Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Stories from Meilan Solly

Every 30 seconds, the United States loses the equivalent of nine Grand Canyons to human development

The U.S. Loses a Football Field-Sized Patch of Nature Every 30 Seconds

A new report outlines the benefits offered by preserving 30 percent of the country’s remaining natural land and oceans by 2030

The author's son plans on releasing a trove of his father's unpublished works at some point during the next decade

J.D. Salinger’s Work Is Coming to E-Readers for the First Time

The author’s longtime publishing company will release four e-books in August

Neonics are responsible for 92 percent of the increase in U.S. agricultural toxicity

Toxic Pesticides Are Driving Insect ‘Apocalypse’ in the U.S., Study Warns

The country’s agricultural landscape is now 48 times more toxic to insects than it was 25 years ago

Toni Morrison, painted by Robert McCurdy, 2006, oil on canvas

Toni Morrison, ‘Beloved’ Author Who Cataloged the African-American Experience, Dies at 88

‘She changed the whole cartography of black writing,’ says Kinshasha Holman Conwill of the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Saber-toothed cats likely ambushed plant-eating prey in forests, not open grassland

Fossils Reveal Why Coyotes Outlived Saber-Toothed Cats

Contrary to popular belief, carnivorous cats and canines probably didn’t hunt the same limited pool of prey

Ginkgo has survived three mass extinctions, including the one that killed the dinosaurs.

Smithsonian Scientists Are Using Ginkgo Leaves to Study Climate Change—They Need Your Help

Citizen scientists can submit leaf samples from their hometowns through the end of August

An aerial view of meltwater rivers carving into the Greenland ice sheet on August 04, 2019.

Greenland Lost 12.5 Billion Tons of Ice in a Single Day

The amount of ice collectively lost last Wednesday and Thursday would be enough to cover Florida in almost five inches of water

Moving forward, individuals will only be able to spray paint the wall on specified days

Future Graffiti Additions to Prague’s John Lennon Wall Will Be Strictly Regulated

Local authorities are introducing security measures in response to vandalism, obscene graffiti

The musical finds the six queens competing for the dubious honor of telling the most tragic tale

The Six Wives of Henry VIII Are Coming to Broadway

In ‘Six,’ the Tudor queens get a chance to share their side of the story

Warmer temperatures yield more female hatchlings, while colder temperatures yield more males

Turtle Embryos May Be Able to Influence Their Sex by Moving Around Inside the Egg

When embryos found the so-called ‘Goldilocks’ temperature zone, sex selection was randomized, producing a nearly even split between males and females

Edward was born on Sunday, July 28, at the San Diego Zoo

Artificially Conceived Southern White Rhino Offers Hope for Critically Endangered Cousin

Scientists are working to bring northern white rhinos back from the brink by using southern females as surrogate mothers

Out of 200 styluses found during excavations, this was the only one with an inscription

This Ancient Roman Souvenir Stylus Is Inscribed With a Corny Joke

Loosely translated, the message reads, ‘I went to Rome and all I got you was this stylus’

Female (left) and male (right) black widow spiders

Male Black Widow Spiders Find Potential Mates by Following Other Suitors’ Trails

Although this strategy may seem counterintuitive, researchers say speedy tracking is an important factor in successful courtship

Excavation of a Celtic grave at the Kernschulhaus 2017

This Iron Age Celtic Woman Was Buried in a Hollowed-Out Tree Trunk

The woman performed little physical labor during her lifetime and enjoyed a rich diet of starchy and sweetened foods

The bottlenose mother, pictured here with her adoptive whale calf and biological daughter, exhibited unusually tolerant behavior

Researchers Document First Known Case of Dolphin Mom Adopting Whale Calf

The melon-headed male whale actively competed for his adoptive mother’s attention, repeatedly shoving his bottlenose dolphin sister out of the way

Ben Enwonwu, "Christine," 1971

Family Realizes Long-Forgotten Portrait Was Painted by Famed Nigerian Artist Ben Enwonwu

Last year, a similarly rediscovered portrait by Enwonwu sold for $1.6 million, setting an auction record for Nigerian Modernist art

Grasshoppers swarm a light a few blocks off the Strip on July 26, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Swarms of Grasshoppers Invading Las Vegas Are Visible on Radar

Experts say the insects are migrating north in response to unusually heavy rainfall in the region

Climate change-induced heatwaves trigger Arctic wildfires, which then release carbon dioxide and pollutants into the atmosphere

The Arctic Is Experiencing Its Worst Wildfire Season on Record

Arctic infernos released 50 megatons of carbon dioxide—the equivalent of Sweden’s total annual emissions—into the atmosphere in June alone

A picture of the XF8F-1 Bearcat. David L. Mandt was flying the same model when he crashed into the Chesapeake Bay.

Traces of WWII Veteran’s Doomed Final Flight May Have Been Located in the Chesapeake Bay

Few definitive traces of either the pilot or his plane have materialized since the 1945 crash

Etta Cone purchased Matisse's controversial 1907 painting, "Blue Nude," in 1926

Baltimore Museum of Art, Home to Largest Matisse Collection, Will Open Center Dedicated to Artist

The gallery’s Matisse holdings encompass more than 1,200 paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints

Page 20 of 49