Peter Matthiessen’s Lifelong Quest for Peace

In one of his final interviews, the award-winning writer talks about what inspired him to travel to the farthest reaches of the globe

Noah's Ark by Edward Hicks, 1846.

New Research

Could Noah’s Ark Float? In Theory, Yes

Basic physics suggests that an ark carrying lots of animal cargo could float, but science doesn’t support other facets of the biblical tale

Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat, by Simon de Myle

Ten Ancient Stories and the Geological Events That May Have Inspired Them

If you dig deep enough, say scientists, you can find some truth to legends and creation stories

T.S. Eliot

How Did the Cruellest Month Come to Be the Perfect 30 Days to Celebrate Poetry?

A Smithsonian historian makes the case why springtime is the best time to reawaken a thirst for verse

Artist Todd McGrain's sculptures of five extinct North American birds are now on display in Smithsonian gardens.

Art Meets Science

Bronze Sculptures of Five Extinct Birds Land in Smithsonian Gardens

Artist Todd McGrain memorializes species long-vanished, due to human impact on their habitats, in his “Lost Bird Project”

Michael Peña portrays farmworker turned activist Cesar Chavez in a new biopic.

What the New Cesar Chavez Film Gets Wrong About the Labor Activist

Despite the good intentions, the biopic misleads and distorts his role in the farm workers movement

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These Sketches Will Take You Into the Artistic Mind of Edward Hopper

At the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, a new exhibition and a novella delve into the inexplicable sense of mystery in Hopper’s paintings

A view of the installation of the ATLAS portion of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.

Art Meets Science

Art and Science Collide in the Discovery of the Higgs Boson

Particle Fever, a documentary about the physicists who found the “God particle,” suggests doing science isn’t that different from making art

View of St. Peter's Basilica from La Pergola.

Mario Batali: The Best Restaurant in Rome

Take a peak inside Rome’s La Pergola

Cardoons in the garden of Villa Augustus, Dordrecht.

What the Heck Do I Do With

What the Heck Do I Do With a Cardoon?

The labor-intensive crop is absolutely worth the effort

The Seldom Scene's album, "Long Time. . . Seldom Scene," the band's first recording since 2007, features a mix of classic fan favorites, a litany of guest stars and one brand-new song.

Seldom Scene, Often Heard: A Bluegrass Band Returns to its Roots With a New Album

The current members of the legendary Washington, D.C.-based bluegrass band celebrate four decades of making music

Honorable Mention. Sand Babel: Solar-Powered 3D Printed Tower.

Free From the Rules of Physics and Practicality, 20 Architects Radically Reimagine the Skyscraper

These high-rise designs are sci-fi visions of the future

An Arizona State University student's toothpaste tube prototype forces every last bit to come out by folding down like an accordion.

A Toothpaste Tube That Gets Every Last Bit Out

Tired of wasting leftover toothpaste, a student invents a new origami-inspired design that leaves nothing behind

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Adorable Children Around the World Pose With Their Favorite Toys

In photographer Gabriele Galimberti’s new book, kids stand amongst their most prized possessions

Mercury Bar in Detroit

How a Revitalized Food Scene is Giving Detroit a Boost in Morale and Economic Strength

Author Bill Loomis talks about his new book and Motown’s ever-evolving gastronomic cityscape

Zebrafish embryo

Art Meets Science

A Scan of a Mechanical Heart Pump Fitted in a Live Human and Other Eerily Beautiful Scientific Images

From a photo of a tick biting flesh to a closeup of a kidney stone, the 18 winners of the 2014 Wellcome Image Awards highlight objects we don’t usually see

"Peasant girls." Young Russian women offer berries to visitors in a rural area along the Sheksna River near the small town of Kirillov.

Color Photographs of Imperial Russia Reveal a World Lost to History

At Paris’ Zadkine Museum, explore vibrant photos of the pre-Soviet Russian Empire

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Art Meets Science

Can Bullets Be Beautiful?

Photographer Sabine Pearlman exposes the surprisingly delicate innards of rounds of ammunition

John Coltrane (left) “took it further than any [other] tenor saxophone player,” says photographer Chuck Stewart.

New Photos of John Coltrane Rediscovered 50 Years After They Were Shot

During the recording of A Love Supreme in 1964, Chuck Stewart caught the jazz legend in his element

The Lake, Petworth: Sunset, Fighting Bucks, painted by J.M.W. Turner around 1829, was one of several works studied to see if there was a connection between the colors used in the image and volcanic particles in the atmosphere at the time of the painting's creation.

New Research

How Paintings of Sunsets Immortalize Past Volcanic Eruptions

The balance of reds and greens reflects the amount of tiny particles in the atmosphere, scientists say

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