Smart News Arts & Culture

Gore Vidal: Left in 1948 (Image: Library of Congress) Right, in 2008

Read a 2007 Essay in Smithsonian by Gore Vidal, Last Writer of His Kind

Why more writers should be as fearless, and as prickly as Vidal

Who will take more of these bad boys home with them, China or the United States?

How China Will Beat the US in Olympic Medals

How to tell which countries will take home more bling, and why weight lifting matters

Some members of the Bloomsbury Group, including Huxley. Left to right: Lady Ottoline Morrell, Mrs. Aldous Huxley, Lytton Strachey, Duncan Grant, and Vanessa Bell.

How Aldous Huxley, 118 Today, Predicted the Present Far More Accurately than George Orwell

One of the pillars of science fiction would have turned 118 today

U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. Jennifer Peters

Army Women To Get New (Non-Comic Book) Armor

The Army has announced that they are designing body armor specifically tailored to women's bodies

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English Evolving Much More Slowly on the Internet than During the Renaissance

A new study charted how English has changed over the past 500 years, finding it to be more stagnant than ever before

Why We Hoard – And How to Stop

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Should Dolphins and Whales Have Human Rights?

Because of their complex brains and rich social lives, should dolphins and whales be considered non-human legal persons, with full legal rights?

The translated conversation is displayed on a monitor.

Glasses Provide Subtitles For Foreign Language Conversations

Powell designed glasses with built-in screens that translate speech, the translation appearing live as subtitles floating in front of the wearer's eyes

The offending garden in Drummondville

City Officials Declare War on Lawn Gardens

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Superheroes’ Most Amazing Power: Getting Kids to Choose Healthy Snacks Over French Fries

Cornell researchers exploit kids' adoration of Batman for the better, using the superhero as an impetus to encourage kids to eat healthy

Documenting “the Last Green Spot Between NYC and Philly”

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The Messy History of Tacos

There's so much more to the humble taco than meets the hungry North American consumer's eye - or palate

$2 Million in Ivory Seized From Manhattan Jewelers

Two New York City jewelers, caught with $2 million worth of illegal ivory, plead guilty to charges of commercializing wildlife

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Should We Kill Man-Eating Alligators?

Should we hunt down and kill man-eaters?

In Sports, Winning Streaks Are Just Flukes

Winning streaks are engrained into our sports psyches, but are they actually a legitimate phenomoenon?

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People Are More Rational When Speaking in a Foreign Language

Oscar Pistorius

Double-Amputee Oscar Pistorius Will Compete In Olympics 400 Meter Race Without Qualifying

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What if Newton’s Principia Mathematica, Published Today, Had Been in Comic Sans?

The rage over CERN's font choice drives the question: How would the world have reacted to Newton's world-changing tome had Comic Sans existed at the time?

Dust jacket of the book Mein Kampf, written by Adolf Hitler.

Germans un-Kampf-ortable With Reissue of Hitler’s Tome

Starting in 2015, Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf will once again be available to German readers

Are Millennials Too Strung Out on Antidepressants to Even Know Who They Are?

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