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Articles

Were the Terracotta Warriors Based on Actual People?

To answer that question, archaeologists are looking at variations in the soldiers’ ears

DNA from Richard III’s bones revealed two instances of royal infidelity since the 14th century.

They Found Richard III. So Now What?

What the remains of the “hunchback” king can teach us about other English royals

From the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center

When Steve Fossett Became the Magellan of the Skies

Ten years ago, the pioneering adventurer took off in pursuit of a new record in circumnavigation

New York saw 4,500 annual cases by 1907. Mallon was linked to 47, and 3 deaths.

The Frightening Legacy of Typhoid Mary

With concerns about infectious disease in the news, a look back at history’s most famous carrier

Adulation for Lincoln (a Philadelphia lithographer’s viewpoint, 1865) did not become widespread until years after he was killed.

The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

What the Newspapers Said When Lincoln Was Killed

The initial reaction to the president’s death was a wild mixture of grief, exultation, vengefulness and fear

“The Booths had an inherited strain of darkness in them,” an acquaintance of Asia’s wrote in the foreword to her memoir.

The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

The Closest Source We Have to Really Knowing John Wilkes Booth Is His Sister

In a post-assassination memoir, Asia Booth Clarke recalled her brother’s passion, his patriotism and his last words to her

The weapon that shot Abraham Lincoln

The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

The Blood Relics From the Lincoln Assassination

Even now, 150 years later, objects from the murder of the president provide a powerful link to the event

Xerox founder Joe Wilson with the 914, which could make copies up to 9 by 14 inches.

How the Photocopier Changed the Way We Worked—and Played

Decades before 3-D printers brought manufacturing closer to home, copiers transformed offices, politics and art

The Crocodile Hunter’s Family Shares His Controversial Approach to Studying the Crocs

Steve Irwin’s wife and kids are feeding the debate over keeping animals in captivity

One hundred wood bison will be reintroduced to the Alaskan wilderness later this month, somewhere they have not lived in the wild for over a century.

Bringing the Wood Bison Back to Alaska

Once nearly extinct, the subspecies is set to return to the United States

Are QR Codes Safe and Other Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Fictitious Catalan figures known as "carnestoltes" dance in the street during the Carnival parade in Sitges, Spain.

Mad, Wonderful Photos From Mardi Gras and Carnival

From New Orleans to Panama to Spain, revelers celebrated Mardi Gras and the days leading up to it with costumes, color and craziness

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Ask Smithsonian: What’s the Deepest Hole Ever Dug?

The answer to the question, says a Smithsonian researcher, is more about why we dig, than how low you can go

What Is the Most Influential Oscar Dress of All-Time?

Far from being a sideshow of the awards hoopla, the fashion of the Academy Awards means big business for designers

This optical atomic clock uses strontium atoms to tell time.

Send Atomic Clocks to Space to Find Gravitational Waves

A new breed of the hyper-accurate clocks could help scientists detect the elusive ripples in space-time faster and cheaper

Last year at a celebration of International Mother Language Day in Dhaka, Bangladesh, thousands attend a monument commemorating those killed during the Language Movement demonstrations of 1952.

The Human Right to Speak Whatever Language You Want is Worth Celebrating

With an ever increasing lack of language diversity, There Needs to Be More Recognition of February’s International Mother Language day

The lab-on-a-chip gets the power it needs for testing though the headphone jack on a smartphone, and sends the results through the port to the phone for computation, display and storage.

This $34 Smartphone-Assisted Device Could Revolutionize Disease Testing

A new low-cost device that plugs into a smartphone could cut down on expensive lab tests

Snack first, then try on that cardigan.

Hunger Makes You Buy More Stuff, Even If It’s Not Food

Whether you’re shopping at the mall or online, having the munchies will compel you to purchase extraneous things

Aerial view of flooded area. Oregon Historical Society, Neg. 67585.

How Oregon’s Second Largest City Vanished in a Day

A 1948 flood washed away the WWII housing project Vanport—but its history still informs Portland’s diversity

Midnight Snacking Is Bad for Your Brain

Experiments in mice show that misaligned eating patterns can mess with the brain’s ability to form memories and learn new tasks

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