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Arts & Culture

Take a Tour of France’s “Bestiary of Machines”

Enter Les Machines de l’île’s Mechanical Animal Theme Park

The Muslim equivalent of the "apple a day" proverb is “seven dates a day keeps the doctor away.”

Why the Scrumptious Date Is So Important to the Muslim World

The Prophet Muhammed said that Ajwah dates—grown in the Madinah region of Saudi Arabia—are from paradise

Detail from the stela of Mentuwoser, c. 1955 B.C., shows the steward preparing for a feast.

Atlas of Eating

For Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, Life Was a Banquet, But the Afterlife Was the Greatest Feast of All

Life after death for the Ancient Egyptian elite included lots, and lots, of food

Many Chinese restaurant names with words like golden, fortune, luck and garden are chosen for their auspiciousness—out of the owners’ desire for success.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Why Do Chinese Restaurants Have Such Similar Names?

Consistency and familiarity is the tradition

The upcoming Museum of the American Revolution.

Nine New Must-See Museums Opening This Year

From the American Revolution to fashion design, these are the new museums to see in 2017

Atlas of Eating

Local Lens: Our Favorite Instagram Tongue Teasers

Hailing from Vietnam, Turkey and Italy, these photographers show that a love of beautifully arranged food knows no borders

Beatrix Potter Books

How Beatrix Potter Invented Character Merchandising

Faced with rejection, the author found her own path to fame and fortune

Atlas of Eating

When Happy Hour Was “Green Hour” in Paris

When the clock struck five, 19th-century Parisians turned to absinthe

Atlas of Eating

Celebrated Middle Eastern Food Writer Claudia Roden Shares Stories and Recipes From Her Kitchen

For Roden, food is a lens to understand history

Margaret at Stafford House on Cumberland Island, holding her first copy of Fox Eyes, illustrated by Jean Charlot. This story was inspired by her time on Cumberland as a teenager.

The Surprising Ingenuity Behind “Goodnight Moon”

Author Margaret Wise Brown used new theories in childhood education to write the classic children’s book

Atlas of Eating

The Ever Expanding World of Wine Takes Your Palate to Unexpected Places

Never before have so many diverse wines, from so many places, been available to so many people around the globe

Dominico Cascino (left) and chef Salvatore Denaro prepare an olive and tomato salad at the Cascinos’ olive farm in southern Sicily.

Atlas of Eating

Much of the Cuisine We Now Know, and Think of as Ours, Came to Us by War

The long and winding road that brought “local” dishes to our plates

This is a pyramidal neuron, so named for the pyramid-shaped body at the center of this drawing, from the cerebral cortex of a human. This outermost layer of the brain integrates information from sensory organs, commands movements and is the hub for higher brain functions, such as consciousness. In his drawing, Cajal gives the branches or dendrites different weights to show how the neuron extends in three-dimensional space. It’s likely that this represents a sort of idealized portrait of a pyramidal neuron, a synthesis of many observations.

Art Meets Science

Revel in These Wondrous Drawings by the Father of Neuroscience

A new book and exhibition pay homage to Santiago Ramón y Cajal’s impressive powers of observation

Yellow Landscape, Isamu Noguchi, 1943, magnesite, wood, string, metal fishing weight

To Bear Witness to Japanese Internment, One Artist Self-Deported Himself to the WWII Camps

The inhumanity brought on by Executive Order 9066 spurred Isamu Noguchi to action

Carl Laemmle in 1918

This Hollywood Titan Foresaw the Horrors of Nazi Germany

Carl Laemmle, the founder of Universal Pictures, wrote hundreds of affidavits to help refugees escape Europe

Inauguration History

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Presidential Food?

In honor of Inauguration Day, here’s a little quiz to see how much you know about presidential food history

Tony Lu prepares a dish.

Atlas of Eating

Meet the Michelin-Starred Chef Pushing the Limits of Vegetarian Cuisine in China

Master chef Tony Lu discusses China’s changing tastes and his own innovative approach to ‘Vegetarian Fusion’

The Admiral, 16th century | Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Atlas of Eating

A Brief History of Food as Art

From subject to statement, food has played a role in art for millennia

On a chilly day in Tokyo, customers slurp hot ramen at the Tsukiji fish market.

Atlas of Eating

You’ve Been Slurping Ramen All Wrong

In Japan, ramen is a culinary touchstone that goes way beyond food

Breaking Ground

Smithsonian Artifacts and Music Legends Share the Stage in Tonight’s Star-Studded Television Program

Notable African-American performing artists commemorate the opening of the National Museum of African American History

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