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Articles

Muir Glacier

Baked Alaska

A unique study documents the disappearance of Alaska’s glaciers, blamed on global warming

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World’s Unlikeliest Bestseller

Fifty years ago a brewer’s bet spawned a compelling compendium of feats, stunts and trivia

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It’s Over

We asked readers to tell us where they were and how they reacted to the news that World War II had ended. And what a response we got!

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War Stories

Remembering the sound and fury—and the joy—of the end of World War II

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The Price of Ambition

From the beginning, the cost of increasing and diffusing knowledge exceeded even Smithson’s generosity

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A Bittersweet Homecoming

As the corps finally makes contact with the Shoshone Indians, interpreter Sacagawea reunites with her family

Some mostly solitary species (such as these whitetip reef sharks near Costa Rica) gather to feed or mate.

Shark

Recent attacks on people off the Florida coast are a reminder of the animal’s fierce nature. Yet scientists say the predator is itself in grave danger

A growing number of U.S. firms dismantle used computers and send valuable parts (Circuit Boards #2, New Orleans, 2005) to companies that glean the semiprecious metals.

E-Gad!

Americans discard more than 100 million electronic devices each year. As “e-waste” piles up, so does concern about this growing threat to the environment

After the first atomic bomb explosion (seen here from 10,000 yards away, in a time series from .006 seconds to .081 seconds after detonation), Oppenheimer recalled, "a few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent."

Building the Bomb

A book about atomic scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer charts the debate over deployment of the first A-bomb and the anxiety that suffused its first live test

Dubbed the "human satellite," McCandless (bottom center, with the 1984 Challenger crew, including pilot-photographer Gibson, upper left) now works on space robots.

Footloose

The image of Bruce McCandless’ spacewalk two decades ago still amazes. It was the first untethered walk ever—and was among the last

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Ghost of a Chance

How did the ivory-billed woodpecker, which was feared extinct, hang on all these years?

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Give Weeds a Chance

How a cultivated dislike of gardening can lead to more time on the porch

The original Smokey Bear, playing in his pool at the National Zoo, sometime during the 1950s.

A Bear-Handed Grab

How a stranded cub became the living symbol for one of America’s best-known advertising campaigns

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Going for the Gold

A pop-music confection known as The Village People belted out disco hits in the 1970s that morphed into American standards

Life imitates Frederic Remington (models Josh and Rob Culbertson) at the annual invitation-only event known as the Artist Ride.

Cowboys and Artists

Each summer models decked out in period dress give artists a picture of life in the Wild West

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Making Tracks

On the trail of art thieves and elusive elephants

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The Power and the Glory

She bought the electric drill to get a tidier household. Then she found out about the secret sisterhood

"I really needed a haircut, so i stepped into Benny White's Arco Barber Shop. I sat down in that old, red chair and received one of the most attentive and quality haircuts of my life. Afterward I thanked White and asked him if he wouldn't mind me taking his portrait."

Through Our Readers’ Eyes

SMITHSONIAN’s second annual photo contest generates more than 30,000 entries

United States Attorney Carmen Ortiz (C) along with Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI's Boston Field Office Richard Des Lauriers (R) announce investigative developments in the 1990 art heist at the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum and appeal to the public for information regarding the return of several pieces during a news conference at the FBI offices in Boston, Massachusetts

Ripped from the Walls (and the Headlines)

Fifteen years after the greatest art theft in modern history the mystery may be unraveling

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