Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Articles

None

Scotland’s Newest Nature Trails Are Underwater

The Scottish Wildlife Trust is putting snorkelers up close with the country’s marine wildlife

Prison Ship Martyrs Monument

The Grisly History of Brooklyn’s Revolutionary War Martyrs

The Prison Ship Martyrs Monument, a crypt in Fort Greene Park, may become part of the national park system

Ecologists tend to think of mobbing behavior as primarily a way that smaller birds protect their nests and chicks from larger predators. Shown here, a Willie wagtail attacking an Australian raven.

New Research

Why Do Male Birds Take on Larger Predators? Maybe Just to Impress the Ladies

Some mobbing behavior may be less about survival, and more about sexual selection

Nicholas II with guards outside the imperial palace.

Russian Revolution

The Abdication of Nicholas II Left Russia Without a Czar for the First Time in 300 Years

Events in Saint Petersburg 100 years ago brought the end to the Romanov dynasty

Planet launched 88 more satellites in February.

How Daily Images of the Entire Earth Will Change the Way We Look At It

With more satellites than any other company, Planet Labs gives environmental researchers daily data

"Numbers are a human invention, and they’re not something we get automatically from nature," says Caleb Everett.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

How Humans Invented Numbers—And How Numbers Reshaped Our World

Anthropologist Caleb Everett explores the subject in his new book, Numbers and the Making Of Us

Researchers scanned the brains of memorizers as they practiced tried-and-true memory techniques to see how their brains changed in response to their training.

New Research

Neuroscientists Unlock the Secrets of Memory Champions

Boosting your ability to remember lists, from facts to faces, is a matter of retraining your brain

Upper Antelope Canyon

Shimmy Through the World’s Most Spectacular Slot Canyons

Where to explore the best of these narrow, water-worn passageways

New "Don't mess with Texas" trash cans at the Texas capitol building in Austin.

The Trashy Beginnings of “Don’t Mess With Texas”

A true story of the defining phrase of the Lone Star state

Itchy and scratchy: When they see their peers scratching away, mice get the urge to itch.

New Research

Why Is Itching So Contagious?

Scientists figure out how compulsive scratching spreads in mice, and maybe humans

Henry Peter Bosse Construction of Rock and Brush Dam, L.W., 1891 cyanotype

Photographs of America’s Eastern Treasures Finally Have Their Moment in the Limelight

A neglected period of American photographic history goes on display at the National Gallery of Art

Could This Chatbot Prevent Some Deportations?

Visabot helps immigrants and visitors to the United States obtain and keep visas

Illustration titled, “If you want to get rid of mosquitos, drain the swamp that breeds them.” (1909)

History of Now

The Myth That Washington Was a Swamp Will Never Go Away

It makes for a catchy slogan used by politicians of all persuasions, but there’s little truth to it

Paleo diet? Not so much. Thanks to Neanderthal dental plaque, researchers are getting a much better idea of what our ancestors actually dined on.

New Research

Scientists Delve Into Neanderthal Dental Plaque to Understand How They Lived and Ate

The plaque that coated Neanderthal teeth is shedding new light on how our ancestors ate, self-medicated and interacted with humans

Coralline algae of the genus Clathromorphum are specific to the Arctic and Subarctic, and they have critically important stories to tell about their ocean and how it has changed over the centuries.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

In Its Layers, This Stunning Pink Coralline Algae Holds Secrets of Climates Past

Unseen and unsung for centuries, these underwater species of coralline algae are providing scientists with an unparalleled new archive of information

The Featured Works display at the American Writers Museum in Chicago.

America’s First Writers Museum Is Slated to Open in May

A new home for celebrating American literary titans, titles and traditions takes root in Chicago

Page 415 of 1324