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An aerial view of the PepsiCo World Headquarters in Purchase, NY

The Architectural History of Pepsi-Cola, Part 2: Edward Durell Stone and the Corporate Campus

Employee morale rose but architecture critics were repulsed upon the opening of the company’s new campus in Purchase, New York

Photographer Kieran Dodds has temporarily taken over the Smithsonian magazine Instagram account.

Six Questions With Photographer Kieran Dodds

The photojournalist talks about his Bionic Man assignment and what his plans are for taking over our Instagram account

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Bearing Witness to the Aftermath of the Birmingham Church Bombing

On September 15, 1963, four were killed in the Ku Klux Klan bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama

Watch This Woman Slowly Transform From Toddler to Elderly Woman

The idea behind Danielle, who is based on a real person, is “that something is happening but you can’t see it but you can feel it, like aging itself”

Modern Materials Make Houses Burn More Quickly

What used to take half an hour now lasts mere minues

Half of Children That Die Before Age Five Live in Just Five Countries

6.6 million children died before their first birthday last year, but the good news is that number is going down

Will Women Ever Overtake Men in Endurance Events?

When it comes to super long distances, women are catching up to men

Ben Jacobsen showing off his beloved flake salt

A Pinch of Salt Has Never Tasted So… American?

The fleur de sel has long been a trademark of French culinary craftsmanship, Oregon’s Jacobsen may have produced a salt crystal that competes with the best

Here’s What We Thought Earth Would Look Like from Space

Before we actually went to space, we had some ideas about what Earth might look like

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Orangutans Plan And Share Their Routes Before Hitting the Road

The authors suspect that other great apes and species of intelligent animals likely use similar communication strategies

What Happens When You Freeze Flowers and Shoot Them With a Gun?

With the help of a little liquid nitrogen, German photographer Martin Klimas captures the fragile chaos of flowers as they explode

Google Street View Goes to the Galapagos

Follow in Darwin’s footsteps, starting on San Cristobal Island and then venturing to Floreana Island and North Seymour Island

President Barack Obama is left-handed, as well as at least six former presidents.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Why Are Some People Left-Handed?

Being a righty or a lefty could be linked to variations in a network of genes that influence right or left asymmetries in the body and brain

The small hopping insect Issus coleoptratus uses toothed gears (magnified above with an electron microscope) to precisely synchronize the kicks of its hind legs as it jumps forward.

This Insect Has The Only Mechanical Gears Ever Found in Nature

The small hopping insect Issus coleoptratus uses toothed gears on its joints to precisely synchronize the kicks of its hind legs as it jumps forward

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Two Dozen Corpses, Beheaded Around 1,400 Years Ago, Found in a Cave in Mexico

In a cave in Mexico, the disembodied corpses of dozens of people

233,000 Gallons of Molasses Spilled in Hawaii, Killing Everything

This might sound like the beginning of a cartoon, but it’s not. Molasses is bad for wildlife, and the officials are dealing with an environmental disaster

Cerro Prieto Geothermal Power Station, Baja, Mexico 2012

Aerial Views of Our Water World

In a new book, documentary and exhibition, photographer Edward Burtynsky looks at humans’ dramatic relationship with water

Elephants Can Distinguish Between the Growl of a Hungry Tiger And a Hungry Leopard

Farmers may be able to use growl-broadcasting, motion-triggered speakers to deter elephants from raiding their crops

A totally irrelevant photo of steam

North Korea May Have Just Restarted its Nuclear Program

Steam coming from a mothballed plutonium plant could mean North Korea is resuming its weapons program

Australia’s New Prime Minister Thinks Climate Science Is “Highly Contentious”

Tony Abbott’s Liberal campaign slogan of “Chose real change” may turn out to be unsettlingly on the mark

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