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The FIFA World Football Museum opened in Zurich, Switzerland on Sunday.

Switzerland

These Five Objects Tell the Story of Soccer

Take an exclusive look inside the new FIFA World Football Museum in Zurich

A blooming Amorphophallus titanum corpse flower looms over visitors at the University of Basel botanical garden in November 2012.

What’s on Your Botanical Bucket List?

From rare orchids to grizzled desert plants, experts weigh in on which flora they most want to see before they die

Andreas, one of the farmers at Eigeralp.

Switzerland

Live Like a Swiss Alpine Cheesemaker for a Weekend

Get a taste of life in the Alps without the commitment

Scott Kelly works on the International Space Station during a nearly eight-hour spacewalk in November 2015.

What Happens to the Human Body in Space?

Data from astronauts who spent 340 days in orbit will add to almost 55 years of research on how low gravity sends Earthlings for a loop

Shipworms are destructive to driftwood and sunken relics alike, chewing through any exposed planks and destroying entire wreck sites in just years. But until recently, none had been found so far north in such cold waters.

Age of Humans

“Termites of the Sea” Found Munching Wood Near Arctic Shipwrecks

The shipworms found in Svalbard may signal an expansion due to ocean warming or be a new species

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin

Ben Franklin Was One-Fifth Revolutionary, Four-Fifths London Intellectual

The enterprising Philadelphian was late to adopt the revolutionary cause, but infused America with English ideals

Left to Right: Mitch Pileggi, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and William B. Davis—there has been no official announcement about whether an 11th season will pick up where the recent cliffhanger left off.

I Want to Believe (In the Science of “The X-Files”)

In some scenes, the television show is theater of the absurd, but in others, you can bet the science is solid with biologist Anne Simon on the job

Dogs of the St. Bernard Hospice during a walk organized by their trainers with tourists.

Switzerland

A Brief History of the St. Bernard Rescue Dog

The canine’s evolution from hospice hound to household companion

Upton Sinclair, noted author and Democratic nominee for Governor, pictured speaking to a group in his campaign headquarters shortly after his arrival in Los Angeles.

Upton Sinclair Was a Socialist Candidate Who Succeeded Through Failure

The author’s 1934 bid to govern California came up short, but left a lasting mark on politics

Ennio Morricone, "Il Maestro"

Travel the World With Ennio Morricone’s Evocative Film Scores

Celebrate the maestro’s first Oscar with a musical trip across the continents

Nematodes (blue) wiggle inside a stalactite from a South African gold mine in this image taken with a microscope.

Journey to the Center of Earth

Inner Earth Is Teeming With Exotic Forms of Life

More than a mile below the surface, our planet supports diverse creatures that could give us clues about life across the solar system

This Morphing Mannequin Could Transform the Fashion Industry

Created by Hong Kong professor Allan Chan, iDummy can be programmed with any measurements

The Boule & Bill comic by Jean Roba

Europe

How Brussels Became a Real-Life Comic Strip

The city’s colorful murals put it in the running for comic book capital of the world

Trains link the greatest of Indian cities to the humblest of rice-farmer hamlets.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: India

Want to See More of India? Take the Indian Railway

A window on the world from a four-bunk sleeper car

Jesse Owens' coach at Ohio State, Larry Snyder, taught Owens to crouch more compactly at the starting line so that he could get a faster start.

Breaking Ground

A Sports Curator at the Smithsonian Unpacks the Myths and Reality in the Film “Race”

Jesse Owens is best known for his performance at the 1936 Berlin Games, but curator Damion Thomas says there is more to the story

Stephen Conley flies over Aliso Canyon to take measurements of methane spewing from the natural gas storage facility in Southern California in January 2016.

New Research

The Size of the California Methane Leak Isn’t the Scariest Part of the Story

The Aliso Canyon leak doubled Los Angeles’ methane emissions—and it’s just one disaster we were lucky enough to find

None

Thousands of Blacktip Sharks Are Hanging Out on Florida’s Coast Right Now

Experts say they’re not dangerous, and are easy to spot

The new Broadway hit revival of Fiddler on the Roof deliberately breaks with tradition in its opening and closing scenes.

History of Now

The Broadway Revival of “Fiddler” Offers a Profound Reaction to Today’s Refugee Crisis

Popular musicals on Broadway are regarded as escapist, but the worldwide issue of migration and displacement is inescapable

Innovators May Be Non-Conformists, But They Are Not Risk-Takers

In his new book, Wharton School professor Adam Grant looks at what really drives creativity and progress

An artist's rendering of Chicxulub, the asteroid believed to have wiped out large dinosaurs and reshaped parts of the world.

Journey to the Center of Earth

We Finally Know How Much the Dino-Killing Asteroid Reshaped Earth

The impact that wiped out large dinosaurs also dumped hundreds of feet of debris in the ocean off the Yucatán peninsula

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