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Articles

Wife Stands by Babe and Defies Accuser by Underwood & Underwood, 1925

Would the Legendary Babe Ruth Still Be a Star if He Played Today?

Award-winning sportswriter Jane Leavy says the Bambino would be as big a personality as he was in his own time

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Learn the Secret History of Your State With These Addictive Podcasts

Use this indispensable guide to find out which podcast will be next on your listen list

Equus first evolved in North America millions of years ago.

How the Mustang, the Symbol of the Frontier, Became a Nuisance

A mainstay of Western culture, the free-roaming stallions are now a force to be reckoned with

Why I Take Fake Pills

Surprising new research shows that placebos still work even when you know they’re not real

Eternally mysterious Mount Fuji, as seen from Lake Kawaguchiko, remains a powerful force in Japanese culture and a must-do hike for truth-seekers despite the crowds and the looming threat of eruption.

Why Mount Fuji Endures As a Powerful Force in Japan

Not even crowds and the threat of an eruption can dampen the eternally mysterious volcano

A new safety test for foodborne pathogens involves an interaction between a droplet and bacterial proteins that can be seen through a smartphone camera.

Can a Camera, a QR Code and Some Bubbles Test For E. Coli In Our Food?

MIT researchers are pursuing a newer, faster test for foodborne pathogens

A new study recommends that the peanut-allergic try consuming other nuts—but only under the supervision of a licensed allergist.

New Research

Tree Nut Allergies May Be Massively Overdiagnosed

But don’t go for the jar of almond butter just yet

The courtyard at St. Ermin's Hotel in London.

This Luxury Hotel in London Was Once a Secret Spy Base

St. Ermin’s Hotel has sat at the middle of British secret intelligence since the 1930s

Seahorses are valued for their use in traditional medicine.

The Secret Massacre of Millions of Seahorses

Millions of seahorses meet their doom each year as by-catch in a fisherman’s net. Less-charming fish may share the same fate

Researchers can remotely detect buried land mines using a bacterial sensor and a laser-based scanning system.

How Glowing Soil Can Help Find Land Mines

Using genetically engineered bacteria and lasers, Israeli scientists have devised a unique way to detect buried explosives

This Mysterious Albanian Island Is Reopening to Tourists This Summer

A former military base during the Cold War, this island is covered with abandoned bunkers and tunnels

“Bucky’ and its large leaves

Meet Stinky ‘Bucky,’ the Bulbophyllum Orchid that Shutdown a Smithsonian Greenhouse

Orchid expert Tom Mirenda says history records the stench of this plant as reminiscent of a thousand dead elephants rotting in the sun

Jonathan Coleman (center) and team show off a printed electronic label.

New Electronic Labels Could Alert You When Your Milk Spoils

New 2D printed electronics made of the nanomaterial graphene could be used in newspapers, self-updating price tags and more

Theodore Roosevelt regularly employed executive orders to achieve his political goals.

History of Now

The Debate Over Executive Orders Began With Teddy Roosevelt’s Mad Passion for Conservation

Teddy used nearly 10 times as many executive orders as his predecessor. The repercussions are still felt today

Five celebrated clowns from Sands, Nathans Co's Circus

Reports on the Death of the Circus Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Celebrating the arts, business, history and culture of the circus, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival brings 400 performers to the National Mall this summer

Elisabeth Moss dons the iconic red robe and white bonnet of the handmaid for the new series debuting April 26.

The U.S. Is Too Ornery for Totalitarianism, According to Margaret Atwood

The author of The Handmaid’s Tale discusses the continued impact of the bleak 1985 novel, now being adapted into a series on Hulu

Sirocco, currently MIA, has helped millions connect with the island’s endangered wildlife.

Future of Conservation

Seduced By a Rare Parrot

What can conservationists learn from New Zealand’s official “spokesbird,” a YouTube celebrity who tries to mate with people’s heads?

Alexander Kerensky, as Minister of War, meets with other military officials.

World War I: 100 Years Later

In a Czar-less Russia, Winning Was Easy. Governing Was Harder.

Now without a sovereign, Russia’s provisional government sought to maintain peace at home while waging a world war

Fish leave bits of DNA behind that researchers can collect.

Scientists Can Tell What Fish Live Where Based On DNA in the Water

A new study of the Hudson River estuary tracked spring migration of ocean fish by collecting water samples

You can't sit with us. You smell like poo.

New Research

Gut Check: Mandrills Sniff Poop to Avoid Peers With Parasites

Researchers have documented one of the first instances of social avoidance in a non-human animal

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