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Elizabeth arrives in Jamestown, Virginia, at the start of a visit to the United States in October 1957.

Why Women in 1950s America Looked to Elizabeth II as a Source of Inspiration

The British queen ascended to the throne at a time when most women were expected to conform to traditional domestic roles

Migrating waterbirds over South Dakota’s Huron Wetland Management District on North America’s Central Flyway.

Scientists Are Using These High-Tech Tools to Study Bird Migration

Tracking the journeys of different species is key to protecting them from habitat loss and other threats

Elizabeth remained staunchly tight-lipped, rarely commenting publicly on current events.

Elizabeth II Was an Enduring Emblem of the Waning British Empire

The British queen died on Thursday at age 96

Aerial view of the usually submerged ruins of the village of Aceredo in northwestern Spain on February 15, 2022

This Summer’s Drought Is Europe’s Worst in 500 Years. What Happened Last Time?

The 1540 megadrought brought mass suffering to the continent, but European society quickly bounced back

Scientists are beginning to understand when and why minds start to wander.

Why Do Our Minds Wander?

A scientist says mind-wandering or daydreaming help prepare us for the future

Burls are bark-covered growths that can protrude from a tree’s trunk. They contain unsprouted bud tissue, and produce a wood that’s valued for its unique grain and smooth workability.

What Is the Financial Value of an Old-Growth Tree?

In setting fines for timber poaching, experts are looking at different ways to calculate the worth of trees

The uncovered skeleton shows where the lower left leg was amputated at the tibia and fibula.

Earliest Known Amputation Was Performed in Borneo 31,000 Years Ago

Prehistoric hunter gatherers carried out the surgery thousands of years before the previous recognized example

In “Postage Pairings,” from the National Portrait Gallery, host Kim Sajet speaks with the Smithsonian's Daniel Piazza, curator of philately, about postage stamps (left: 29c single, july 30, 1993) reproduced from portraits (right: Benjamin Franklin by Joseph Siffred Duplessis, c. 1785).

The Revolutionary Role Mail Played in America’s Fight for Independence

Hear about the colonial period postal service in the latest “Portraits” podcast

Dehydrated carrageen looks nothing like the beautiful red fronds easily identified in coastal rocky pools.

A Brief History of Ireland’s Carrageen Moss Pudding

The curious dessert—combining a seaweed found on the Emerald Isle’s coast with dairy—lies in the hands of regular folks who enjoy a challenge

Lions in South Africa’s Greater Kruger National Park are feared by many different prey animals, which will run away as soon as they hear a lion growl.

How Animals Survive in a Savanna Full of Predators

Ecologists have documented a hierarchy of fear in the South African grassland, and the king of beasts is at the top

Against all the odds—of her sex, ethnicity and time—Seacole would launch herself into the heart of the war effort, and with it earn herself a unique place in the British public’s consciousness.

A Historian’s Quest to Unravel the Secrets of Mary Seacole, an Innovative, Long-Overlooked Black Nurse

During the Crimean War, the Jamaican businesswoman operated a storehouse and restaurant that offered food, supplies and medicine to British soldiers

The Space Launch System Rocket on the pad on August 17

The Revolution in Moon Exploration

Artemis 1 Launch Postponed Again and What Else You Need to Know About the Mission

NASA’s historic return to the moon will begin when the rocket takes off from Florida

Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty (1970). Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA. Mud, precipitated salt crystals, rocks, water. 1,500 ft. (457.2 m) long and 15 ft. (4.6 m) wide. Collection Dia Art Foundation. Photograph: William T. Carson, 2020

How Utah’s ‘Spiral Jetty’ Is Drawing Attention to the Climate Crisis

Years of drought have exposed Robert Smithson’s massive earthwork in the Great Salt Lake

A vendor displays chili peppers at a local market in India. 

Why Do Some Humans Love Chili Peppers?

An anthropologist traces the origins and paths of one of his favorite kinds of plants

A worker sorts coffee beans at the Lamastus Family Estate farm in Boquete, a region known the world over for its coffee varieties.

Panama

Experience Panama’s Coffee Farming Tradition in the Chiriquí Highlands

A coffee circuit connects 15 farms that offer tours and tastings in what’s been called the “Napa Valley of coffee”

An inmate firefighter monitors flames as a house burns in the Napa wine region of California on October 9, 2017.

Untold Stories of American History

The History of California’s Inmate Firefighter Program

The initiative, which finds prisoners working as first responders and rescuers, dates back to the 1940s

Mikhail Gorbachev died on August 30, 2022, at age 91.

The Contradictory Legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev

The Soviet leader, who died on August 30 at age 91, attempted to enact “revolution from above”

A registered nurse measures out a monkeypox vaccine in Miami, Florida.

Six Big Questions About the Monkeypox Virus, Answered

The United States recently declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency. Here’s what you need to know about the disease

In the not-so-distant past, the Russian and American governments talked up the shared crucibles of their two mid-19th century leaders as a way of improving diplomatic relations.

Before Lincoln Issued the Emancipation Proclamation, This Russian Czar Freed 20 Million Serfs

The parallels between the U.S. president and Alexander II, both of whom fought to end servitude in their nations, are striking

An artist’s rendering of astronauts working near NASA’s Artemis base camp, complete with a rover and RV.

The Revolution in Moon Exploration

Four Things We’ve Learned About NASA’s Planned Base Camp on the Moon

Eventually the station will allow astronauts to spend up to two months on the lunar surface

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