Rituals and Traditions
Why is Turquoise Becoming Rarer and More Valuable Than Diamonds?
With depleting mines, turquoise, the most sacred stone to the Navajo, has become increasingly rare.
When Becoming a Man Means Sticking Your Hand Into a Glove of Ants
Young men must subject themselves to a ritual involving bullet ant-filled gloves not once but 20 times
To Limit Pollution, The Chinese Are Faced With Giving Up an Ancient Tradition
For the Chinese, who invented both gun powder and fireworks, foregoing old traditions may clean up the air—just a bit
How the Voyage of the Kon-Tiki Misled the World About Navigating the Pacific
Smithsonian geographer Doug Herman explains the traditional science of traversing the ocean seas
Photos from La Tomatina, the World's Biggest Food Fight
On the last Wednesday of August each year, a small Spanish town erupts into a food fight featuring tomato-throwing
Meet One of the Last Bornean Elders Who Still Makes Traditional Poison Dart Blowpipes
It takes two days of constant drilling by hand to create a single pipe, which can be used to hunting animals
What Makes Soccer's Chants So Catchy?
Songs like "Olé, Olé, Olé" and "Seven Nation Army" are dominating soccer. Music experts weigh in on why that is
Three International Twists on BBQ
This summer, ditch the tired menu of burgers and hot dogs, and instead, try grilling Turkish kofte or slathering fish in Singapore’s spicy sambal sauce
What Does a 36-Foot-Tall Human Tower Have to Do With Catalan Independence?
An eye-catching protest across Europe is steeped in cultural heritage says Smithsonian curator Michael Atwood Mason
Thousands of Lovers’ Locks Collapsed Part of an Overloaded Bridge in Paris
The trend affects bridges throughout Europe and in some places in the U.S., too
A Startup Claims To Turn the Dead into Diamonds
The Swiss-based company, Algordanza, says it's developed a technology that transforms the ashes of a deceased loved one into keepsake jewelry
How the Hot Tamale Conquered the American South
Our intrepid reporter heads back to the Mississippi Delta in search of his favorite food—and the title of tamale-eating champ
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 Don’t Lions Attack Tourists on Safari and More Questions From Our Readers
A Moon-less Earth, yoga history, climate change and human speech
What Urban Planners Can Learn From a Hindu Religious Festival
Every 12 years, one Indian city balloons from a few million residents to tens of millions. How does this happen with such ease?
The Gut-Wrenching Science Behind the World’s Hottest Peppers
Chiliheads crave the heat that hurts so good, but nothing compares to the legendary superhot that spices life in remote India
Sagging Pants Butt Up Against the Law
Yet the droopy trousers trend lives on
Travel Photography: A Discussion With a Pro About Ethics and Techniques
The author discusses the ethics, joys and challenges of photography with Canadian travel photographer Matt Kadey
The Perils of Wearing Clothes
From toxins in textile dyes to torturous corsets, beauty has a long history of coming at a high cost
Coffee Here, and Coffee There: How Different People Serve the World’s Favorite Hot Drink
Coffee is black and bitter—but global travelers find a surprisingly wide range of forms of the world's favorite hot beverage
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