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The breakthrough propeller, its blades shaped by hatchet and drawknife from two-ply spruce, was sheathed in linen and sealed with aluminum powder mixed into a heavy varnish.

Why Wilbur Wright Deserves the Bulk of the Credit for the First Flight

A new book advances a controversial theory about the singular contribution that went into the brothers’ pioneering achievement

If Light Can’t Escape Black Holes, How Do We Get Photos of Them… and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Ida O’Keeffe created seven abstract paintings of Cape Cod’s Highland Light (pictured: Variation on a Lighthouse Theme V). The first in the acclaimed series has been lost.

Who Was Ida O’Keeffe, Georgia’s Lesser-Known, But Perhaps More-Talented, Sister?

The painter who toiled in the shadow of her celebrated sibling is the subject of a new, major exhibition

About 65 percent of Americans will send Christmas letters or cards this holiday season.

The History of Our Love-Hate Relationship With the Christmas Letter

How the “Dear Friends” missive started and how it has survived the Facebook age

What the Popularity of ‘Fortnite’ Has in Common With the 20th Century Pinball Craze

Long before parents freaked over the ubiquitous video game, they flipped out over another newfangled fad

In 1963, Herbert A. Gilbert filed a patent for “a safe and harmless means for and method of smoking.”

Plans for the First E-cigarette Went Up in Smoke 50 Years Ago

Herbert A. Gilbert invented his “Smokeless” in 1963, but he couldn’t convince any companies to bring the device to market

A pipe from the Lower Yukon region of Alaska.

North America’s Earliest Smokers May Have Helped Launch the Agricultural Revolution

As archaeologists push back the dates for the spread of tobacco use, new questions are emerging about trade networks and agriculture

One of NIST’s ytterbium optical lattice clocks.

Scientists Measure the Second With Record-Breaking Precision

A new generation of optical clocks are becoming ever more reliable as physicists work to redefine time

Dear Evan Hansen comes to the Smithsonian

‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Recognized as Part of America’s Cultural Heritage

Artifacts from the Broadway musical come to the collections of Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History

Why Aren’t There Electric Airplanes Yet? It Comes Down to Batteries.

Batteries need to get lighter and more efficient before we use them to power energy-guzzling airplanes

A sea turtle swimming by bleached corals of the Great Barrier Reef near Heron Island off the east coast of Australia.

Coral Larvae Cryogenically Frozen and Thawed for the First Time

Warming oceans are killing the world’s reefs, but scientists may have found a way to help them get out of hot water—by putting corals into a deep freeze

A section of the 18,000-square-foot Cyclorama depicts a pivotal moment: Lt Edward Jones, on horseback, racing to reinforce the Federal line.

American South

Atlanta’s Famed Cyclorama Mural Will Tell the Truth About the Civil War Once Again

One of the war’s greatest battles was fought again and again on a spectacular canvas nearly 400 feet long. At last, the real history is being restored

At Beauvoir this past October, Jim Huffman, a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, showed students the 1863 battle flag of the Army of Tennessee.

The Costs of the Confederacy

In the last decade alone, American taxpayers have spent at least $40 million on Confederate monuments and groups that perpetuate racist ideology

U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft fire chaff and flare countermeasures over the Nevada Test and Training Range Nov. 17, 2010.

The Woman Whose Invention Helped Win a War — and Still Baffles Weathermen

Her work long overlooked, physicist Joan Curran developed technology to conceal aircraft from radar during World War II

“I love all kinds of music and I really just want to continue to stretch my hands wide open, hold hands with other artists, and build these bridges, and just to be able to create new lanes of music,” says Steve Aoki, whose equipment recently went on view at the Smithsonian.

Why This Body-Surfing, Sound-Blasting, Cake-Throwing DJ Belongs in a Museum

Just as his new release tops the charts, Electronic Dance Music DJ Steve Aoki says he is “blown away” to have his turntable technology in the collections

Hurricane Harvey unexpectedly flooded large parts of Houston despite abating wind speeds.

How Satellites and Big Data Are Predicting the Behavior of Hurricanes and Other Natural Disasters

Leveraging machine learning could help diminish the damages of storms and wildfires

The Immigrant Story Behind the Classic “Greetings From” Postcards

Long before Instagram, Americans showed off their travels using Curt Teich’s cheery linen postcards.

“I didn’t sleep at all,” says Albert Maguire, recalling the night after he and Jean Bennett treated their first gene therapy patient. The operation was a success.

2018 Smithsonian Ingenuity Awards

A New Treatment for Blindness Comes From Gene Therapy

A wife-and-husband research team cracks the code to allow certain patients to see again

Scott Bolton says he first dreamed of traveling through the galaxy when he was a boy camping out under the stars.

2018 Smithsonian Ingenuity Awards

Meet Scott Bolton, the Visionary Behind the NASA Mission to Jupiter

The Juno project will take on the mysteries of the gas giant that may in turn help us understand our own planet’s origins

John Krafcik (left) and Dmitri Dolgov

2018 Smithsonian Ingenuity Awards

Why Waymo’s Fleet of Self-Driving Cars Is Finally Ready for Prime Time

Your driverless car is already here, thanks to the visionary engineers behind a bold experiment

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