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Articles

Krokodil, a “Flesh-Eating” Heroin Substitute Popular in Russia, Just Showed Up in the U.S.

Desomorphine, a cleaner form of the drug, was first concocted by the U.S. in the 1930s as a potential morphine substitute

Saint Coronatus joined a convent in Heiligkreuztal, Germany, in 1676

Switzerland

Meet the Fantastically Bejeweled Skeletons of Catholicism’s Forgotten Martyrs

Art historian and author Paul Koudounaris elucidates the macabre splendor and tragic history of Europe’s catacomb saints

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This Shattered, Bullet-Riddled Stump Shows the Violent Intensity of Civil War Battle

A mute testament to the horrors of war, this is all that remained of a large oak tree caught in the crossfire at the battle of Spotsylvania

Lomboc Island is now a sleepy vacation spot.

The Case of the Mysterious, Thirteenth-Century Eruption Might Finally be Solved

In A.D. 1257 a massive volcano erupted, spreading ash all over the world. The problem is that scientists have no idea where the eruption happened

The accelerometer chip in iPhones can accurately detect seismic movement, and perhaps even provide a few crucial seconds of warning before the most energetic waves from an earthquake arrive.

Your Smartphone Could Someday Warn You That Earthquake Waves Are About to Hit

The accelerometer chip in iPhones can detect seismic movement and may even provide a few seconds of warning before the most violent shaking strikes

The Crab Pulsar, located in the Crab Nebula, is one of the celestial bodies Mickey Hart has translated into music.

Former Grateful Dead Drummer Mickey Hart Composes Music from the Sounds of the Universe

Hart teams up with a Nobel Prize-winning cosmologist to translate light and electromagnetic waves into octaves humans can hear

Occupy Wall Street Has Spawned a Financial Services Group

People affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement want to open an Occupy-branded bank

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Ballerinas’ Brains Are Desensitized to Dizziness

Dancers may reshape their brains with years or training, or people who have a natural ability not to fall over may be most likely to become pro ballerinas

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This Site Shows You Every Face on Facebook

There are over a billion people with Facebook accounts, and this site lets you see all of their profile pictures at once

Museums Closed Due to Government Shutdown

All Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo are affected

The computing power of an infant's brain still astounds.

Sleeping Babies Can Sense When Mommy and Daddy Are Fighting

The infant brain is even more impressionable than previously thought

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How Did Mars Become the Red Planet?

A new NASA spacecraft, MAVEN, will explore the geologic history of our planetary neighbor

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The Muppets Take the Smithsonian

Elmo, Fozzie Bear, the Count, Miss Piggy and 17 other Jim Henson puppets are coming to the American History Museum

Carlos, by Joseph Rodriguez: a sense of ownership of the city

An Exploration of Latino Art at the Smithsonian

Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough previews a new exhibit at the American Art Museum

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“Secure Speech Cipher System”

A new poem by Linda Bierds

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Inside America’s Great Romance With Norman Rockwell

A new biography of the artist reveals the complex inner life of our greatest and most controversial illustrator

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Where Did Yodeling Originate and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked our experts, we got the answers

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Exploring Alien Life, Cat Science and More New Books to Read

Our book reviewer looks at Red Cloud’s feat and the romance of hot air

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The Civil War

Will the Real Abraham Lincoln Please Stand Up?

A former Disney animator makes a provocative discovery by studying photos taken during the Gettysburg Address

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The Human Price of a Centuries-Old Vendetta

In Albania, the revival of a 15th-century code has trapped families in multigenerational blood feuds

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