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Articles

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

This New Grocery Store Only Sells Expired Food

Out-of-date food is often still good to eat, and this man wants to sell it to you

China Claims to Have Bought a Huge Chunk of Ukraine

China says it’s purchased 3 million hectares of Ukrainian farming land, but Ukraine says it has no intention of selling land to China

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Interactive: Seeking Abraham Lincoln at the Gettysburg Address

A series of photographs captured in November 1863 give us a sense of what happened when Lincoln delivered his famous speech

Spot the impostor: A cuckoo finch chick (left) and a tawny-flanked prinia chick (right) open their beaks for a meal.

Parasitic Cuckoo Finches Use an Egg Overload to Evade Host Defenses

The more eggs a parasitic cuckoo finch lays in its host’s nest, the more likely a discerning foster parent will accept the finch’s young as its own

Dance to Your Body’s Own Music

If you’ve ever been told to “march to the beat of your own drum” here’s your chance to do that as literally as possible

Britain’s Building a Transportation Network Just for Bees (And Other Pollinators)

The idea is to provide passage for insects that play a role in maintaining an estimated 90 percent of Britain’s greenery and crops through pollination

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