Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Articles

Feral cats can roam over great distances, a new study finds.

The Secret Lives of Feral Cats

Free-roaming, unowned kitties live differently from our beloved pets

Continuum, the 2011 National Design Award winner in the Product Design category, designed the air bladder fit control system for the Reebok Pump sneaker in the late 1980s, among other successful products.

National Design Award Winners Announced

The Cooper-Hewitt’s 2011 National Design Award winners are an impressive group of thinkers

Putting beer koozies to the test.

Science in the Public Interest: The Beer Koozie Test

How well do beer koozies actually work at keeping your beverage cold?

Scientists use satellite images of the kelp canopy (here, as seen from underwater) to track this important ecosystem over time.

A New View Into California’s Kelp Forests

Satellite imagery is providing new insight into an important ecosystem just off the California coast

The horns of Marsh's Bison alticornis, now recognized as those of a ceratopsian dinosaur.

When Triceratops Was a Giant Bison

The giant with the “three-horned face” was originally mistaken for a very different creature

Damai, the Zoo's newest tiger

Roar! A New Tiger Named Damai is Greeting Visitors at the Zoo

An animal keeper of cats and bears discusses the Zoo’s latest addition

Abraham Lincoln's top hat

Weekend Events May 27-30: Lincoln, Spark!Lab, Friendship Dance, Dinosaurs

Weekend Events May 27-30: May 30 is your last chance to see Abraham Lincoln, An Extraordinary Life exhibition at the Museum of American History.

The cover of Doug TenNapel's Tommysaurus Rex.

Pen and Ink Dinosaurs: Tommysaurus Rex

Tyrannosaurus rex is the antithesis of everything a good pet should be. “Literally awful and almost certainly needing a special insurance policy” to keep

Bee bim bap

What to Eat When You’re Adopting

Eating bulgogi for three: If we knew little about Korean cuisine, boy, we knew even less about parenting

Most fatal black bear attacks are carried out by hungry males

How To Avoid Being Eaten By A Black Bear

A recent study of fatal black bear attacks shows that hungry males are the ones to really worry about

Helmet worn by Peter L. Robinson in World War I

Eleven Artifacts of Heroism from America’s Wars

A selection of artifacts on display in “The Price of Freedom: Americans at War,” an exhibit currently on display at the American History Museum

Vintage radio

Music to Eat By

A skeleton of the Late Triassic ichthyosaur Shastasaurus liangae.

Slurp! The Marine Reptile Shastasaurus Was a Suction Feeder

Thanks to new specimens found in China, paleontologists have discovered that Shastasaurus ate very much like a beaked whale does today

What bits of the universe are legal to own?

A Quick Guide to Owning the Universe

If someone tries to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge, you know it’s a hoax. But what about a meteorite, moon or star?

Asian carp, imported from China in 1973 to clean algae from Southern ponds, broke from their confines and infested the Mississippi River waterways.

Making the Best of Invasive Species

Garlic mustard and Asian carp can wreak havoc on their ecosystems, but do they have a future on your dinner plate?

None

The Hamburger: A Quintessential American Meal

The hamburger is a part of our national identity. But how did the U.S. come to “own” the little beef cake sandwiches?

Llamas can still be found at Machu Picchu today.

The Secret to Machu Picchu’s Success: Llama Poop

The Incas used llama dung as fertilizer to grow maize, and fuel an empire

None

One Dinosaur Too Many?

Are there too many dinosaurs? Paleontologist Jack Horner thinks so, and he explained his reasoning in a short TED talk last month

Pictures of children were used in these 19th-century advertising cards.

“Pictures for Everyone” Takes a Look Back

The American History Museum explores what happened when pictures became widely available in the U.S. in the 19th century

The Ahwahnee Hotel was built in 1927 to draw affluent and influential tourists into the park and give them a Ritz-Carlton experience amid Yosemite's wilderness.

Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel, Finally Restored

Interior designers spared no detail in bringing this historic lodge back to its luxurious origins

Page 928 of 1327