Smart News

A photograph of the National Menorah from 2011.

Why There’s A 30-Foot Menorah on the National Mall

The tradition of the National Menorah was begun under President Jimmy Carter in 1979

A wapato bulb

Canada

The Northwest’s Earliest “Garden” Discovered in British Columbia

The 3,800-year-old stone platform was used to cultivate wapato—wild water potatoes—a staple crop for many North American peoples

Dendrite Star snowflake

Cool Finds

This Historical Figure Wore the Label "Snowflake" With Pride

Wilson Bentley became the first person to photograph a single snowflake in 1885

The Bay of Naples, with Mount Vesuvius in the center and the Campi Fleagri Caldera on the far left

New Research

The Volcano That May Have Killed Off the Neanderthals Is Stirring Once Again

Responsible for Europe's largest eruption, the volcano is showing signs of another pending explosion

New Research

France Is Paving More Than 600 Miles of Road With Solar Panels

In five years, France hopes the panels will supply power to 5 million people

Cool Finds

The Fight to Save Thousands of Heirloom Apple Trees

There’s more to apples than the supermarket selection may suggest

Boo! Telling ghost stories on Christmas was a tradition for hundreds of years. Here, Marley's ghost surprises Ebenezer Scrooge in an illustration from the first edition of the classic tale.

Why Do People Tell Ghost Stories on Christmas?

Christmas ghost stories are a tradition going back much farther than "A Christmas Carol"

This Strad's wood is different from modern-day maple.

New Research

Mineral Baths May Have Given Stradivari Their Signature Sound

Turns out the famous violins really are different from modern instruments

Score was a tiny communications satellite attached to a really big rocket.

Cool Finds

Celebrate Christmas With the First Voice Ever Broadcast in Space

Eisenhower kicked off the space race with a goodwill wish

The National Menorah and one of the state Christmas trees near the White House in 2009.

Someday, Maybe We’ll Have Hanukkah in July

Hanukkah and Christmas fall on the same day this year because not everyone follows the same calendar

This image from the Landsat 7 satellite depicts snow near the border of Morocco and Algeria, south of the city of Bouarfa and southwest of Ain Sefra.

Trending Today

Snow Falls in the Sahara for the First Time Since 1979

A cold snap in the Algerian city of Ain Sefra led to a snowfall that covered the area's distinctive orange dunes

The American holiday celebrating African traditions is 50 years old this year.

This Year Marks the 50th Kwanzaa

The week-long holiday is a celebration of African-American culture

A compressed view of the entire visible sky from the Pan-STARRS1 Observatory

New Research

Massive Survey Catalogues the Night Sky

Over four years, the Pan-STARRS telescope collected 2 petabytes of photos of the night sky, creating the most complete astronomical atlas yet

Tens of thousands of sticky notes were used to create the communal artwork/therapy session.

Cool Finds

New Yorkers’ Post-Election Post-its Will Be Preserved

<i>Subway Therapy</i> captured a city's outpouring of emotion. Now, the notes New Yorkers left behind will be archived

New York's shrine to the performing arts has never seen a dancer quite like this.

Cool Finds

A Huge Bronze Hippo in a Tutu Is Coming to Lincoln Center

Her name is <i>Hippo Ballerina</i>, and she’s sure to make theatergoers do a double-take

Lillian Randolph in It's A Wonderful Life, with a dusting of fake snow made from foamite, sugar, water and soap.

The Crazy Tricks Early Filmmakers Used To Fake Snow

Cornflakes, flour and, uh, asbestos were all used in early movies

Cool Finds

Check Out NASA's Picks for This Year's Best Images of Earth

From sunsets to city lights, the images capture the beauty of our ever-changing planet

Shell's Polar Pioneer drilling platform

Trending Today

Obama and Trudeau Protect Millions of Acres From Drilling in the Arctic and the Atlantic

But questions remain about the permanency of the act in the arctic

Uniformed Letter Carrier with Child in Mailbag

Smithsonian Podcast

A Brief History of Children Sent Through the Mail

In the early days of the parcel post, some parents took advantage of the mail in unexpected ways

Crossword puzzles have been around for over one hundred years. In that time, they've gone through fads.

Why Crossword Puzzles Are Still Mostly Written By Humans

Computers can write sports articles, replace stock brokers and help diagnose patients. But they can’t write good crosswords

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