Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Articles

Can Crowds Predict the Future?

You probably shouldn’t rely on crowd wisdom to make personal decisions, but when it comes to global outcomes, the crowd might be smarter than you think

Eliot Elisofon in Kenya, 1947, by an unknown photographer.

Meet the Real “Most Interesting Man in the World”

On view at African Art, a retrospective of Eliot Elisofon, who drank scotch and was allowed to touch the museum’s art

Why Do Moose Fight So Much?

The point isn’t actually to gore the other moose with your antlers, but rather to push harder and show that you’re stronger

One of the first "sneeze guards" appeared in Johnny Garneau's American Style Smorgasbord in Monroeville 1958.

How the “Sneeze Guard” Changed Buffet Tables Forever

A germaphobe invented the protective glass barrier over your all-you-can eat meal in 1959

This is the First Selfie. Ever.

Not new at all, the world’s first selfie was snapped in 1839

Watch Some of the Most Important Moments of Nelson Mandela’s Life

Former South African president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has passed away

This Wheel Turns Your Bicycle Into An Electric Hybrid

The Copenhagen Wheel can be snapped onto just about any bicycle to boost your pedaling power by up to 10 times

None

Smithsonian Holiday Festival: Movies, Music, Shopping and More

Watchtower Near Desert View Point on the South Rim.

Rare Look: Spectacular Photos Capture the Grand Canyon Filled With Fog

Weekend visitors witnessed a “once in a decade” weather event

Without Nutrients From Conventional Farms, Yields of Organic Crops Could Go Down

Many of the nutrients flowing through organic farms still ultimately derive from conventional farms

Scientists had to use a remotely operated vehicle to retrieve temperature sensors from a borehole drilled into the Japan Trench, 6,900 meters below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

Fault That Caused Japan’s 2011 Earthquake Is Thin and Slippery

A group of scientists drilled miles beneath the Pacific Ocean, uncovering conditions that made the Tohoku-Oki earthquake and tsunami so devastating

This part of the planet would have looked a whole lot different.

America Was Almost Two Separate Continents

The east and the west were nearly different continents

New York Might Never Top the 1949 Rockefeller Center Tree

Although this years tree will have far more lights (45,000 in total) it won’t be quite the silver, spinning whirlwind of 1949

Seattle Seahawks Fans Caused an Earthquake This Week

Seattle fans take pride their stadium and ability to be loud. But to anyone’s knowledge, the 12th Man causing an earthquake is a first

A mugger crocodile balances twigs on its nose to tempt birds

Crocodiles Balance Twigs on Their Heads to Lure Nest-Building Birds

While crocodiles and alligators are stereotyped as “lethargic, stupid and boring,” researchers say the reptiles are more cunning than they seem

All turnips, all the time.

The Moon: The Only Place in the Universe Anyone’s Excited About Turnips

Someone at NASA has a real thing for turnips

This Curious Eagle Stole a Video Camera And Filmed Its Bird’s-Eye View of the World

A feathery theif scooped up a wildlife video camera and took it on a 70-odd-mile ride

Art Meets Science

The Art and Science of Growing Snowflakes in a Lab

Physicist Kenneth Libbrecht can make snowflakes with elegant spindles or blocky tabs by manipulating temperature and humidity

Disney’s childhood home in Chicago (on the corner), as depicted by Google Street View.

Walt Disney’s Childhood Home May Soon Be a Museum

The new owners may return the house to the same conditions it was in when young Disney ran through its halls

Josh Brolin stars in Spike Lee's 2013 remake of the Korean cult classic Oldboy.

The Smithsonian’s Curator of Asian Film on Where Spike Lee’s Oldboy Fails

The Sackler Gallery’s curator Tom Vick wonders why Hollywood directors and producers even bother remaking films when the originals were so excellent

Page 653 of 1324