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A blue whale has been gathering food deep within the water column and reaches the surface with its throat pleats still distended, forming an enormous pouch. Within a few moments the whale will right itself up, expell the water, swallow the food, take several breaths and dive again.

The Global Web of Subsea Cables That Connects the World Can Now Detect Whales—Even When They’re Silent

A diving whale revealed how existing technology makes it possible to monitor cetaceans swimming quietly across the seabed

Way Bandy touches up Crystal Gayle's makeup on location for "The Crystal Gayle Special," September 1, 1979

Way Bandy Was One of the Most Influential Makeup Artists in the World. He Challenged Stigmas in the 1980s by Making Sure His Death From AIDS Was Widely Known

He instructed the executors of his will to make his specific cause of death from the disease public during a time when many others feared doing so

A John Trumbull painting of George Washington's capture of Hessian soldiers in Trenton, New Jersey, in December 1776

America's 250th Anniversary

The Hessians Were Supposed to Quickly End the American Revolution. Instead, They Endured Years of Battles and Suffered Thousands of Casualties

Some 30,000 German soldiers fought for the British during the war. Contrary to popular belief, they weren’t mercenaries, and not all were actually Hessians

The global bodyboard market is estimated to reach $623.6 million by 2035, up from $296.3 million in 2024.

How the Boogie Board Became One of Summer’s Most Popular Toys

Fifty-five years ago, surfer Tom Morey cut a piece of polyethylene foam with a carving knife and created a wave-riding board with a low barrier of entry

Each day, elephants roam the dry riverbed in Amboseli National Park in search of water and food. 

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

These 20 Playful and Powerful Photos of Elephants Will Leave You Astounded By the Majestic Mammals

On this World Elephant Day, you’ll never forget your favorite pachyderm among the selected memorable images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

The mushroom Psilocybe pelliculosa is one of several species that produce psilocybin, a natural compound with hallucinogenic properties.

Could Psilocybin Help Treat Anorexia? A Small Clinical Trial Suggests the Psychedelic May Make Patients More Open to Recovery

The drug, paired with intensive psychological support, may loosen the rigid patterns of thought associated with the eating disorder, scientists say—but they caution that it is not a magic cure

Speedy called his wife, Frances, by many affectionate pet names, including "Meatball."

Cool Finds

This Box of 300 Love Letters Showed Up Out of the Blue. Who Was the Whimsical World War II Soldier Who Wrote Them?

Nobody knows who dropped Speedy Weber’s correspondence at a USO office in 2022. Researchers have finally tracked down two living relatives who remember him

The crew of the Artemis 2 mission captured this image of a total solar eclipse just after rounding the far side of the moon on April 6.

‘Like a Hole in the Universe’: Artemis 2 Astronaut Victor Glover Reflects on Seeing a Total Solar Eclipse While Flying by the Moon

The four astronauts who rounded Earth’s natural satellite in April got an extremely rare view of the dark lunar disk blocking out the sun. Researchers say the observations provide unique scientific value for understanding our star’s mysteries

A koala, Phascolarctos cinereus, with her babies at Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, 2011

This Amazing Archive of Animal Photography Reveals 18,000 Species and Counting. Here’s How Joel Sartore Built His ‘Photo Ark’

For 20 years, the National Geographic photographer has showcased Earth’s animals in a series of striking images that make even the tiniest creatures look immense

A surfer rides a wave during a competition in the Ngor district of Dakar, Senegal, the most westerly point of mainland Africa.

Big Waves Meet Biodiversity: Why Surfing Paradises Could Offer a Key Opportunity for Marine Conservation

A recent mapping study examines places in northwestern Africa where coastal ecosystems overlap with surf breaks, highlighting areas that could support recreation, the environment and local economies, if protected

With Eco Purge, Arya Satheesh won the European category of the 2026 Earth Prize, the largest environmental competition in the world for young students. She was awarded $12,500 to continue to develop her prototype.

This High Schooler Invented a Plant-Based Plastic That Removes Microplastics From the Environment as It Biodegrades

Eighteen-year-old Arya Satheesh created her award-winning Eco Purge to help address the global problem of plastic pollution

A digital illustration of typical prokaryotes—cells that do not contain a nucleus. Bacteria and archaea are the two kinds of prokaryotes on Earth, and their ancestors were the first organisms to evolve.

A New Study Points to Two Origins of Life on Earth by Tracing Early Chemical Reactions in Single-Celled Organisms

The work challenges the assumption that all life descended from one free-living cell. Instead, it suggests that two microbial lineages, the bacteria and archaea, evolved independently from a primordial, nonliving ancestor

A 2014 photo of Teruo Murakami, the last survivor of the Cowra breakout. He died in 2023 at 103.

Why Has History Forgotten World War II’s Largest Prison Break, Which Claimed the Lives of More Than 200 Japanese POWs?

During the 1944 Cowra breakout, over 900 prisoners attempted to escape from an Allied camp in Australia. The uprising resulted in the deaths of 234 Japanese men and 5 Australians

Nick Cave in his studio with objects featured in the "Mammoth" exhibition

How Artist Nick Cave Memorializes His Ancestors Through ‘Mammoth’ Work

An exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum spotlights how everyday objects can serve as the foundation for artistic expression

When did summer "beach reads" become a part of our culture? Book historian Donna Harrington-Lueker takes us back to mid-19th-century leisure.

The History of the Beach Read, From 19th-Century ‘Moral Debasement’ to BookTok

The still-popular genre got its start 150 years ago, when publishers profited off the rise of travel in the United States during an otherwise slow publishing season

The dominant female wolf of Yellowstone's Canyon pack on February 26, 2015

Rooted in the American West: Food, History and Culture

Yellowstone Is Among the World’s Best Places to See Wild Wolves. Here’s the Story of the Animal Called Both ‘Public Enemy’ and Cultural Icon

A century ago, resident wolves were eliminated from the park. In 1995, biologists brought them back, marking a historic reintroduction of a top carnivore

Formerly a royal residence, the Louvre Palace is now home to one of the world’s most famous museums.  

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

See 20 Picturesque Views of Paris

France’s charming city

Of the estimated 899 species of ticks worldwide, about 90 are found in the continental U.S.; however, only four species are responsible for most of the infections found in the U.S. today.

The First At-Home Test for Infected Ticks Could Improve Lyme Disease Diagnosis

LymeAlert will hit the market in August. The latest tool against the tick-borne illness could become a medicine cabinet staple

A blacktip shark, above, looks and behaves like a spinner shark. Scientists are tracking spinner sharks to get a clearer idea of the species' whereabouts.

These Shark Look-Alikes Have Long Confounded Fishers and Scientists on the East Coast. Tracking Where They Migrate Could Help Clear the Confusion

Researchers are tagging and tracking spinner sharks to map out their geographic distribution, because they’ve seen that the range of the very similar blacktip shark has shifted

At Nona Manis, dining guests can enjoy a prix-fixe menu that may include any of these dishes: ikan pindang patin (braised fish), steak semur (steak with kecap manis sauce), laksa (seafood curry soup), oyster sambal matah and oyster gulai Aceh (oyster on the half shell with Balinese sambal and Aceh curry).

A New Generation of Chefs Reimagines Indonesian Cuisine in the Netherlands to Tell the Stories of Its Origins

The shift reflects a larger cultural moment, with chefs asking whether the cuisine should remain tied to colonial nostalgia or evolve into a reflection of modern Indonesian identity

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