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Articles

New York Water Taxi

How New York City Is Rediscovering Its Maritime Spirit

The city’s waterfront fell into dangerous decline, but now its on the rebound with a new wave of money and creativity

In 1950, Tollund Man’s discoverers “found a face so fresh they could only suppose they had stumbled on a recent murder.”

Europe’s Famed Bog Bodies Are Starting to Reveal Their Secrets

High-tech tools divulge new information about the mysterious and violent fates met by these corpses

Ask Smithsonian 2017

What’s the Difference Between Horns and Antlers and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

The Tennis Court Oath in June 1789 marked the unification of the French Estates-General, who came to call themselves the National Assembly. In the oath, they vowed not to separate until they established a constitution.

History of Now

Why Is France in Its Fifth Republic?

An explainer on the many evolutions of the country’s government

Trauma surgeon Sarah Murthi tests an AR headset prototype, which uses a Microsoft HoloLens and custom software with an ultrasound, on a volunteer "patient."

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Augmented Reality Could Change Health Care—Or Be a Faddish Dud

Doctors and engineers at the University of Maryland team up to build a tool that projects images and vital information right above a patient

“Very, very early in my boyhood,” Hudson wrote, “I had acquired the habit of going about alone.”

The Naturalist Who Inspired Ernest Hemingway and Many Others to Love the Wilderness

W.H. Hudson wrote one of the 20th century’s greatest memoirs after a fever rekindled visions of his childhood.

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Canada

Spend the Night Howling with Wolves in Québec’s Parc Mahikan

Get up close to these elusive mammals at this wildlife observation center along the Ouasiemsca River

An illustration of LHS 1140b orbiting its faint red star

New Research

Exoplanet Discovery Arrives in Time for New Telescope Technology

Astronomers call LHS 1140b one of the “best targets” for hunting liquid water with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

On set with Amybeth

A ‘Breaking Bad’ Writer and Producer Is Behind a New Anne of Green Gables

You might not recognize this Anne—and that’s exactly what showrunner Moira Walley-Beckett intended

This honeycomb structure was printed in fused silica glass.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

You Can Now 3D Print Glass

German researchers have developed a technique for 3D printing strong, transparent glass products, such as jewelry, lenses and computer parts

George Washington, 1795-1796

History of Now

George Washington Had Nothing Good to Say About Nepotism

The first president was exceedingly wary of any semblance of impropriety

The Unsavory History of Sugar, the Insatiable American Craving

How the nation got hooked on sweets

From the Smithsonian National Museum of American History

History of Now

This Jigsaw Puzzle Was Given to Ellis Island Immigrants to Test Their Intelligence

A confusing set of blocks could seal their fate

The Tsavo lions' teeth bore marks indicating that they ate soft food, similar to those seen on the teeth of captive lions today. Wild lions, like these pictured in South Africa's Greater Kruger National Park, show different microwear patterns.

New Research

Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo Did Indeed Eat People, Teeth Reveal

Dental clues confirm some rumors about the ravenous cats of Tsavo, while also raising new questions

Jefferson Davis

The Trial of the Century That Wasn’t

The case against Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, would have been a legal showdown of the ages

Linguist and cultural preservationist Daryl Baldwin was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2016.

How to Resurrect a Lost Language

Piecing together the language of the Miami tribe, linguists Daryl Baldwin and David Costa are creating a new generation of speakers

A Paean to PBS’ “Mercy Street”: The One Show That Got the Civil War Right

The short-lived show offered the best screen portrayal of the war the country has ever seen

Peter Voulkos in his Glendale Boulevard Studio in Los Angeles California

The Ceramicist Who Punched His Pots

Influenced by avant-garde poets, writers and Pablo Picasso, Peter Voulkos experimented with the increasingly unconventional

A recipe for an eyesalve from ‘Bald’s Leechbook’

Medieval Medical Books Could Hold the Recipe for New Antibiotics

A team of medievalists and scientists look back to history—including a 1,000-year-old eyesalve recipe—for clues

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