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Arts & Culture

Artist Yinka Shonibare's Headless Man Trying to Drink sculpture alludes to the growing shortage of potable water worldwide.

What’s Up

The Lunar Electric Rover is a prototype for the vehicle that NASA hopes to send with astronauts to the moon by 2020.

NASA’s New Lunar Rover

The Smithsonian Institution pitches in to help NASA prepare for its next lunar mission with a new “home on wheels”

Photographer Martin Schoeller's work was recently on display at the National Portrait Gallery.

Martin Schoeller’s Signature Style

Known for his photographs of celebrities and politicians, the artist doesn’t put his portrait subjects on a pedestal

Almira Buffalo Bone Jackson (in 1994) once said that she would "dream the colors [of quilts] at night."

A Spectacular Collection of Native American Quilts

Tribes from the Great Plains used quilts as both a practical replacement of buffalo robes and a storytelling device

The city, in all its brooding grandeur, takes center stage in stories featuring the master of deduction.

Sherlock Holmes’ London

As the detective stalks movie theaters, our reporter tracks down the favorite haunts of Arthur Conan Doyle and his famous sleuth

In 1972, with assistance from an art teacher, 11 men formed a cooperative called Papunya Tula Artists. By 1974 the group had grown to 40.

Contemporary Aboriginal Art

Rare artworks from an unsurpassed collection evoke the inner lives and secret rites of Australia’s indigenous people

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The Decade in Food News

The first decade of the millennium may have been a good one for cuisine, but it was a mixed bag in terms of food-related news

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A Decade in Food Trends

Organic becomes a household name, chefs become celebrities and exotic ingredients become ordinary

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The Science Behind the Marijuana Munchies

The researched link between marijuana and an increased appetite

Christmas Dinner on the International Space Station

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Gingerbread Mansions

Does Santa Need to Go on a Diet?

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The Stories Behind Forgotten Holiday Treats

Recipes, like songs and poems, are passed down from generation to generation. But some holiday recipes seems to have fallen through the cracks

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Barley Candy, a Victorian Christmas Goody

Andrew Lawler is currently a freelancer living in the woods of Maine.

Arthur Lubow on “Painted Dreams”

Caveman Cereal Raises a Question: Do Humans Need Grains?

Smithsonian magazine's 2009 Notable Books for Children.

Smithsonian Notable Books for Children 2009

Our annual list of children’s books highlights the most fascinating titles published in the past year

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What Are Those Green Specks in My Biscuits?

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What is this Junket, Anyway?

Crop circles are seen by many to enchant a mystical landscape: here, a circle pattern from 2009, 200 feet across, in a Wiltshire wheat field.

Crop Circles: The Art of the Hoax

They may not be evidence of UFOs, ancient spirits or secret weapons, but there is something magical in their allure

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