The Breakfast Burger at Roosevelt’s Tamale Parlor in San Francisco might be an acquired taste for some people. (photo courtesy MINE™)

Come for the Hamburgers, Stay for the Design Criticism

Two San Francisco designers find inspiration in a surprising place and learn that sometimes form follows fast food

Using hydroponics and LED, two entrepreneurs are growing produce underneath London.

Would You Eat a Salad Grown in a Bomb Shelter?

In London’s old, abandoned bomb shelters, a local food movement is taking root

It is time that we drop Hollywood’s humanoid view of extraterrestrials. In reality, David Aguilar says, “We are going to find bizarre adaptations.”

Life in the Cosmos

What Will Extraterrestrial Life Look Like?

Illustrator David Aguilar melds art and science to imagine how alien creatures might adapt to their environments

An X-Acto Knife with size 2 blade.

For 80 Years, X-Acto Has Been on the Cutting Edge of Edge Cutting

From its debut as a surgical knife, X-Acto’s precision blades have been the Kleenex of cutting

Still from Santiago Sierra and Jorge Galindo’s "Los Encargados [Those in Charge]," 2012.

Upending Those in Charge

How two artists staged a motorcade in Madrid, touting portraits of upside down politicians to question those in power—in Spain and across the globe.

Frances Glessner Lee hard at work on her one of her deadly dioramas, The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death.

How a Chicago Heiress Trained Homicide Detectives With an Unusual Tool: Dollhouses

Frances Glessner Lee’s miniature murder scenes are dioramas to die for

Jessica Brown Findley as Lady Sybil, Laura Carmichael as Lady Edith, Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary

The Costumes of “Downton Abbey” Now on View at Delaware’s Winterthur Museum

Step in front of the camera and enter the Grantham household in a new exhibit in Wilmington

Coffee with beignet's at Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans, LA.

American South

The History of the Chicory Coffee Mix That New Orleans Made Its Own

It started as a cost-saving workaround but stuck around for tradition’s sake

Chanel (Karl Lagerfeld), suit, pink wool and synthetic blends, white cotton, spring 1994, France, gift of Chanel Inc. Chanel (Karl Lagerfeld), necklace, gold plated metal, fall 1991, France, Gift of Depuis 1924.

Explore 250 Years of What Makes Fashion “Trendy” at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology

A new exhibit, “Trend-ology,” examines the origins of fashion’s hottest looks

Black Orpheus: How a French Film Introduced the World to Brazil

Decades later, the movie’s legacy lives on in popular culture and in the music videos of Arcade Fire

A resident of "Dementia Village" goes grocery shopping with a caregiver.

For People with Dementia, Does It Take a Village?

A community in the Netherlands has become a model for how to help people feel at home even after they’ve lost their memory

Tinsel Flag. Northwestern Arizona

Images of the Star-Spangled Banner from Across the Country

See images of the American flag captured by our readers.

George Washington standing at Mount Vernon and an angel with the American flag. Addressed to Mr. S.H. Haggy, Etna, Licking Co., Ohio.

Civil War Envelopes Featuring the Star-Spangled Banner

Supporters of the Union and the Confederacy alike used envelopes like these to advance political and social issues

Is Drinking Chocolate America’s New Cupcake?

When one trend falls by the wayside, another one must take it place. This winter, take advantage of this beverage on the rise

Workers furnish Queen Mary's Dollhouse in the drawing room of Lutyen's London apartment

From Bauhaus to Dollhouse: When Architects Think Small

For some architects, miniature houses are a big deal

Would you want a ring made from the cremated remains of a friend or family member?

Tech Watch

A Startup Claims To Turn the Dead into Diamonds

The Swiss-based company, Algordanza, says it’s developed a technology that transforms the ashes of a deceased loved one into keepsake jewelry

Buddha's hand sliced where all the fingers are splitting off the main fruit.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

What the Heck Do I Do With a Buddha’s Hand?

Yes, you can eat this thing

Child-sized gas masks in elementary school, Pripyat, Chernobyl zone of exclusion

What Would the World Look Like Without People?

Photojournalist Oleg Mastruko spent eight years photographing abandoned locations for his project “Without People”

Dublin at twilight.

The Inside Scoop on Jury’s Irish Cabaret in Dublin, Where Blarney Met Vaudeville

Rediscover a classic Smithsonian Folkways recording of an Irish variety show that first tickled tourists in 1963

A dollar bill found floating in the basement of the offices of Smack Mellon, a Brooklyn arts organization, after flooding due to Superstorm Sandy. Submitted by Adriane Colburn.

Art Meets Science

A Crowdsourced Collection of Objects That Embody Climate Change

“A People’s Archive of Sinking and Melting” features publicly submitted items from places that could be on the brink of disappearance

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