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Arts & Culture

The long-lived soap opera "All My Children" began its over-40-year run in 1970.

For 70 Years, the Soap Opera Has Shaped American Pop Culture

The much-maligned genre has been resurrected as prestige TV

Three years after the first oral contraceptive was approved by the FDA, Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation created the first "memory aid" packaging, which featured a circular calendar in the middle.

Women Who Shaped History

These Objects Begin to Tell the Story of Women’s History in America

Thirteen artifacts from the National Museum of American History chronicle profound changes in the life of the nation

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Smithsonian Voices

Don’t Miss These Award-Winning Films at the Mother Tongue Film Festival

Kicking off February 21—International Mother Language Day—more than 20 films featuring 62 languages

Banksias, 2014

Art Meets Science

Dornith Doherty’s Mesmerizing Photos Capture the Contradictions of Seed Banking

“Archiving Eden,” now at the National Academy of Sciences, shows how guarding against an ecological catastrophe is both optimistic and pessimistic

There are now zero waste supermarkets from Brooklyn to Sicily to Malaysia to South Africa.

The Rise of ‘Zero-Waste’ Grocery Stores

A growing number of supermarkets sell food without packaging in an effort to reduce the toll of plastic on the environment

American orator, editor, author, abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) edits a journal at his desk, late 1870s.

History of Now

‘The North Star’ Amplified Black Voices. How a 2019 Reboot of Frederick Douglass’ Paper Hopes to Do the Same

A new outfit sees inspiration from the 19th-century publication that pursued the cause of fighting injustice everywhere

La Casa di Giulietta had always belonged to the Dal Cappello family until purchased by the City of Verona in 1905. Cappello is close enough to Capulet that there’s a semblance of credibility to those who wish to believe.

In the Fair City of Verona, Star-Cross’d Lovers Want to Believe in ‘La Casa di Giulietta’

The number of visitors to this self-proclaimed Shakespearean “city of love” typically swells during the week around Valentine’s Day

In a new Smithsonian Sidedoor episode, Cheech Marin talks about his dedication to elevating Chicano art, especially the kind that reflects an inventive and survivalist attitude.

Why the Chicano Underdog Aesthetic ‘Rasquachismo’ Is Finally Having Its Day

Next up for the podcast Sidedoor, actor and director Cheech Marin opines on the Chicano art sensibility that is defiant, tacky and wildly creative

The Patents Behind Your Box of Valentine’s Day Chocolates

Before you sample a truffle or a coconut cream, consider all of the innovation that has been poured into the sweets and their lovely presentation

Paella, a national favorite in Spain, is a hearty dish prominently featuring two of Linford's Seven Wonders—rice and tomato. It may be seasoned with salt and chili flakes as well.

The Mouthwatering History of Seven Fundamental Foodstuffs

A new Smithsonian book whisks readers on a culinary odyssey, tracing the history of salt, pork, honey, chili, tomato, rice and chocolate

Pop History

There Was the Magazine Quiz. Then Came the Internet. What Now?

From the “Cosmo Quiz” to Quizilla to Buzzfeed… what’s next?

Blair Hall, a dormitory at Princeton University that was built in 1897 and continues to house students today

The Evolution of the College Dorm Chronicles How Colleges Became Less White and Male

What the architecture and history of student housing tell us about higher education

Items on display at the recently opened KGB Spy Museum in New York

The Incomplete History Told by New York’s K.G.B. Museum

Designed to be apolitical, the attraction offers whiz-bang tech without the agency’s brutal past

The Necco candy factory used to produce piles of Sweethearts.

The Pharmacist Who Launched America’s Modern Candy Industry

Oliver Chase invented a lozenge-cutting machine that led to Necco wafers, Sweethearts and the mechanization of candy making

Lego's Duplo bricks have been in production for 50 years.

How Lego Patents Helped Build a Toy Empire, Brick by Brick

The Danish toy company invented its basic brick, then designed a toddler-friendly version, before adding mini figures to the mix

An assemblage Assimilation? Destruction? by ceramicist Sharif Bey, is primarily about globalization and cultural identity. It is also a reference to Bey’s identity as a potter and an artist of color.

Four Craft Artists Use Their Medium to Tell the Story of Our Times

The Renwick’s newest show challenges everything you thought you knew about craft art

How First Lady Sarah Polk Set a Model for Conservative Female Power

The popular and pious wife to President James Polk had little use for the nascent suffrage movement

At Gobbler’s Knob, Punxsutawney Phil is proudly lifted like Simba high overhead by his top-hatted Groundhog Club handler. Will it be six more weeks of winter or an early spring? Only the groundhog knows.

Play a Groundhog Day Song on a Continuous Loop

Like Bill Murray, wake up to Groundhog Day everyday with the Smithsonian Folkways’ groundhog playlist

The Patents Behind Pasta Shapes

When you sit down to a bowl, be it gnocchi or Kraft macaroni, consider the design work and innovation that have gone into it

The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in what came to be known as Super Bowl I.

Pop History

What the Earliest Super Bowl Commercials Tell Us About the Super Bowl

The inaugural title game in 1967 would not have been getting kudos from the media for representing women

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