The ubiquitous shamrock has mythical origins.

No One Really Knows What a Shamrock Is

The three-leaf clover is what everyone wears, but what species is it?

Bust some ghosts in this board game based on the 1984 classic.

This Week in Crowdfunding

A Ghostbusters Board Game, Lights That Respond to Music and Other Wild Ideas That Just Got Funded

Also, a sensor that uses thermal technology to track the amount of gas left in a tank

Last fall, the Federal Aviation Administration finally allowed a handful of movie companies to use drones for filming in the United States.

It Was Only a Matter of Time: Drones Get Their Own Film Festival

Hoping to clean up the tarnished image of drones, a filmmaker shifts the focus to their potential for changing how movies are made

Pi Day pies.

Indiana Almost Made Pi Equal to 3.2, and Other Pi Day Facts

As you celebrate the mathematical holiday, here’s a history of notable moments in the irrational number’s past

Why the Story of Cinderella Endures and Resonates

A Smithsonian folklorist follows the ancient tale with a particularly American twist

It's time for the Romance Novel to get its due as an influential genre in the literary canon.

Why Can’t Romance Novels Get Any Love?

The genre is long overdue to be the focus of serious study from academics

This sinkhole in Belize has drawn scientists and divers, shedding light on the mystery that ended the Mayan Empire.

The World is Full of Circles

In honor of a very special Pi Day, enjoy this map that explores the human-made and natural structures that come closest to a perfect circle

The Amazing Results of Putting a Light Inside Fruits and Vegetables

Romanian photographer Radu Zaciu makes these farmers’ market foods glow from within

Bartender making mint julep cocktail.

Are We Re-Entering a Golden Age of American Bartending?

At the turn of the century, America was a hotbed of cocktail innovation—then Prohibition happened. Now, bartenders are trying to reclaim the golden age.

Commemorate the storied document's 800th anniversary with a few special accessories.

The Ridiculous World of Magna Carta Kitsch

Throughout the United Kingdom, retailers are going mad over an 800-year-old document

Bordetella phage BPP-1.

New Drawings Show the Strange Beauty of Phages, the Bacteria Slayers

Phage viruses rearrange genes, prey on bacteria and maintain microbial diversity. Can we harness them to do our bidding?

A man throws colored water as he celebrates Holi in Nandgaon, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, February 28, 2015.

Holi 2015: Stunning Photos of Holi, the Festival of Colors

Celebrated all over India and around the world, the Hindu festival heralds the beginning of spring

Scanning electron micrograph of a greenfly eye. Greenflies (aphid) have a pair of compound eyes. The small protrusion coming from the side of the eye is called an ocular tubercle, and it is made up of three lenses.

Art Meets Science

A Goat’s Stomach Never Looked So Good

Eleven venues worldwide will exhibit these 20 striking micrographs, MRI scans and illustrations—all winners of this year’s Wellcome Image Awards

Best Space Photos of the Week

These Cosmic Visions Include a Mars Ocean and a Supernova Quartet

The red planet’s deep blue sea and a rare Einstein cross feature among the week’s best space images

How Close Are We to Creating a Real-Life Chappie?

Despite the potential danger, some scientists believe it’s only a matter of time before autonomous sentient robots walk among us

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Announcing the Finalists of the 12th Annual Smithsonian.com Photo Contest

See the finalists of our 2014 photo contest and vote for the Readers’ Choice winner

A man overlooks a canyon, filled with glacial meltwater from the surrounding mountains, near Athabasca Falls.

The Beautiful Canadian Rockies Shine in the Photography of Chris Burkard

Known for his work with surfers, Burkard traveled to a much colder climate to immerse himself in a new world

Leonard Nimoy in his role as Mr. Spock, the logical, pointed-eared First Officer from the planet Vulcan of the starship Enterprise, on the TV series "Star Trek."

A Smithsonian Curator Reflects on Leonard Nimoy’s Passing and Why “Star Trek” Fans Loved Him

Nimoy, who was best known for his role as the deeply logical Mr. Spock, dies at age 83

A Prado visitor touches a 3-D printed replica of a contemporaneous copy of the "Mona Lisa."

Please Touch the Art: 3-D Printing Helps Visually Impaired Appreciate Paintings

The new “Touching the Prado” exhibit in Madrid showcases 3-D replicas of paintings, so blind visitors can feel key works of art

Chuck Brown (1936-2012), the Godfather of Go-Go, owned this six-string Gibson guitar, now in the collections of the Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum.

Chuck Brown’s Guitar Drove the Musician’s Persuasive “Wind Me Up” Rhythm

The Godfather of Go-Go’s family recall how the musician crafted the innovative sound that would define a local tradition

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