Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Articles

James Bond’s Martini Consumption Would Have Compromised His Physical, Mental and Sexual Abilities

The authors postulate that the spy’s preference for shaken, not stirred vodka martinis may indicate a case of shaky hands caused by alcohol-induced tremors

How America’s Most Popular Potted Plant Captured Christmas

On National Poinsettia Day, the third generation behind the Ecke Family Ranch talks about how his family developed a hundred varieties of the plant

Peruse the Weird Medical History of Every Single U.S. President

From John Adams’s baldness to James Madison’s frostbite to Herbert Hoover’s handshake problems, learn about the ailments of the presidents

Playing an Instrument Won’t Make Your Kid Smarter

Music can, however, boost children’s creativity and teach them important life skills such as discipline and concentration—but so can other hobbies

Some Animals Don’t Get Weaker With Age

Some animals actually get more fertile and less prone to dying as they hit their upper years

Allergies Can Be So Specific That a Person Can React to a Egg’s Yolk But Not Its Whites

Food allergies can be quite specific, triggered by a single species rather than entire genre such as “seafood”

To Fight Superbugs, FDA Goes After Antibiotic Overuse on Farms

The FDA is pushing for a voluntary end to the use of antibiotics on farms as growth promoters

Manuscripts from when Timbuktu was a vibrant commercial and academic crossroads at the edge of the Sahara were in danger of being looted and potentially destroyed.

The Race to Save Mali’s Priceless Artifacts

When jihadists overran Timbuktu last year, residents mounted a secret operation to evacuate the town’s irreplaceable medieval manuscripts

Valentina Tereshkova, first woman in space, and Yuri Gagarin

Soviet Russia Had a Better Record of Training Women in STEM Than America Does Today

Perhaps it’s time for the United States to take a page from the Soviet book just this one time

Would You Eat A Holiday Dinner in a Can?

British designer Chris Godfrey dreams up a tinned, nine-course meal for gamers glued to their consoles

Before Miley, Bob Fosse Elevated the Sleaze in Dance to an Art Form

The choreographer and director sparked this curator’s imagination with his trademark razzle dazzle

Desert Tortoises May Be Starving, Dehydrating And Dying Because of Climate Change

Those that hadn’t succumbed to death by drought appeared to have been predated on by starving coyotes, which usually eat mammals

Madagascar Is Battling a Bubonic Plague Outbreak

Health officials confirmed this week that at least 20 villagers have now died from plague, which likely originates from infected rats

Facebook’s Most Popular Check-In Spots This Year Include Places in Iceland, Argentina and Nigeria

Top world destinations for check-ins are a bit unexpected, but perhaps reflect Facebook’s popularity among varying cultures, interest groups and nations

Hey Guys, What You Eat Affects Baby’s Health, Too

Men’s habits and diets leading up to pregnancy can also affect the health of their babies

Mindlessly Snapping Photos at Museums Keeps People From Remembering the Actual Visit

People might use cameras as a crutch for returning to and remembering things later rather than paying attention to what is transpiring in the moment

If the concentration of PFTBA is the same everywhere as it is in Toronto, which the researchers think it is, then that would be a bad thing.

There’s a New Greenhouse Gas to Worry About, And It’s 7,100 Times Stronger Than Carbon Dioxide

PFTBA is the most efficient greenhouse gas found, on a molecule-by-molecule basis

NASA's Juno spacecraft captures first images of our moon orbiting Earth.

Watch From Space As the Moon Orbits Around Earth

The Earth and the Moon, as seen from 600,000 miles away

None

These Carnivorous Plants Glow Under Ultraviolet Light to Attract Prey

Their florescent blue glow lures ants to their death. Mask it, and the plants barely catch any

Personalized search keeps people from escaping their worldview bubble.

Have Scientists Found a Way to Pop the Filter Bubble?

They say the key to exposing us to opposing views is to get them from people with whom we share other interests

Page 611 of 1285