Technology
Technological applications and advances in computers, agriculture, industry and transportation
Introducing Smithsonian Magazine on the iPad
All the history, travel, science and culture you love in a new and exciting format
February 07, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
The Super Bowl’s Love Affair With Jetpacks
Thankfully, this Super Bowl spectacle never had a wardrobe malfunction
February 03, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
What to Look for on the Train Ride From New York to Washington
Sure, the view along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor has its share of grime. But there are also sights that'll make you want to put away your smart phone
February 02, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
The Devastating Costs of the Amazon Gold Rush
Spurred by rising global demand for the metal, miners are destroying invaluable rainforest in Peru's Amazon basin
February 2012 |
By Donovan Webster
The Mystique of Route 66
Foreign tourists and local preservationists are bringing stretches of the storied roadway back to life
February 2012 |
By David Lamb
Jose Andres and Other Toques of the Town Honor Alice Waters
What do you cook for famed chef Alice Waters? Washington's culinary celebrities faced this challenge at the unveiling of her portrait at the Smithsonian
January 31, 2012 |
By Jeanne Maglaty
L.A.’s Answer to the Yellow Brick Road
A group including the actor Jack Nicholson has tried to get Dirt Mulholland on the National Register of Historic Places
January 30, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
Sunday Funnies Blast Off Into the Space Age
When Dr. Athelstan Spilhaus met President Kennedy in 1962, JFK told him, "The only science I ever learned was from your comic strip."
January 27, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
The World’s First “Carphone”
Meet the 1920 radio enthusiast who had the foresight to invent the annoying habit of talking on the phone while in the car.
January 25, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
Cruise Ship Disaster Arouses Concerns, Memory
The Genoa-based Costa cruise line, owner of the stricken Concordia, has had troubles before
January 20, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
Catch and Release: A Wicked Game?
Without doubt, fishing is an effective means of bringing people to the water's edge, their eyes open and hearts thumping, to admire the ecosystem and consider the value in preserving it
January 19, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Hunting Trout in Haunting Waters
Andrew was sullen, silent and soaked to the skin after spending eight hours in the rain standing in a river waving a stick
January 17, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Trade Your Trouble for a Bubble
Sightseeing across the country in an atomic-powered "pleasure ball"
January 13, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
Moving Sidewalks Before The Jetsons
The public's fascination with the concept of "movable pavement" extends back more than 130 years
January 11, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
Mobsters Tremble Before the Crime-Fighting, Red Flying Gondola
Science-fiction pioneer Hugo Gernsback predicted that, as long as police officers were stuck on terra firma, criminals always would have the edge
January 06, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
Into New Zealand’s Strange Waters and Prehistoric Forests
The absence of native mammals, aside from bats and pinnipeds, gives the impression that New Zealand is still in the age of dinosaurs
January 05, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Journey to the Bottom of the Earth – Almost
Anyone would be a fool to visit the South Island and not see the cliffs and marine scenery of Milford Sound, maybe the closest thing the real world knows to the fabled “Cliffs of Insanity" of The Princess Bride
January 04, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Traveling Light in the New Year
Don't overpack is a rule to live by. So why not declutter on New Year's Eve
December 29, 2011 |
By Susan Spano
Friends in the House, Hostility at Home
Coya Knutson won a seat in the U.S. House in 1954 but was undone by a secret she brought to Washington
December 29, 2011 |
By Gilbert King
Santa’s Trusty Robot Reindeer
A special visit from the Ghost of Christmas Retro-Future
December 23, 2011 |
By Matt Novak


