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The Perils of Wearing Clothes

From toxins in textile dyes to torturous corsets, beauty has a long history of coming at a high cost

A high resolution photo of the Chicago River on St. Patrick’s Day

A New Meaning to Green Urban Design: Dyeing the Chicago River

The story behind how the Windy City gets its yearly watery makeover

“Bunny” Bunny, by Henry Segerman and Craig Kaplan. The pattern on the bunny consists of copies of the word “bunny.” Listen as the artist describes the sculpture in this YouTube video.

Fresh Off the 3D Printer: Henry Segerman’s Mathematical Sculptures

A research fellow at the University of Melbourne has found a sneaky way to convert math haters to math lovers. He turns complex geometries into art

Corned beef and cabbage

Is Corned Beef Really Irish?

The rise and fall and rise of the traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal

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Who Really Invented the Smiley Face?

It’s supposedly the 50th anniversary of the original design of the iconic image, but its history since then is surprisingly complex with millions of dollars at stake

Since the mid to late 19th century, isinglass, a fish by-product has been used as a clarification agent in Guinness beer.

Hey Vegans! There May Be Fish Bladder in Your Guinness

Isinglass, a gelatine collected from the air-bladders of freshwater fish like the sturgeon, is used in the clarification process of some stouts

Jesper Kongshaug's Northern Lights display at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

The Northern Lights—From Scientific Phenomenon to Artists’ Muse

The spectacular aurora borealis is inspiring artists to create light installations, musical compositions, food and fashion

Floyd Smith, patent 1,462,456 for a parachute pack and harness, 1919

An Early History of the Parachute

It wasn’t a military expert or an aviation pioneer, but a Russian actor who developed the first viable parachute

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The (Natural) World, According to Our Photo Contest Finalists

From a caterpillar to the Milky Way, the ten finalists in the contest’s Natural World category capture the peculiar, the remarkable and the sublime

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The Aughts: When People Wore Their Causes on Their Sleeves, Literally

It was a decade of Uggs and excess but also styles meant to further the greater good

A colored print of La Minerve

Hot Air Balloon Travel for the Luxury Traveler of the 1800s

Visionary designers of the 19th century believed that the future of air travel depended on elaborate airships

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The Greatest R&B Singer Who Never Existed

How the make-believe alter ego of an imaginative teen in the 1970s won him the fame he always dreamed of 40 years later

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Transforming Raw Scientific Data Into Sculpture and Song

Artist Nathalie Miebach uses meteorological data to create 3D woven works of art and playable musical scores

The titular draughtsman looks through his perspective machine in this still from Peter Greenaway’s 1982 film The Draughtsman’s Contract

Digital Files and 3D Printing—in the Renaissance?

3D printing is a new technology that seems poised to change the world, but its origins date back all the way to the 15th century

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The Fishy History of the McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish Sandwich

How a struggling entrepreneur in Ohio saved his burger business during Lent and changed the McDonald’s menu for good.

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How Gorillas Emerged From Africa and More New and Notable Books

Read the latest on subliminal message, body snatching, and Sheryl Sandberg’s insights on the rise of women

Billy Collins is a two-time poet laureate of the United States.

Billy Collins’ “The Deep”

A new poem from the former poet laureate of the United States

The concept art for the forthcoming game Star Wars 1313 portrays a crime-ridden city.

What Does Citizen Kane Have to Do With Mass Effect 2?

Modern games find inspiration in the techniques of classic film noir

The lava lamp was invented by Edward Craven Walker whose other claim to fame was making underwater nudist films.

The History of the Lava Lamp

At 50, the legendary relic of the college dorm room is still groovy after all these years

Classic Celtic Music

There’s More to Celtic Music Than “Danny Boy”

A new album from Smithsonian Folkways will brighten anyone’s St. Patrick’s Day

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