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A researcher tests the sensor's stretchability.

Thin Sensors on Our Skin or in Our Clothes May Warn Us of Environmental Hazards

Australian researchers are developing flexible sensors that track dangers that humans cannot detect with their own senses

You Might Actually Want a Layover at These Seven Airports

From nap pods to real-time flight tracking, these airports have features that will surely please passengers

A curious visitor walking toward the Bobur artwork at the tenth Archstoyanie festival.

At “Russia’s Burning Man,” Strange Structures Transform Villages

The beautiful, bizarre structures of the Archstoyanie festival are made of natural materials and help bring economic prosperity to small villages

Wild pigs go for a dip off Big Major Cay in the Exhumas, Bahamas.

Not Just Dolphins: Where to Swim With Pigs, Penguins and the Gentlest of Sharks

At these beaches, splash around with some more unusual creatures

The Innovative Spirit

When a Trip to the Zoo Resulted in an Engineering Breakthrough

Megan Leftwich, an engineering professor at George Washington University, is building a robotic flipper based on her observations of sea lions

Robert Frost by Clara Sipprell, gelatin silver print, 1955.

Poetry Matters

What Gives Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” Its Power?

A Smithsonian poet examines its message and how it encapsulates what its author was all about

The Cape Hatteras Light of North Carolina, on the Atlantic Ocean.

The Lonely, Lifesaving Job of Lighthouse Keepers, Revealed at the National Lighthouse Museum

A new museum in Staten Island tells the stories of men and women who ran lighthouses throughout America’s history and shows off some unique antiques

Meryl Streep's a better actress than singer, but that works to her advantage in the film.

What “Ricki and the Flash” Gets Wrong About the Life of a Musician

The new Meryl Streep vehicle is the latest in a long history of movies about bar singers

The Skylodge with the sun peeking over the mountains.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Inca Road

Sleep With the Condors at This Peruvian Hotel Hanging Off a Cliff

The cliffside Skylodge hotel dangles 1,300 feet above the ground

This Mock “City” Is a Testing Ground For Driverless Cars

The University of Michigan’s Mcity is a 32-acre challenge course for connected and automated vehicles

Debris still litters Durbar Square in Kathmandu, seen in June 2015.

New Research

Why the Nepal Earthquake Was Especially Bad for Cultural Sites

The major quake sparked a resonance in the basin that made taller buildings more likely to topple

Corythomantis greeningi frogs carry potent venom in their pouts.

Ask Smithsonian

What’s the Difference Between Poisonous and Venomous Animals?

The first known venomous frogs, discovered in Brazil, raise some basic questions about toxic biology

A screenshot of the Tone Analyzer at work

IBM’s Tone Analyzer Could Save You From Sending That Awkward Email

The new service, part of IBM’s Watson artificial intelligence system, scans emails for emotions like cheerfulness or negativity

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Ask Smithsonian

Ask Smithsonian: Why Do We Get Prune Fingers?

Some researchers say that, like tire treads, our fingers and toes could get better traction in wet conditions

Climate change is raising the stakes for human conflict.

Anthropocene

A Hotter Climate May Boost Conflict, From Shootings to Wars

In this episode of Generation Anthropocene, scientists explore the link between rising temperatures and aggression

Whatever Happened to the Wild Camels of the American West?

Initially seen as the Army’s answer to how to settle the frontier, the camels eventually became a literal beast of burden, with no home on the range

A wasp larva perches on its hapless spider host.

New Research

Parasitic Wasps Turn Spiders Into Zombie Weavers

Arachnids injected with a potent neurotoxin are forced to create shiny new web cradles for wasp larvae

Workers prepare the Fat Man, the implosion bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki in August 1945.

How Physics Drove the Design of the Atomic Bombs Dropped on Japan

The gun-like design of the Little Boy bomb was effectively the last of its kind

Past Imperfect

The Murderous Story of America’s First Hijacking

Earnest Pletch’s cold-blooded killing of Carl Bivens was just one chapter in the strange life of the mechanic, farmhand and erstwhile carnie

Coming to grips with our moral code.

New Research

How Time, Space and Authority Figures Influence Your Moral Judgment

A study of how people respond to outrageous acts suggests that our sense of crime and punishment is surprisingly flexible

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