective fiction could figure out who done it

Franken Berry cereal was originally released in 1971 by General Mills with his monster-buddy Count Chocula.

Franken Berry, the Beloved Halloween Cereal, Was Once Medically Found to Cause Pink Poop

The red dye used in the popular breakfast cereal resulted in several cases of the benign condition

The makers of the first talking board asked the board what they should call it; the name “Ouija” came through and, when they asked what that meant, the board replied, “Good luck.”

The Strange and Mysterious History of the Ouija Board

Tool of the devil, harmless family game—or fascinating glimpse into the non-conscious mind?

Why the Avocado Should Have Gone the Way of the Dodo

Its large pit and fleshy deliciousness are all a result of its status as an evolutionary anachronism

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Horrific Tales of Potatoes That Caused Mass Sickness and Even Death

A greened potato indicates the presence of a toxin that can cause gastrointestinal distress, induce coma or even death within 24 hours of consumption

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The Many, Many Designs of the Sewing Machine

Rioting tailors, destitute inventors and the court system all got involved in one of the 19th century's biggest innovations

You probably wouldn’t eat this meal for breakfast—but why?

Why Do We Eat Cereal For Breakfast? And Other Questions About American Meals Answered

In her new book, food historian Abigail Carroll traces the evolution of American eating from colonial times to present-day

The telegraph key used to send the famous message “What Hath God Wroght” over the prototype telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington D.C. in 1844

How the Telegraph Went From Semaphore to Communication Game Changer

Samuel Morse was an artist by trade, but to the world he's best known for connecting the dots --and dashes-- that forever changed the way we communicate

Perscription for alcohol used during Prohibition. (Interactive by Esri; Text by Megan Gambino.)

Document Deep Dive

During Prohibition, Your Doctor Could Write You a Prescription for Booze

Take two shots of whiskey and call me in the morning

Prisoners bury a wooden coffin on Hart Island.

What Happens When a Homeless New Yorker Dies?

You should be quite relieved that you never have been, and hopefully never will be, on Hart Island

Why do we associate popcorn with the movies?

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Why Do We Eat Popcorn at the Movies?

The movie theater's most popular concession wasn't always associated with the movies—in fact, it used to be explicitly banned

Saint Coronatus joined a convent in Heiligkreuztal, Germany, in 1676

Switzerland

Meet the Fantastically Bejeweled Skeletons of Catholicism’s Forgotten Martyrs

Art historian and author Paul Koudounaris elucidates the macabre splendor and tragic history of Europe’s catacomb saints

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This Shattered, Bullet-Riddled Stump Shows the Violent Intensity of Civil War Battle

A mute testament to the horrors of war, this is all that remained of a large oak tree caught in the crossfire at the battle of Spotsylvania

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The CIA’s Most Highly-Trained Spies Weren’t Even Human

As a former trainer reveals, the U.S. government deployed nonhuman operatives—ravens, pigeons, even cats—to spy on cold war adversaries

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The Civil War

How the Flag Came to be Called Old Glory

New research may settle a family feud over the origins of an American icon

“There was one file on our man in the FBI,” the ex-KGB man says. “He was retired and living in Queens.” That man, he says, was the mole.

When the FBI Spent Decades Hunting for a Soviet Spy on Its Staff

A tip provided by a double-agent for the KGB set off one of the most self-destructive mole hunts in FBI history

One frame of the Zapruder film has long been considered too graphic for public view.

What Does the Zapruder Film Really Tell Us?

Documentary filmmaker Errol Morris deconstructs the most famous 26 seconds in film history

It was his weekends as a Civil War re-enactor that urged Joseph McGill to campaign for the conservation of slave cabins.

One Man’s Epic Quest to Visit Every Former Slave Dwelling in the United States

Joseph McGill, a descendant of slaves, has devoted his life to ensuring the preservation of these historic sites

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