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Physician Joseph Bell (left) inspired Sherlock Holmes (center, as portrayed by actor Basil Rathbone), the detective created by writer Arthur Conan Doyle (right).

Arthur Conan Doyle Based Sherlock Holmes on a Real-Life Scottish Surgeon Who Used Deduction to Diagnose Patients and Investigate Crimes

A new book chronicles the exploits of Joseph Bell, an Edinburgh lecturer whose lessons sparked the creation of the world’s most famous detective

Colorful coral flourish in New Caledonia, a French territory off the east coast of Australia, near a cliff overlooking beautiful, clear waters.  

These 15 Photos Showcase the Intensely Brilliant Colors of Coral Reefs and the Creatures That Live Among Them

These images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest highlight the importance of the marine ecosystems and the many species they help sustain

A vintage image of author Amaris Castillo's mother, Damaris, working at a bodega

At the Bodega, Customers Can Get Pork Rinds, Plantains and Just About Anything They Need. Here’s How These Stores Became a ‘Community Anchor’ of Latino Life

For immigrants, bodegas provide daily necessities and cultural connections to the homelands they left behind. The recent book “Bodega Stories” paints a picture of one Florida family’s history working in and operating the stores

Masten, from the Buffalo, New York Documentary Survey Project, David Seman, gelatin silver print, 1979

In the 1970s, the U.S. Commissioned Photographers to Document the Country’s People and Places. You Can Now See More Than 200 of the Powerful Images

At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, a “national portrait” reveals what the United States looked like during its bicentennial period

A Bubble Barrier creates a diagonal line of whiter water in Amsterdam's Westerdok.

Could This Dutch Invention Help Tackle Plastic Pollution in America’s Waterways?

The Netherlands has had success with the Bubble Barrier, which pumps air bubbles from the bottom of a canal or river to direct plastic to the surface. Now, Lansing, Michigan, is looking to be the first to install the technology stateside

A member of the Muscogee Creek Nation pauses at the edge of the dance circle in traditional regalia at an event in Nashville.

Celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day With These 15 Dramatic Images of the Rich, Enduring Traditions of Native Americans

These photographs from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest showcase Native Americans taking part in their respective tribal customs

Ghostface, the primary antagonist of the Scream franchise, is one of the many horror icons featured in the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures' latest exhibition.

From Slasher Films to Vampire Flicks, Horror Movies Are More Popular Than Ever. Relive the Genre’s Scariest Moments—if You Dare—at a New Exhibition

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures’ latest show features nearly 350 props, costumes and artifacts from such films as “Psycho,” “The Shining” and “Sinners”

Tyrannosaurus rex’s image has seen major adjustments over the past century.

Five Discoveries That Changed Our Understanding of T. Rex Forever, From Warm Blood to Lips

Paleontologists are still unraveling the secrets of the world’s most famous dinosaur, such as its outward appearance or the way that it hunted. With each new finding, our view of the “tyrant lizard king” has gotten a little clearer—and sometimes has radically shifted

The user, if pregnant, will feel raised bumps on both sides of the flat lollipop—a reaction to hCG, a hormone that the body produces during pregnancy.

This Lollipop Could Help Blind Women Independently Detect Pregnancy

Design student Sneha Rao is developing Tact, an edible pregnancy test that allows people with vision impairment to feel its results on their tongues

The specimen of the last known passenger pigeon, Martha, preserved in the Smithsonian’s collection. Martha died in 1914 at the Cincinnati Zoo.

These Five Birds Have Disappeared Forever. Their History Offers a Valuable Lesson for the Future

In an exhibition celebrating the natural history of the United States, a small group of taxidermy birds stands as a reminder of loss—and a symbol of hope

Pottery fragments from Etowah in Georgia, where people of the Mississippian culture built large earthen mounds

Ancient Pottery Reveals the Earliest Known Traces of Chocolate East of the Mississippi, Painting a Picture of Connection in the Americas

A new archaeological discovery suggests that people in present-day Georgia have feasted with cacao for 1,000 years

A giant panda peers through the trees and gazes at the photographer at a nature reserve in China’s Qinling mountain range.

These 15 Adorable Photos of Pandas Will Make You Want to Visit the Zoo Immediately

Members of the fluffy and adorable but vulnerable species are often cared for in zoos and breeding centers around the world, and these snapshots may make you jealous of the caretakers’ jobs

A close-up view of a 1798 Gilbert Stuart portrait of Louis-Marie, Viscount de Noailles

The Marquis de Lafayette’s Brother-in-Law Participated in Three Revolutionary Wars, Supporting American Independence but Brutally Suppressing an Uprising by Enslaved Africans in Haiti

Louis-Marie, Viscount de Noailles, served during the American, French and Haitian Revolutions. “He fights wherever France fights, because he’s a soldier and he believes in France,” a historian says

With so many food products now touting added protein, consumers have been left wondering how much is really necessary.

Is More Protein Always Better? Despite the Craze Around the Nutrient, Research-Backed Evidence About Its Benefits Is Complicated

It can be difficult to see through the array of flashy, protein-packed products and determine whether you need more of it—and which foods to consume to get it. We asked health experts about the benefits and drawbacks of chasing protein

All of the sites on the Shikoku Pilgrimage are associated with Kobo Daishi, a Japanese monk who lived during the ninth century and founded Shingon, a major school of Buddhism that focuses on the attainment of enlightenment during a practitioner’s lifetime.

Japan’s Smallest and Least-Populated Major Island Is a World of Pilgrimages, Delicious Food and Plenty of Forest Bathing

Each year, more than 100,000 people hike at least part of a 750-mile route on Shikoku that connects 88 Buddhist temples and other sacred sites

The Icebergs, Frederic Edwin Church, oil on canvas, 1861

‘The Icebergs’ Is One of Frederic Edwin Church’s Most Spectacular Paintings. For Decades, No One Knew Where It Was

In the 1970s, the administrator of a boys’ home in England wound up finding the missing 19th-century piece and bringing it back into the spotlight

Work on Elizabeth I’s letters has focused on identifying the English queen’s “voice” within them. Yet they were often the products of collaboration between Elizabeth and her secretaries.

Who Wrote Elizabeth I’s Most Scathing Letters? New Research Suggests the Tudor Queen’s Male Secretaries Revised Her Correspondence to Emphasize Her Temper

An analysis of more than 500 missives found that Elizabeth’s advisers crafted and even intensified the expression of emotion in her messages to such figures as Mary, Queen of Scots, and James VI of Scotland

On Scotland's uninhabited island of Staffa, Fingal’s Cave is formed from tall basalt columns created by ancient volcanic activity.

Seven Places in Europe That Legends Say Were Built by Giants, Devils or Dragons

Bridges, mountains, caves and rock formations that seem impossible to explain become magnets for folklore

A lion surveys his vast territory in Maasai Mara.

These 15 Wonderful Photographs of Kenya’s World-Class Wildlife Will Have You Booking a Flight to the Savanna

The East African nation is home to a number of conservation parks where its impressive animals roam free

The story of the bedpan is about love and hate, germs and illness, dignity and shame, and, inherently, urine and feces.

The Humble History of the Bedpan

Over the past few centuries, inventors have tweaked the design of the receptacles here and there, but overall, not much has changed about the dependable medical supply

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