American History

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Supreme Court Hands Big Loss to Big Pharma

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against big pharmaceutical companies, saying that the Federal Trade Commission could indeed sue companies who engaged in "pay to play" deals

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Where Would You Put a 51st Star on the U.S. Flag?

If you wanted to make a 51-star American flag, or a 76-star American flag, how would you arrange the stars?

When the Union Ran Out of Ironclads, They Built Timberclads

A curious photograph caught one library specialist at the Library of Congress by surprise: a wooden ironclad

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San Francisco From the Air, 1938 and Today

This amazing composite photo gives a scrollable, zoomable high-resolution view of 1938 San Francisco

The logo for the NSA’s PRISM project

400 Words to Get Up to Speed on Edward Snowden, the NSA And Government Surveillance

NSA's PRISM, monitoring the internet, and the recent history of domestic surveillance

Baltimore’s waste-to-energy station creates energy by incinerating waste. Learn about whether or not this process is right for DC in a talk at the Anacostia Community Center on Tuesday.

Events June 11-13: Waste-to-energy, Teenage History Stars and the World’s Best Nature Photos

This week, learn about an alternative way to save energy, see the work of National History Day contestants and see nature like you've never seen it before

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Today Is National Doughnut Day

Yes, this is a real holiday. Yes, it means free doughnuts

‘Whoomp! (There It Is)’ Still Makes $500,000 a Year

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Swimming Champion and Actress Esther Williams Dies, Her Legacy Lives on at the Smithsonian

A 2008 donation to the National Museum of American History of the glamorous star's enormous scrapbooks are filled with mementos of her career

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The Man Who Coined the Word ‘Sack’ in Football Dies at 74

For a long time, a quarterback's greatest fear was David "Deacon" Jones

The cast of the popular television show goofs off at a donation ceremony in 1978, which added Archie and Edith Bunker’s chairs to the “A Nation of Nations” exhibit. (L-R): Jean Stapleton, Secretary (1964-1984) S. Dillon Ripley, Norman Lear, Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner as they peer into the case where the chairs are displayed. View Full Record for 92-1711.

Entertainment Curator Remembers ‘All in the Family’ star Jean Stapleton

Dwight Blocker Bowers discusses the show's iconic donation to the American History Museum and its place in television

From May 17 to July 4, 1863, Ulysses S. Grant and the Union Army placed the city of Vicksburg, MS under siege to defeat Confederate troops. Hear the play-by-play of this turning point in the Civil War in a talk by best-selling author Jeff Shaara on Wednesday.

Events June 4-6: The Middle Passage, the Battle of Vicksburg and Whales

This week, hear stories of the slave trade, learn about one of the Civil War's most pivotal battles and discover Smithsonian's whale collection

Ponce de León's name wasn't tied to the Fountain of Youth until 14 years after his death.

Ponce De Leon Never Searched for the Fountain of Youth

How did this myth about the Spanish explorer even get its start?

Three signature NASM space food examples from Neil Armstrong's meal allotments on the Apollo 11 mission.

Unpack a Meal of Astronaut Space Food

Space-age spaghetti and meatballs, along with other tastes of home, gave Apollo astronaut crews a boost

The Clovis people were known for their distinctive stone arrowheads.

How Two Retirees’ Amateur Archaeology Helped Throw Our View of Human History Into Turmoil

Through decades of excavation near their cottage Anton and Maria Chobot unearthed artifacts of the Clovis people

Painter Thomas Dewing (1851 to 1938) was best known for his tonalist style, which blurred images to create a dream-like effect. See his work in “Sylvan Sounds: Freer, Dewing and Japan,” which opens at the Freer Gallery on Tuesday.

Events May 28-30: Sylvan Sounds, Trivia Night and Joseph Henry

This week, see the art that launched the Freer Gallery, test your knowledge of DC celebrities and meet the Smithsonian's first secretary

A bridge over another part of the Skagitt River

America’s Bridges Really Are Getting Old: One Just Collapsed Into the Skagit River

While there may not be money laying around to fix bridges, there are certainly bridges laying around that need fixing

Man Finds First-Edition Superman Comic Hidden in His Wall

A man finds a copy of "the most important comic book in the history of comic books" stuffed in the wall of his new fixer-upper

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The FBI Investigated the Song ‘Louie Louie’ for Two Years

The question apparently had to do with the lyrics of the song - which many find either confusing or simply impossible to understand

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Navy Dolphins Turn Up a Rare 19th-Century Torpedo

Called a Howell torpedo, the old military relic was a marvel in its day, and only 50 were ever made

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