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Articles

An artist's rendering of the sweltering surface of Venus.

New Research

A Giant Planetary Smashup May Have Turned Venus Hot and Hellish

A collision with a large object may have triggered changes deep inside the planet that ultimately affected its atmosphere

A sauna on the lakefront for Sauna Day.

Europe

Explore Helsinki’s Private Saunas

Finland celebrates its first festival devoted to a steamy tradition

Belize's Lighthouse Reef Atoll surrounds the Blue Hole, a sunken cave system that is a haven for marine life and scuba divers.

Journey to the Center of Earth

Visit a Vertical Underwater Cave in Belize

The Great Blue Hole is the world’s largest natural formation of its kind

The Matterhorn is perhaps the most recognizable of the peaks that make up the Alps, and has a height of 14,692 feet.

Switzerland

Seven Surprising Facts About the Matterhorn

The towering peak that straddles Switzerland and Italy is full of secrets

A mugshot of "Count" Lustig

The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower. Twice.

“Count” Victor Lustig was America’s greatest con man. But what was his true identity?

The fossil skull of the human ancestor Australopithecus africanus, which had more robust teeth and jaws than modern humans.

New Research

A Taste for Raw Meat May Have Helped Shape Human Evolution

Stone tools might have let our ancestors more easily chew and digest meat, which in turn may have changed our teeth and jaws

Harriet Tubman's Hymnal

Breaking Ground

What Makes the Underground Railroad Such a Rich Opportunity for Storytelling

On television and in the new Smithsonian museum, the path to freedom comes alive

Future of Energy

This Solar Cell Can Float on a Bubble

MIT scientists have created the world’s lightest solar cell, thin enough to be used on paper or clothing

Eric Oborski's passports. The thickest one, which he used from 1997 to 2007, contains 331 pages.

This Could Be the World’s Largest Passport

Meet the man who has filled over 1,400 pages of passport during a life of travel

The tule elk has been reintroduced to its native range at Point Reyes National Seashore in California, but sometimes "rewilding" landscapes brings unintended effects.

Age of Humans

It Might Be Impossible to Turn Back the Clock on Altered Ecosystems

“Rewilding” landscapes to return them to a natural state might sometimes be ineffective and even harmful

Mary Louise & the Liberty Girls

The Secret History of the Girl Detective

Long before Nancy Drew, avid readers picked up tales of young women solving mysteries

Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre

Italy to Limit Tourists to Cinque Terre

It’s about to get harder to visit Cinque Terre—but that might be a good thing

Nancy Reagan by Aaron Shikler, essence of oil on paper, 1984–85.

How Nancy Reagan Made Her Mark on the White House

A curator at the American History Museum reflects on the First Lady’s impact on Washington

The Garden of Earthly Delights

Even 500 Years After His Death, Hieronymus Bosch Hasn’t Lost His Appeal

A trip to the painter’s hometown reminds us how his paintings remain frightfully timely

A mother bonobo and her offspring.

Age of Humans

The Surprising Way Civil War Took Its Toll on Congo’s Great Apes

Using satellite maps and field studies, scientists found that even small disturbances to the forest had big consequences for bonobos

A common wasp with the colony's brood comb in Germany.

New Research

Worker Wasps Sneak Out to Lay Their Eggs in Neighboring Nests

By cadging a free ride for their offspring, female workers may boost their chances of passing on their genes

Century Partners renovated this house and others on Atkinson Street in Detroit.

A Detroit Startup Is Trying to Shake Up the City’s Housing Market

Two real estate developers are giving longtime residents a stake in their neighborhood’s revitalization

Bison sculpture by Emily White, Big Timber Lodge

How to Maintain Your Garden Zen at the Philadelphia Flower Show

A Smithsonian gardener with a long history of touring the show gives tips

Ellis Emmett, diving between two continents in Silfra.

Europe

Dive Between Two Continents in This Frigid Fissure in Iceland

Filled with pure glacier water, Silfra is the only place on Earth where divers can touch two continental plates at once

These ancient amber fossils from Burma in Southeast Asia help complete the patchy record of lizard evolution.

New Research

Pint-Sized Lizards Trapped in Amber Give Clues to Life 100 Million Years Ago

The trove of Cretaceous reptiles includes an early relative of the chameleon—the oldest yet discovered

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