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Articles

How Come U.S. Currency Never Changes Its Face and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Agreements like the Treaty With the Delawares (1778) are powerful reminders of American Indian nations' legal right to territorial sovereignty.

Why the Very First Treaty Between the United States and a Native People Still Resonates Today

The Treaty With the Delawares, signed in 1778, has arrived at the National Museum of the American Indian

When Paper Clothing Was the Perfect Fit

A war-weary world needed a new wardrobe, and this cheap, washable attire seemed to rise to the occasion

The central meditation dome in Auroville, India.

Seven Planned Utopian Towns That You Can Visit Today

These utopic cities—some working, some not—can still be visited today

Silverman's mushroom shoe prototype is sustainable—but will it hold up in the rain?

Future of Art

Are These Baked Mushroom Sandals the Future of Fashion?

As sustainable fashion goes mainstream, multiple designers are turning to fungi for compostable attire

Scimitar-horned oryx can go for ten months without drinking water.

Future of Conservation

Smithsonian Researchers Are Bringing the Oryx Back to the Wild

Reintroducing the species back to north-central Africa shows early signs of success

“Grease,” with Olivia Newton John (center), began shooting on the Venice High School campus in the summer of 1977.

Get Schooled on the History of Where ‘Grease’ Was Really Filmed

Tell me about it, stud

An aerial photograph shows the new museum’s proximity to the ancient arena.

Europe

Travel to Southern France for a Dazzling Taste of Ancient Rome

A new museum in Nimes pays tribute to the grandeur of the Empire

With fingers intertwined and mouths gleefully thrown open, the three maidens dance around the Art Nouveau sculpture by Walter Schott.

The Lost Maidens of Berlin

A decades-long quest for one of the most intriguing artworks looted by the Nazis leads to the courtyard of a posh hotel in the German countryside

David Korins' striking design—involving a double turntable, a second level catwalk, scaffolding and ropes, calls to mind the ships that brought the Founding Fathers to America.

Future of Art

Hamilton’s David Korins Explains What Makes the Smash Hit’s Design So Versatile

The renowned designer dishes about the new Hamilton exhibition, precision and metaphor on stage and how the turntables almost didn’t happen

Your Next Favorite European Wine Region Isn’t in France, Italy or Spain

The wine in this country is so good, they don’t want to export it — keeping 98% for themselves

For most humans, meditating in the snow would be highly uncomfortable. For Wim Hof, it's euphoric. Note: Wim Hof not pictured.

New Research

Science Explains How the Iceman Resists Extreme Cold

MRI scans reveal that Wim Hof artificially induces a stress response in his brain

The lionfish is a maroon-and-white striped creature, but once it’s cleaned, restaurant chefs and home cooks like to grill, bake and fry its firm white flesh.

The Lionfish Have Invaded, But a Ragtag Army of Divers and Chefs Are Fighting Back

Those waging the war against this devastating wave of the venomous species have taken on an ‘eat ‘em to beat ‘em’ approach

At its peak in 1948, the women’s pro baseball league attracted more than 900,000 spectators.

Seventy-Five Years Ago, Women’s Baseball Players Took the Field

An Indiana slugger was one of the athletes who “hit the dirt in the skirt” and changed Americans’ view of women

“Art can’t change society,” said White, whose stirring images challenged stereotypes. “It can only change individuals.”

A New Exhibit Gives Charles White’s Art and Activism the Attention They Deserve

A century after his birth, an overlooked figure in the Black Renaissance is on the rise again

Millicent Brown broke the racial barrier at a Charleston, South Carolina, high school. “This was the challenge of our day,” says Brown, a historian and activist.

The Defiant Ones

As young girls, they fought the fierce battle to integrate America’s schools half a century ago

"The seemingly rigid frontiers that have come to define places like Africa and Asia," says the museum's director Gus Casely Hayford, "are in fact remarkably fluid, connected through the intersections of art, commerce and culture."

First Major Swahili Coast Art Show Reveals a Diverse World of Cultural Exchange and Influence

At the Smithsonian’s African Art Museum, international influences commingle to create a farrago of artisanal splendors

Flying Dog plans to release a seasonal beer each year with hops grown from the project.

The East Coast May Be On the Brink of a Hop Renaissance

Can a farmer and a brewer come together to bring hops back to the eastern United States?

Who needs fuzz and pudge when you have this slimy smile?

Future of Conservation

The Adorable Chinese Giant Salamander Is Slithering Toward Extinction

The amphibians could actually be five separate species, some of which may already be extinct

A scene from Zaatari refugee camp, Jordan.

Teaching Refugees How To Map Their World Could Have Huge Benefits

A pilot project trained Syrian refugees at a Jordan camp to create maps—an invaluable tool in a natural disaster or humanitarian crisis

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