Store-provided personal barcode scanners are becoming more commonplace, but the technology is being adapted for smart phones to make for an easier shopping experience.

Five Ways to See the Supermarket of the Future Today

The early 20th-century obsession with child prodigies was well documenting in tabloid newspapers, turning the kids into national celebrities.

The Child Prodigies Who Became 20th-Century Celebrities

Every generation produces kid geniuses, but in the early 1900s, the public was obsessed with them

Points interactive directional signpost

A Sign For the Times: Digital Wayfinding Adapts to Your Needs

Design agency BREAKFAST is creating the street sign of the future

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This Incredible Art Installation Makes It Rain, Everywhere But On You

“Rain Room,” on display at MoMA, is an indoor downpour that detects the presence of people and adjusts to keep them dry

Huitlacoche, a black corn fungus, is an agricultural bane to some, but to others, it’s a delicacy.

Delicious Molds: Four Fungi Fit For Your Plate

Some molds are perfectly fit for consumption, if not desired to produce fine dining fare

"I am bringing healthy food to the community and showing people how to grow it and cook it," says Ron Finley.

How Guerrilla Gardening Can Save America’s Food Deserts

Ron Finley’s L.A. Green Grounds brings fresh fruit and vegetables to urban neighborhoods dominated by fast food, liquor stores and empty lots

A sample of Dyslexie, a tyepface designed to help dyslexic people

How New Fonts Are Helping Dyslexics Read and Making Roads Safer

The right font can be appealing, but please don’t take this as an excuse to use Comic Sans

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The Daily Planet in Film and Television

The real buildings that played the Daily Planet in film and television

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What to Do With Your Delicious Summer Melons

From salsa to salad to soup, here are some great refreshing dishes to make with these sublime, succulent fruits

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Where Bourbon Really Got Its Name and More Tips on America’s Native Spirit

Michael Veach is Louisville’s unofficial bourbon ambassador. We asked him to give us some history as well as some suggestions on what to drink

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Watch New York City Come Alive in This Amazing Timelapse

Take a sped-up tour of Midtown Manhattan and its residents, non-stop traffic and historic landmarks

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The Architecture of Superman: A Brief History of The Daily Planet

The real-world buildings that may have inspired Superman’s iconic office tower workplace

“Rainbow Ice” is a top selling flavor for Dippin’ Dots.

Is Dippin’ Dots Still the “Ice Cream of the Future”?

How founder and CEO Curt Jones is trying to keep the tiny ice cream beads from becoming a thing of the past

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The Vibrant Patterns of Portuguese Men-of-War

Beachgoers despise the stinging animals, but photographer Aaron Ansarov finds surreal beauty in them

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The World’s First Exhibition on Yoga in Art (Photos)

“Yoga: The Art of Transformation” opens at the Sackler Gallery

Designer Kate McLean creates detailed smell maps of cities around the world, such as this map of the the “Smelliest Block in New York.”

Mapping the Smells of New York, Amsterdam and Paris, Block by Block

Designer and cartographer Kate McLean charts the sweet scents and pungent odors that fill a city’s olfactory landscape

BMW Guggenheim Lab, Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin

From New York to Mumbai, the Top 100 Design Trends of the Urban World

From micro apartments in New York City to the slums of Mumbai, these are the issues currently obsessing designers around the world

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Is Spaghetti and Meatballs Italian?

The classic dish can be found in red-and-white tablecloth spots across the United States, but there’s a fascinating history behind where it got its start

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How Kids’ Television Inspires a Lifelong Love of Science

Television shows for preschoolers are teaching a whole new audience about science—their parents

The score for John Cage’s indeterminate composition “Fontana Mix”

5 1/2 Examples of Experimental Music Notation

In the 1950s progressive composers broke from the 5 line music staff to experiment with new, more expressive forms of graphic music notation

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