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Listen to the Entire Evolution of the Guitar Solo in Six Minutes

The guitar is a symbol for rock and roll, and the lead guitarist its champion

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There Used to Be an Entire Museum Full of Weird, Old Robots, And You Can Still Take a Video Tour

Today, people can get their old creepy robot fix on the internet. But there was once a whole museum devoted to old bots

The Pepsi Pavilion at Expo ’70

When PepsiCola Allowed a Team of Artists to Wreak Creative Havoc

In 1970, the soft drink company commissioned artists, musicians, and engineers to design an interactive pavilion that could disappear in a puff of smoke

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Remembering an Iconic Era Lost to Time: The Stars and Films of the Silent Pictures

Curator Amy Henderson reminds us of power and influence and glory of the celebrities that pioneered the silent film era

“Another Voice for Cleveland,” September 1884

President Cleveland’s Problem Child

Not even a specific allegation of philandering, illicit pregnancy and coverup barred Grover Cleveland from the White House

Rolly-polly trilobite

Meet the First Creature Ever to Roll Up in a Ball for Self-Defense

A species of tiny trilobite has taken the ball-rolling champion lead by millions of years

Archaeologists Looking for a Sultan’s Buried Heart Found a Whole Town Instead

Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent’s missing heart still has not been found, but archeologists searching for it did discover a lost, ancient Ottoman town

This ancient fossil, just discovered in China, could upend our understanding of how all vertebrates evolved over time.

This 419-Million-Year-Old Fish Has the World’s Oldest Known Face

The ancient fossil, just discovered in China, could upend our understanding of how all vertebrates evolved over time

On view in Philadelphia at the National Museum of American Jewish History: “Crunch, crunch, crunch, his feet sank into the snow.”

Seven Must-See Museums to See for Free on Museum Day Live!

Smithsonian magazine and Smithsonian.com invite readers to download a free ticket for two to visit more than 1,500 museums around the country

Scientists Show That Naps Really Are the Best

You should nap before, and after, trying to learn anything

These Tattoos Honor Lost, Not-So-Loved Species

To overcome how people tend to care only about cute endangered animals, Samantha Dempsey designed and distributed temporary tattoos of ugly extinct species

Hemingway’s 1943 letter to his first wife, Hadley Mowrer

Ernest Hemingway Taught One of His Many, Many Cats to Drink Whisky

Ernest Hemingway: author, journalist, crazy cat guy

A creative mind at work?

What Your Messy Desk Says About You (It’s a Good Thing)

Recent research suggests that working in a sloppy setting may actually help inspire creative thinking

Almaty, Kazakhstan, will be home to a new $102 million dollar biosecurity lab.

This U.S.-Backed Lab Is Meant to Keep Talented Kazakh Scientists From Making Biological Weapons

The unassumingly-named Central Reference Laboratory is slotted to open in 2015 and will securely store and study highest risk diseases

A display of whole wheat bread at the Washington State University-Mount Vernon Bread Lab, in Blue Hill, New York

Ask Smithsonian 2017

What Makes Whole-Grain Bread So Hard to Bake?

We asked bakers for their tips on how to get consistently excellent whole wheat loaves

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The Smell of Newborn Babies Triggers the Same Reward Centers as Drugs

When women catch the scent of a newborn baby, their dopamine pathways in a region of the brain associated with reward learning light up

A map showing the sea floor off the coast of Pakistan*

A Massive Earthquake in Pakistan Just Forced an Island to Climb Out of the Sea

In the wake of a massive earthquake in Pakistan this morning, a new island has emerged from the Arabian Sea

Risk analysis groups have detected an increased frequency of Atlantic hurricanes due to climate change, forcing insurance companies to rethink their models.

How the Insurance Industry Is Dealing With Climate Change

The rising chance of extreme weather is forcing insurance companies to adjust their models as they take on more risk

Eagle versus deer

A Wild Golden Eagle Can Take Down a Deer Just As Well As a Trained One

Besides being cool images, the behavior captured on the camera trap is extremely rare for Golden Eagles in nature

Soldiers at the Korean War Veterans Memorial

Be Careful When Taking Pictures of Other People’s Art

The U.S. Postal Service owes the man who sculpted the Korean War memorial nearly $685,000

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