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An Industrious Grocer in the 1930s Wanted to Make It Easier for His Customers to Buy More. They Just Needed a Push

There was a time when shoppers could buy only as much as they could carry. And as ubiquitous as shopping carts are today, it initially took some convincing to use them

The Green Dragon Tavern, a coffeehouse in Boston that served as a meeting place for the Sons of Liberty

America's 250th Anniversary

In Colonial America, Patriots Flocked to Coffeehouses to Debate Politics and Sow the Seeds of Revolution

These storied establishments served up more than just hot drinks. They acted as intellectual hubs and meeting places for dissenters

Legendary actor Toshiro Mifune, defiant, in a 1954 French poster for Seven Samurai.

Even If You’ve Never Seen ‘Seven Samurai,’ You’ve Certainly Seen Movies Influenced by It

Director Akira Kurosawa broke all the rules—and budgets—of Japanese filmmaking with his 1954 classic. But the final product influenced a generation of directors

A John Trumbull painting of the death of General Hugh Mercer at the Battle of Princeton in 1777

America's 250th Anniversary

Ken Burns Says His New Documentary Forced Him to Revisit Everything He Thought He Knew About the American Revolution

Ahead of the PBS production’s premiere, the legendary filmmaker and co-director Sarah Botstein share insights on their research process and the surprising, long-overlooked stories featured in the six-part series

The Edmund Fitzgerald measured 729 feet long and had a gross tonnage of 13,632.

Nobody Knows What Sank the ‘Edmund Fitzgerald.’ But Its Doomed Final Voyage Will Always Be America’s Defining Shipwreck

Fifty years after the freighter disappeared into the depths of Lake Superior, the mystery of its demise—and the mournful ballad it inspired—still haunt the popular imagination

For more than four decades, the Athabascan Fiddle Festival has filled community halls in Fairbanks with a sound that is both global and distinctly Native.

How Old-Time Fiddle Music Took Root in Indigenous Alaska

In Fairbanks, fiddling thrives—bridging cultures, sustaining traditions and filling the dance floor with life

Made with more than 2,000 hand-blown glass flowers, artist Dale Chihuly created Fiori di Como, this colorful ceiling of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. 

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

These 15 Gorgeous Photographs Capture the Beautiful Art of Blown and Stained Glass

From cathedrals to train stations to museums, these masterful displays showcase the remarkable talent that goes into creating the fragile art form

Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring in Nuremberg, a new film written and directed by James Vanderbilt

Based on a True Story

The True Story Behind ‘Nuremberg,’ a WWII Drama About Hermann Göring’s Cat-and-Mouse Game With an American Psychiatrist

Starring Russell Crowe as the high-ranking Nazi and Rami Malek as Army officer Douglas M. Kelley, the film dramatizes the intense dynamic between its central characters during the Nuremberg trials

Michael Shannon as President James A. Garfield in Netflix's "Death by Lightning"

Based on a True Story

The Real Story Behind Netflix’s ‘Death by Lightning’ and the Shocking Assassination of President James A. Garfield

The new limited series dramatizes the brief tenure of the 20th commander in chief, who was fatally shot by Charles J. Guiteau, a lawyer who believed he’d secured Garfield’s election

Sydney Sweeney as Christy Martin in Christy, a new biopic that dramatizes the boxer's major fights alongside the struggles she faced in her personal life

Based on a True Story

The Real Story of Christy Martin, the Trailblazing Boxer Who ‘Created a Sport That Did Not Exist’

A new biopic starring Sydney Sweeney as the legendary athlete chronicles Martin’s fights in and outside of the ring

A company called Roofscapes has installed an experimental green roof over a zinc one at the Academy of Climate in Paris. A wooden platform, dotted with planters, runs along the building’s side, creating a terrace.

The Skyline of Paris Is Filled With Zinc Rooftops. But Can They Survive Climate Change?

Innovations are overdue, as the signature blue-gray metal roofs heat up in high temperatures, making living conditions in the apartments beneath them unbearable

Elsa Lanchester as The Bride in Bride of Frankenstein, 1935

This Designer Created Iconic Costumes for ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ and Other Classic Monster Movies. Her Mysterious Life Ended Tragically

Vera West made her mark on 20th-century horror cinema. Historians continue to ponder the sad circumstances of her story

The Walnut of Benevento (Sabbath of Witches), 1822-1826, by Giuseppe Pietro Bagetti

How This Italian Town Came to Be Known as the ‘City of Witches’

Centuries ago, it was said that Benevento was a gathering place for the occult. Today, superstitions still run deep

Hell, unknown artist, circa 1510 to 1520

This Disturbing 16th-Century Painting of Hell Linked Satan and His Demons With the New World Beyond Europe

The panel features monsters with African, Indigenous Caribbean and intersex features, encouraging viewers to connect the sins and punishments depicted to those considered “other”

While he racked up more medals than any other soldier in World War II, Audie Murphy wore this olive drab wool Eisenhower jacket, size 36.

Audie Murphy Was an Idol of the Silver Screen. That Came After He Was the Most-Decorated American Hero of World War II

He single-handedly held off 250 German troops and six tanks, saving an entire company. And that was just the start of what he accomplished in his too-short life

Winslow Homer’s 1892 painting The Blue Boat shows his masterful use of watercolor’s layering effects.

The Delicate Works of Winslow Homer Are About to Get Their Rare Moment in the Limelight

The watercolors of the American master will be on exhibition at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, some for the only time in a generation

Divers excavating the 12th-century Huaguangjiao One wreck uncover stacked Song dynasty bowls.

Treasure Trove of Shipwrecks Along China’s Coast Reveals How East Met West on the Maritime Silk Road

Sunken finds in the South China Sea testify to rich trade networks used over hundreds of years. The sea routes brought porcelain, tea and other goods from Asia to Africa, the Middle East and Europe

Père Lachaise Cemetery sprawls across 110 acres. “You don’t feel anymore that you are in Paris,” Benoît Gallot, the conservator, says. “All of your references fall away.”

Why Paris Designed Its Peculiarly Popular Grand Graveyards to Evoke a Celebration of Life Amid All the Death

Cemeteries that inspired parks serve as unlikely tourist attractions in the City of Light and prove that the end of the line is just the start of a new story

Flores holds up leaves from the Fittonia albivenis, a rainforest plant whose veins naturally form the patterns her people call kené. 

The Amazon Has Been This Peruvian Artist’s Home, Inspiration and Palette. Now the World Is Her Gallery

The art of making captivating Peruvian textiles has traditionally been anonymous work. But at 75, Sara Flores is making a name for herself with hypnotic abstractions

For his roaring comeback, Knievel jumps 14 Greyhound buses at the Kings Island amusement park in Mason, Ohio, in October 1975.

After Motorcycle Daredevil Evel Knievel Failed to Clear 13 Buses on a Jump Attempt, There Was Only One Thing to Do: Try 14

A wreck in London broke his bones but not his spirit. So he got back on his two-wheeled horse and sailed through the Ohio sky, with half the country watching

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