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Authors and playwrights in 18th-century Europe helped make science accessible to the common reader.

How 18th-Century Writers Created the Genre of Popular Science

French writers such as Voltaire and Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle helped shape the Enlightenment with stories of science

The ancient scorched-earth warfare tactic of well poisoning is still in use today

The History of Poisoning the Well

From ancient Mesopotamia to modern-day Iraq, the threat to a region’s water supply is the cruelest cut of all

Paella, a national favorite in Spain, is a hearty dish prominently featuring two of Linford's Seven Wonders—rice and tomato. It may be seasoned with salt and chili flakes as well.

The Mouthwatering History of Seven Fundamental Foodstuffs

A new Smithsonian book whisks readers on a culinary odyssey, tracing the history of salt, pork, honey, chili, tomato, rice and chocolate

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Smithsonian Magazine Nominated for Two National Magazine Awards

Recognized for general excellence for the second time, the publication was also recognized for feature writing

Though Charles Darwin is most famous for his voyage aboard the HMS Beagle and his theory of natural selection, the naturalist was, at heart, a botanist.

How a Love of Flowers Helped Charles Darwin Validate Natural Selection

Though his voyage to the Galapagos and his work with finches dominate the narrative of the famed naturalist, he was, at heart, a botanist

Château de Chambord.

Explore France’s Loire Valley in the Footsteps of Leonardo da Vinci

Five centuries after his death, visitors can pay homage to the artist at these sites in central France where he spent his final years

An American infantry camp in Siberia, Russia, December 1918

World War I: 100 Years Later

The Forgotten Story of the American Troops Who Got Caught Up in the Russian Civil War

Even after the armistice was signed ending World War I, the doughboys clashed with Russian forces 100 years ago

In 2018, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation published its midpoint assessment of the on-going restoration efforts for the country's largest estuary.

Checking In on the Health and Vigor of the Chesapeake Bay

As clean-up milestones are registered by a recent assessment of the nation’s largest estuary, a Smithsonian geographer drops in on the region

The stone circle Ring of Brodgar on the Orkney Islands, Scotland.

Europe’s Megalithic Monuments Originated in France and Spread by Sea Routes, New Study Suggests

The ancient burial structures, strikingly similar all across Europe and the mediterranean, have puzzled scientists and historians for centuries

Pop History

There Was the Magazine Quiz. Then Came the Internet. What Now?

From the “Cosmo Quiz” to Quizilla to Buzzfeed… what’s next?

Blair Hall, a dormitory at Princeton University that was built in 1897 and continues to house students today

The Evolution of the College Dorm Chronicles How Colleges Became Less White and Male

What the architecture and history of student housing tell us about higher education

Heliconius cydno chioneus

The Reason These Poisonous Butterflies Don’t Mate Is Written in Their DNA

Wing color and mate preference seem to be genetically bound, leading these tropical butterflies to only choose mates that look like them

Items on display at the recently opened KGB Spy Museum in New York

The Incomplete History Told by New York’s K.G.B. Museum

Designed to be apolitical, the attraction offers whiz-bang tech without the agency’s brutal past

The Necco candy factory used to produce piles of Sweethearts.

The Pharmacist Who Launched America’s Modern Candy Industry

Oliver Chase invented a lozenge-cutting machine that led to Necco wafers, Sweethearts and the mechanization of candy making

The complicated tree of human evolution could include extinct species that have not yet been discovered.

Artificial Intelligence Study of Human Genome Finds Unknown Human Ancestor

The genetic footprint of a “ghost population” may match that of a Neanderthal and Denisovan hybrid fossil found in Siberia

We appear to be experiencing a loneliness epidemic.

Can a Pill Fight Loneliness?

A University of Chicago scientist thinks the hormone pregnenolone might reduce lonely people’s fear of connecting—and their risk of serious health problems

Expect a hair-raising good time at the annual International Hair Freezing Contest.

Expect Stiff Competition at This Year’s International Hair Freezing Contest

The annual event at Canada’s Takhini Hot Pools draws people from around the world competing for the title of the world’s coolest ’do

Visitors can still see iconic aircraft, like the Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis (right) and Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis in the centralized “Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall.”

National Air and Space Museum Says Pardon Our Renovation, but Come Anyway

In need of a new facade, the museum undergoes top-to-bottom change, bringing state-of-the-art technology and 21st century stories into its exhibitions

Lego's Duplo bricks have been in production for 50 years.

How Lego Patents Helped Build a Toy Empire, Brick by Brick

The Danish toy company invented its basic brick, then designed a toddler-friendly version, before adding mini figures to the mix

Names smoked into the ceiling date back to the 1800s

American South

Enslaved Tour Guide Stephen Bishop Made Mammoth Cave the Must-See Destination It Is Today

In the 1830s and ‘40s, the pioneering spelunker mapped out many of the underground system’s most popular spots

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