History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places Smithsonian Magazine

When putting on or taking off a mask, handle it by the edges or straps to avoid contamination.

Can You Reuse a KN95 or N95 Mask? Experts Say Yes, but Follow These Steps

Regularly check for stretched-out straps, staining and soiling, which can compromise masks' ability to filter viruses like Covid-19

Some say the dish can be traced back to logging camps at the beginning of the 20th century, but others cite chili and cinnamon rolls as a once-essential part of their school lunch programs.

What's Up With the Pairing of Chili and Cinnamon Rolls?

Smart News

'Intriguing' Carbon Isotopes on Mars Could Be From Cosmic Dust, UV Radiation or Ancient Life

January 18, 2022 4:43 p.m.

Should NFTs Be Classified as Art? Wikipedia's Editors Vote 'No'

January 18, 2022 3:30 p.m.

Why the Eruption in Tonga Was a 'Once-in-a-Millennium' Event for the Volcano

January 18, 2022 3:18 p.m.

Did a Jewish Notary Betray Anne Frank to the Nazis?

January 18, 2022 2:50 p.m.

Ancient Roman Trading Settlement Unearthed 80 Miles From London

January 18, 2022 2:43 p.m.

New Funding Will Help Highlight Five Black History Sites in the American South

January 14, 2022

Latest Features

Stargazers watch Comet Neowise shoot across the sky on July 19, 2020 outside of Los Angeles, California.

Ten Dazzling Celestial Events to See in 2022

January 18, 2022 8:00 a.m.

Some say the dish can be traced back to logging camps at the beginning of the 20th century, but others cite chili and cinnamon rolls as a once-essential part of their school lunch programs.

What's Up With the Pairing of Chili and Cinnamon Rolls?

January 18, 2022 7:30 a.m.

Harry Hall, Campbell's chief agricultural expert, inspects tomatoes in his office at Campbell's research farm in Cinnaminson, New Jersey sometime in the 1920s.

How Campbell Soup Turned New Jersey Into a Tomato-Growing State

January 14, 2022

A tiger shark swims in the Bahamas. Over the past several decades, the predators ventured farther north in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean.

Some Tiger Sharks Are Migrating Farther North Due to Climate Change

January 13, 2022

A small stretch of an ancient cemetery in Naples is set to open to the public for the first time, shedding new light on the Italian city’s history and ancient Greek artistry.

A Long-Overlooked Necropolis in Naples Reveals the Enduring Influence of Ancient Greece

January 13, 2022

The Donner Summit tunnels and 13 others in the Sierra Nevada built by Chinese railroad workers remain a testament to ingenuity and industry.

The Quest to Protect California's Transcontinental Railroad Tunnels

January 12, 2022

The remote Kibish Formation, in southern Ethiopia, features layered deposits more than 300 feet thick that have preserved many ancient human tools and remains.

East Africa's Oldest Modern Human Fossil Is Way Older Than Previously Thought

January 12, 2022

Pencil these shows in, but keep your eraser handy. With every hope that Covid-restrictions will soon give way to happier times ahead, the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. and New York City are planning a bright year of grand new showings.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Twenty-Two Smithsonian Shows to See in 2022

January 11, 2022

Current Issue
January/February 2022

Smithsonian magazine January/February 2022 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

Why the Eruption in Tonga Was a 'Once-in-a-Millennium' Event for the Volcano

The blast, which sent tsunami waves across the Pacific, left thousands of Tongans without access to water and power

2.

Can You Reuse a KN95 or N95 Mask? Experts Say Yes, but Follow These Steps

Regularly check for stretched-out straps, staining and soiling, which can compromise masks' ability to filter viruses like Covid-19

3.

Outdoor Cats Are Using $500 Starlink Satellite Dishes as Self-Heating Beds

The devices—developed by Elon Musk's SpaceX—have a warming feature to prevent snow built up from disrupting the signal

4.

'Intriguing' Carbon Isotopes on Mars Could Be From Cosmic Dust, UV Radiation or Ancient Life

NASA scientists compared the data to chemical signatures of biological processes on Earth and found some similarities to billion-year-old microbes

5.

Ten Dazzling Celestial Events to See in 2022

Stargazers in North America can look forward to meteor showers, lunar eclipses and a stunning multi-planet lineup this year

Special Report

Covid-19

Bringing historical context and scientific evidence as the pandemic unfolds

View Full Report

Could Skin Patches Be the Future of Covid Vaccines?

How a Public Health Campaign in the Warsaw Ghetto Stemmed the Spread of Typhus

Could This Chewing Gum Reduce the Spread of Covid-19?

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Smithsonian Channel

Preview thumbnail for video 'A Vervet Monkey Befriends Some Hostile Dogs

A Vervet Monkey Befriends Some Hostile Dogs

Preview thumbnail for video 'How the Meaning of Thanksgiving Has Changed

How the Meaning of Thanksgiving Has Changed

Preview thumbnail for video 'Manta Rays Are Smart Enough to Give These Fish Instructions

Manta Rays Are Smart Enough to Give These Fish Instructions

Photo of the day

I had been kayaking before sunrise for many weekends in hopes of seeing moose. This particular morning we saw a female and then a bull came out in the fog as the sun was coming up. You are in such awe being on the water with the moose.

Kayaking at sunrise with a moose

History

The multidisciplinary team suggests that Arnold van den Bergh, a notary and member of Amsterdam's Jewish Council, gave the Secret Annex's address to the Nazis to avoid deportation.

Did a Jewish Notary Betray Anne Frank to the Nazis?

A six-year investigation posits that Arnold van den Bergh disclosed the diarist's hiding place to protect his family from deportation

A small stretch of an ancient cemetery in Naples is set to open to the public for the first time, shedding new light on the Italian city’s history and ancient Greek artistry.

A Long-Overlooked Necropolis in Naples Reveals the Enduring Influence of Ancient Greece

The Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum preserves photographs and artifacts from the civil rights movement.

New Funding Will Help Highlight Five Black History Sites in the American South

Science

Stargazers watch Comet Neowise shoot across the sky on July 19, 2020 outside of Los Angeles, California.

Ten Dazzling Celestial Events to See in 2022

Stargazers in North America can look forward to meteor showers, lunar eclipses and a stunning multi-planet lineup this year

When putting on or taking off a mask, handle it by the edges or straps to avoid contamination.

Can You Reuse a KN95 or N95 Mask? Experts Say Yes, but Follow These Steps

A tiger shark swims in the Bahamas. Over the past several decades, the predators ventured farther north in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean.

Some Tiger Sharks Are Migrating Farther North Due to Climate Change

Innovation

The gene-edited pig heart recipient, who was ineligible for a human heart transplant, is doing well three days after the surgery.

In a First, Man Receives a Heart From a Gene-Edited Pig

The swine-to-person cardiac transplant offers hope for thousands in need of organs

Ben Franklin by Joseph-Siffred Duplessis, ca 1785

Ben Franklin Lives in Your Smartphone

(Top) Leila Strickland, Michelle Egger, Toby Kiers, Colin Averill, J. Richard Gott (Middle) Leslie Jones-Dove, Devshi Mehrotra, Prisha Shroff, Iké Udé (Bottom) Tim Farrelly, Omar Salem, David Deneher, Victor A. Lopez-Carmen, Doris Sung

Sixteen Innovators to Watch in 2022

Arts & Culture

Some say the dish can be traced back to logging camps at the beginning of the 20th century, but others cite chili and cinnamon rolls as a once-essential part of their school lunch programs.

What's Up With the Pairing of Chili and Cinnamon Rolls?

Why kids across the western United States came to find the unlikely combination in their school lunches

The new technique can distinguish artists based on small samples of their brushwork.

New Tech Can Distinguish Brush Strokes of Different Artists

Pencil these shows in, but keep your eraser handy. With every hope that Covid-restrictions will soon give way to happier times ahead, the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. and New York City are planning a bright year of grand new showings.

Twenty-Two Smithsonian Shows to See in 2022

Travel

The Donner Summit tunnels and 13 others in the Sierra Nevada built by Chinese railroad workers remain a testament to ingenuity and industry.

The Quest to Protect California's Transcontinental Railroad Tunnels

Built by Chinese immigrants in the 1860s, the caverns cutting through Donner Summit helped unite the country

Marchand and Meffre discovered thousands of early 20th century theaters across the U.S. and Canada, and then spent the next 15 years photographing them.

Eight Historic Movie Theaters With Interesting Second Acts

Pencil these shows in, but keep your eraser handy. With every hope that Covid-restrictions will soon give way to happier times ahead, the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. and New York City are planning a bright year of grand new showings.

Twenty-Two Smithsonian Shows to See in 2022

At the Smithsonian

Pencil these shows in, but keep your eraser handy. With every hope that Covid-restrictions will soon give way to happier times ahead, the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C. and New York City are planning a bright year of grand new showings.

Twenty-Two Smithsonian Shows to See in 2022

Falcon hunting, Watergate, a Kusama mirror room and the new Latino Gallery await

Ben Franklin by Joseph-Siffred Duplessis, ca 1785

Ben Franklin Lives in Your Smartphone

A first edition of Phillis Wheatley's Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773), written while the poet was enslaved to John Wheatley of Boston. The book has a brown leather cover, the original Morocco spine label and a frontispiece featuring a portrait of Phillis by Scipio Morehead.

How Phillis Wheatley Beat All Expectations