Anna Diamond

Anna Diamond is the former assistant editor for Smithsonian magazine.

The word "teetotaler" dates back to the temperance movement that preceded Prohibition.

Where Does the Word 'Teetotaler' Come From? And More Questions From Our Readers

You've got questions, we've got experts

This school year, three new Smithsonian lesson plans on the Inka Empire, Native American treaties and the history of 19th-century Cherokee removal became available to K-12 educators.

Inside a New Effort to Change What Schools Teach About Native American History

A new curriculum from the American Indian Museum brings greater depth and understanding to the long-misinterpreted history of indigenous culture

The jumping that you see in cute goat videos online is a natural behavior.

Do Goats Really Love to Jump? And More Questions From Our Readers

You've got questions, we've got experts

Photography was so expensive when it was first introduced that people treated getting their photo taken like a once-in-a-lifetime portrait opportunity.

Why Don't People Smile in Old Photographs? And More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

A team from Howard University’s Department of Communication, Culture and Media Studies and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival recorded voices from the #DontMuteDC movement on June 6: (L to R) Donald Campbell, Ron Moten, Dr. Natalie Hopkinson, Dr. Brandi Summers, Tone P, Nico Hobson.

The Social Power of Music Will Take Center Stage at the 53rd Annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival

The D.C. tradition will hit the National Mall for two action-packed days this weekend. Here's what to know about this year's lineup

Drivers wait in the drive-thru line at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in Alhambra, California, on August 30, 2018.

A Crispy, Salty, American History of Fast Food

Adam Chandler’s new book explores the intersection between fast food and U.S. history

A volcano can provide a great deal of geothermal energy

Could Yellowstone's Volcanoes Provide Geothermal Power and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Tien Fuh Wu (standing in the back, on the left) and Donaldina Cameron (seated, center) with a group of women who may have been Mission Home staffers.

The Women Who Waged War Against Sex Trafficking in San Francisco

"The White Devil’s Daughters" examines the enslavement of Chinese women in the late-19th century and how it was defeated

An image of a lion, like the designs on Lydian coins during the Iron Age

What Was the World's First Currency and More Questions From Our Readers

You've got questions, we've got experts

Facebook staff would only later learn of the unintended consequences of the "Like" button

Understanding the Mind of the Coder and How It Shapes the World Around Us

Clive Thompson’s new book takes readers deep into the history and culture of computer programming

Dragons in Chinese art represent the emperor.

What Do Dragons Symbolize and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Middletown, Pennsylvania in 1979 in the wake of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident

For Those Living Nearby, the Memory of the Three Mile Island Accident Has a Long Half-Life

Robert Reid, then the mayor of nearby Middletown, recalls the partial meltdown of the nuclear reactor more than 40 years ago

Women have graced coinage since the third century B.C.

Who Was the First Woman Depicted on Currency and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

How First Lady Sarah Polk Set a Model for Conservative Female Power

The popular and pious wife to President James Polk had little use for the nascent suffrage movement

Le Roux’s diplomatic passport from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, under the name Paul Solotshi Calder Le Roux

The Computer Programmer Who Ran a Global Drug Trafficking Empire

A new book uncovers the intricacies of Paul Le Roux’s cartel and how it fueled the opioid epidemic ravaging the U.S. today

George Washington takes command of the Continental army.

The Plot to Kill George Washington

In <em>The First Conspiracy</em>, thriller writer Brad Meltzer uncovers a real-life story too good to turn into fiction

Damage to the Philippine Legislative Building as a result of World War II. At the time, the Philippines was a U.S. colony.

Telling the History of the U.S. Through Its Territories

In "How to Hide an Empire," Daniel Immerwahr explores America far beyond the borders of the Lower 48

One of this issue's questions is about the starfish's namesake shape.

Why Are Starfish Shaped Like Stars and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

If Light Can't Escape Black Holes, How Do We Get Photos of Them... and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Viggo Mortensen (left) and Mahershala Ali star in Green Book.

The True Story of the 'Green Book' Movie

Jazz, race and an unlikely friendship inspire the new film about navigating Jim Crow America

Page 2 of 4