Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Stories from Jason Daley

The EU Mulls Ditching Daylight Saving Time

The European Commission is polling citizens about whether the 28-nation bloc should keep springing forward and falling back each year

Australian Reptiles And a Toad Named After Gollum on Latest Endangered Species Update

The IUCN Red List shows Oz’s reptiles are in trouble as well as flying foxes, a Jamaican rodent and a New Guinea butterfly

The antibiotic-resistant superbug MRSA

New “Immunobiotic” Could Treat Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs

The drug, which combines antibiotics and the body’s immune system, shows promise in early stages of testing

The foot bones of an Australopithecus Afarensis toddler show that the species retained some ape-like traits.

Ancient Toddler Was at Home on the Ground and in the Trees

The foot of a 2.5-year-old Austrolopithecus afarensis shows it had a grippy big toe that let it cling to its mom and climb tree trunks

Marc Fries examines a magnetic board looking for iron particles recovered from the sea floor.

A Research Ship Is Hunting Meteorite Fragments Off the Coast of Washington

The research ship E/V Nautilus is combing through samples and sediment hoping to recover the first space rock from the ocean floor

How a “Sultry” Statue of Liberty Cost the U.S. Post Office More Than $3.5 Million

A sculptor was awarded millions in royalties after the USPS accidentally used an image of his Las Vegas replica on a 2010 postage stamp

Islandiana lewisi, found in a single cave in southern Indiana

New Spider Species Discovered In Indiana Cave

The translucent sheet-weaving spider shows that scientists haven’t yet found everything in our own backyard

Part of the Danevirk wall surrounding Hedeby

Viking Archaeological Site and Others Earn World Heritage Status

The trading center of Hedeby and its surrounding wall are considered one of the most significant Viking sites in Northern Europe

Germany’s “Stonehenge” Reveals Evidence of Human Sacrifice

Archaeologists uncovered the remains of 10 women and children who may have been sacrificed at the Pömmelte enclosure, a 4,300-year-old Neolithic circle

The Fountain of Youth, Lucas Cranach the Elder

Study Suggests There’s No Limit on Longevity, But Getting Super Old Is Still Tough

After the age of 105, the odds of dying plateau, meaning it’s possible to live beyond the current record of 123 years

New Evidence Smashes Assumptions of Crushing Death for Pompeii Skeleton

Researchers found the intact skull of the skeleton that made headlines for being pinned beneath a giant stone block

How the Belize Barrier Reef Beat the Endangered List

An oil drilling moratorium, development restrictions and fishing reform has helped the 200-mile-reef come off Unesco’s endangered world heritage sites list

Our Galaxy Is Really Greasy and Smells Like Moth Balls

A new study estimates that a quarter to half the carbon in interstellar space is in the form of greasy aliphatic carbon

Now That the Smog Has Lifted, Astronomy Returns to London’s Royal Observatory

A new telescope that filters out light pollution and interference will watch the stars from the site constructed in 1675

The sculpture of St. George before and after

Restorationist Botches 16th-Century Spanish Statue of Saint

Reports indicate a local priest hired an art teacher to restore the polychromatic wooden statue, with cartoonish results

Route 66 and 10 Other Sites That Made the 2018 “Most Endangered Historic Places” List

The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual list is out

Australian Feral Cats Eat More Than a Million Reptiles Per Day

A new study shows cats snack on 258 reptile species, and could push some to the brink of extinction

Queen Elizabeth examines the bones of Charles Byrne in 1962.

Why the Skeleton of the “Irish Giant” Could Be Buried at Sea

Activists want the bones of Charles Byrne to be buried according to his wishes

The Physics Behind a Leaky Faucet’s Maddening ‘Plink’

Microphones and high-speed cameras show that what happens when a water droplet hits water is surprisingly complicated

Extinct Gibbon Species Discovered in 2,000-Year-Old Chinese Tomb

It’s believed the species represents a new genera of apes that may have died out just 300 years ago

Page 35 of 95