Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Stories from Sarah Kuta

As a mountain guide, Kami Rita is following in the footsteps of his father. But he says he doesn't see much of a future in the industry for his son, as climate change makes the job more dangerous.

This 55-Year-Old Sherpa Guide Just Summited Mount Everest for the 31st Time, Breaking His Own Record

Kami Rita has been scaling the world’s tallest mountain since 1994. He reaches the summit nearly every year—and sometimes twice in the same year

Geoscientist Martin Köhler stands in front of Maka Lahi, which measures 46 feet by 39 feet by 22 feet—about the same size as a two-story house.

A 164-Foot Tsunami Pushed This Enormous Boulder Atop a Cliff in Tonga 7,000 Years Ago

The hulking rock, called Maka Lahi, is the size of a two-story house and sits on a 120-foot-tall cliff, covered in vegetation

Stone Age humans were likely scavenging the remains of whales that washed ashore along the Bay of Biscay and fashioning them into tools. This projectile point made from a gray whale bone was found in Landes, France, and dated to between 17,500 and 18,000 years ago.

Scientists Discover the Oldest Known Tools Made From Whale Bones, Crafted in Western Europe 20,000 Years Ago

Stone Age humans scavenged the skeletons of several whale species along the Bay of Biscay in what is now southwestern France and northern Spain, according to a new study

The men summited Mount Everest just five days after leaving the United Kingdom.

Climbers Summit Mount Everest in Five Days Using Controversial Xenon Gas

The four British former special forces soldiers left the United Kingdom on May 16. By 7:10 a.m. on May 21, they were standing at the top of the 29,032-foot-tall peak

Conservators have spent the last 14 years carefully cleaning and restoring the 18th-century ship.

Revolutionary War-Era Gunboat Found Underneath World Trade Center Wreckage Finds a Permanent Home in Upstate New York

Researchers are reassembling the ship, which was likely built in the 1770s near Philadelphia

Anna's hummingbirds seem to be thriving amid urbanization in California, even as other hummingbird species have declined due to human activity.

California’s Hummingbirds Have Changed Their Beaks in Response to Backyard Feeders, Study Finds

With plenty of artificial nectar available, Anna’s hummingbirds have expanded their range northward and their beaks have tended to become longer and larger

The wreckage is submerged under nine feet of water in Lake Michigan.

He Went Out to Catch Fish in Lake Michigan—and Discovered a 102-Year-Old Shipwreck Instead

Angler Christopher Thuss stumbled upon the scuttled tugboat “J.C. Ames,” which was located just nine feet below the surface off the coast of Manitowoc, Wisconsin

England has long been considered the birthplace of modern soccer. But new archaeological evidence is challenging that long-held belief.

Where Was Soccer Invented? A New Archaeological Discovery Suggests Scotland, Not England, Was the Sport’s Birthplace

Archaeologists say they’ve found the ruins of a soccer field in southwest Scotland that date to the 17th century

Cooper's hawks are skilled hunters that feast on small and medium-sized birds.

A Young Cooper’s Hawk Learned to Use a Crosswalk Signal to Launch Surprise Attacks on Other Birds

Researcher Vladimir Dinets watched the bird repeatedly sneak behind a row of cars to ambush its unsuspecting prey

Researchers have used genomic sequencing to trace what they’re calling the “longest migration out of Africa.”

Scientists Use DNA to Trace Early Humans’ Footsteps From Asia to South America

Over thousands of years, humans from Eurasia trekked more than 12,400 miles to eventually reach the southernmost tip of South America, a new genetic investigation suggests

Trail cameras recorded nocturnal subalpine woolly rats roaming around in search of plants to eat.

See the First Photos and Videos of the Rare Subalpine Woolly Rat, a Massive but Elusive Rodent in New Guinea’s Mountains

Working with local Indigenous people, biologist František Vejmělka spent six months surveying the creatures that live on Mount Wilhelm in Papua New Guinea

"Purdubik's Cube" was developed and built by undergraduate students Junpei Ota, Aden Hurd, Matthew Patrohay and Alex Berta.

This Record-Setting Robot Can Solve a Rubik’s Cube Faster Than You Can Blink

Designed by a group of undergraduate students at Purdue University, the robot completes the puzzle in 0.103 seconds

After starring in numerous movies and television shows, Morris retired in 2006 and lived out his final days at the Colorado Gator Farm.

Morris, the Movie Star Alligator Who Appeared in ‘Happy Gilmore,’ Dies of Old Age

Based on his growth rate and tooth loss, the 640-pound gator was estimated to be at least 80. He starred in movies and TV shows between 1975 and 2006

A mother and baby whale spotted swimming near Kiama, New South Wales, Australia. 

Humpback Whales Give Birth Much Farther South Than Previously Thought, Study Finds

Researchers in Australia found records of humpback whale calves more than 900 miles farther south than expected

New research suggests using a thin, sharp knife and cutting slowly could help prevent crying while cutting onions.

What’s the Best Way to Cut Onions Without Crying? New Research Suggests That Thin, Sharp Blades Are Key to Minimizing Tears

For a new study, physicists visualized and quantified the tear-producing droplets that get expelled from onions when they’re cut

Notebooks decorated with swastikas were among the documents found in the wooden crates.

Boxes Full of Nazi Propaganda Discovered in the Basement of Argentina’s Supreme Court

Workers found crates packed with swastika-covered notebooks, postcards and photographs while preparing to move the court’s archives to a new museum

The lamp features the "sumac pattern," which Wright also used elsewhere throughout the Susan Lawrence Dana House.

This Lamp Just Became the Most Expensive Object Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright Ever Sold at Auction

The double-pedestal light fixture brought in $7.5 million. It was designed around 1903 for the Susan Lawrence Dana House, a 12,000-square-foot residence in Springfield, Illinois

The Schöningen spears on display in Germany

Nimble-Minded Neanderthals May Have Used These Wooden Spears to Hunt 200,000 Years Ago

New research shows that the weapons found in Germany are much younger than previously thought, suggesting they were made by skilled Neanderthal craftspeople

The healthy adult female was covered in curvy circles, similar to leopard spots.

This Eye-Catching Rattlesnake Found in Arizona Has Unusual ‘Leopard Spots,’ Likely From a Genetic Mutation

Snake wranglers safely relocated the healthy, female western diamondback from a backyard in Scottsdale, but they say the find is a first in their experience

The 140-foot Dutch vessel sank during a violent storm off the coast of South Australia in June 1857, killing 16 of the 25 crew members onboard

How Researchers Discovered a 168-Year-Old Dutch Shipwreck Off the Coast of Australia in Underwater ‘Blizzard’ Conditions

The Dutch merchant ship ‘Koning Willem de Tweede’ sank off the coast of South Australia in a violent storm in June 1857

Page 25 of 89