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Arts & Culture

Margarita

No Limes? Not a Problem. Here’s How to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo Without Them

Rising prices for the citrus fruit have inspired bartenders to get their creative juices flowing

Bayou crawfish boil

Why Crawfish Are Louisiana’s Culinary Gift to the Nation

What makes the crustacean a springtime treat, whether its in gumbo or an etouffee

Hans Hollein at his office in Vienna, Austria, 20 March 2009.

Remembering the “Eclectic Gusto” of Architect Hans Hollein

A look into what still excites us about the Viennese designer, who died last week at 80

A chef preparing sushi.

It’s Not a Health Hazard to Have Sushi Made With Bare Hands, It’s a Necessity

A misguided California law temporarily banned the use of gloveless hands to form sushi. Here’s why it’s being repealed

An overhead view of the 1964 World's Fair, showing the unisphere and surrounding pavilions.

The Story Behind the Failed Minstrel Show at the 1964 World’s Fair

The integrated theatrical showcase had progressive ambitions but lasted only two performances

Thorax and wings of a tree bug (Pentatoma rufipes) found in 1990 in Graubünden, Switzerland, part of the Chernobyl fallout area. Hesse-Honegger notes that the right wings are disturbed and the scutellum is bent.

Art Meets Science

Chernobyl’s Bugs: The Art And Science Of Life After Nuclear Fallout

In 1986, a Swiss artist set out to document insects from regions affected by the Chernobyl disaster, and science is starting to catch up with her

A Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris ssp. sumatrae) at the National Zoo in Washington, DC.

This Song (And This Tiger) Will Go Extinct Unless We Save It

Smithsonian magazine editor Michael Caruso is among the 400 influencers asked to protect and save the “Endangered Song”

Braised dandelion greens.

What the Heck Do I Do With

What the Heck Do I Do with Dandelion Greens?

These weedy pests should be on your next dinner plate

New to the collections: Actor Reeve Carney's red and blue spandex bodysuit, which he wore while starring in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

‘Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark’ Suit Receives a Lifetime Encore at the American History Museum

After a two-year run on Broadway, the web-slinging stage show’s iconic superhero costume is heading to the Smithsonian.

The Ooho edible water bottle can't be closed, but is biodegrade.

Tech Watch

Here’s A Water Bottle You Can Actually Eat

A simple culinary technique may go a long way toward ridding the world of excess plastic waste.

Galileo Demonstrating Telescope

Art Meets Science

Was Shakespeare Aware of the Scientific Discoveries of His Time?

For his new book, Dan Falk followed a group of scholars who argue, unlike most, that the playwright was up to speed with the latest astronomy

In Portrait of Nan, Wood highlighted his sister’s femininity.

Meet Grant Wood’s Sister, the Woman Made Famous by “American Gothic”

The painter gave his sibling Nan a makeover in his alluring portrait of her

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The Pay Phone: A New Poem by Joshua Mehigan

A new poem by Joshua Mehigan

Ozcan (in his UCLA lab) started a company, Holomic, to market microscope-outfitted smartphones, which he calls “a telemedicine tool” for improving health care in the developing world.

Inside the Technology That Can Turn Your Smartphone into a Personal Doctor

The fantastic tricorder device that “Bones” used to scan aliens on “Star Trek” is nearly at hand—in your cellphone

Why Do We Love R2-D2 and Not C-3PO?

With its stubby cylindrical body and playful whistles and beeps, the lovable Star Wars’ robot R2-D2 is just the right mix of man and machine

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Café Future: A new poem by David Yezzi

A new poem by David Yezzi

How America’s Leading Science Fiction Authors Are Shaping Your Future

The literary genre isn’t meant to predict the future, but implausible ideas that fire inventors’ imaginations often, amazingly, come true

This Reversible Painting Flips Your Expectations of Art

A painter looks at her canvas from a new perspective

Patrick Stewart on His Craft, 21st-Century Science and Robot Ethics

The actor whose leading roles in “Star Trek” and X-Men have taken him into the far future, reflects on where present-day society is headed

A tea party. Inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: "Alice looked all round the table, but there was nothing on it but tea."

What it Takes to Cook Some of Literature’s Most Famous Meals

Dinah Fried’s new photo book brings the words of authors such as James Joyce and Lewis Caroll to life

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