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A scrapbook documenting the history of the Auxiliary includes several pages of past Auxiliary presidents. All images courtesy of the Women’s Auxiliary, National Association of Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Contractors (collection 1304).

How Did A Group of Plumbers’ Wives Change American History?

Initially a social club, the Women’s Auxiliary grew to become one of the nation’s most influential organizations in the country

Psychologist B.F. Skinner taught these pigeons to play ping-pong in 1950.

B.F. Skinner: The Man Who Taught Pigeons to Play Ping-Pong and Rats to Pull Levers

One of behavioral psychology’s most famous scientists was also one of the quirkiest

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Projection Chic: Jane Jetson Tries on Clothes in the Future

As we move closer to the Jetsonian vision of choosing outfits, privacy has gone out of fashion

An advertisement for Dole canned pineapple, circa 1940s.

It’s Pineapple Season, But Does Your Fruit Come From Hawaii?

While Hawaii was once the big kahuna in pineapple production, it’s since been overtaken by other global powers

Koss SP3 headphones

A Partial History of Headphones

Modern headphones have their origin in opera houses, military bases and a kitchen table in Utah

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Warmer Temperatures Speed Tropical Plant Growth

New research challenges key assumptions about plant growth at increased temperatures

Artist’s rendition of a ethane lake on Titan.

Haiku Highlight the Existential Mysteries of Planetary Science

Conference-goers put into verse the ethane lakes on a Saturn moon, the orbital paths of Martian moons and a megachondrule’s mistaken identity

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VIDEO: Herons Crash the Zoo

Black-crowned night herons have been using the Zoo’s grounds for breeding for more than a century and the tradition continues

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Prehistoric Human Skull Shows Signs of Inbreeding

A 100,000-year-old skull has a hole that reflects genetic mutations from inbreeding—likely a common behavior for our ancestors

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The Vengeance of Ivarr the Boneless

Did he, and other Vikings, really use a brutal method of ritual execution called the “blood eagle”?

Orville Wright (above) and his brother Wilbur are credited with having conducted the first sustained, controlled, heavier-than-air flight.

Air and Space Curator: The Wright Brothers Were Most Definitely the First in Flight

Aeronautics curator Tom Crouch says yes, despite claims that a German immigrant named Gustave Whitehead may have beat them

Roosters have an internal circadian rhythm, which keeps them crowing on schedule even when the lights are turned off.

How Do Roosters Know When to Crow?

Their internal circadian rhythms keep them crowing on schedule, even when the lights are turned off

Nam June Paik’s “Electronic Superhighway” (he coined the phrase). See a curated selection of short films by the video artists on Wednesday at the American Art Museum.

Events March 19-21: Poetry Lessons, Nam June Paik Films and a Native Ballet

This week, unlock your inner poet, see films by the first video artist and take in the history of the Osage people performed in dance

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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

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The Newspaper of Tomorrow: 11 Predictions from Yesteryear

eNewspapers were being developed as far back as the 1930s

At the bottom of the Mariana Trench, nearly eight miles below the ocean’s surface, abundant communities of bacteria thrive.

Nearly 8 Miles Down, Bacteria Thrive in the Oceans’ Deepest Trench

The Mariana Trench may serve as a seafloor nutrient trap, supporting remarkable numbers of microorganisms

Shanti the Asian elephant plays with a tire in the National Zoo’s new Elephant Community Center, which opens on Saturday, March 23.

Look Out! Look Out! Elephants Get New Digs

The Elephant Community Center, the newest addition to the National Zoo’s “Elephant Trails” habitat, opens on Saturday, March 23

Travelers must be accepting of all tastes and flavors encountered along the way—but it may be difficult to argue that Italian espresso is anything but superior to all other manifestations of coffee.

Coffee Here, and Coffee There: How Different People Serve the World’s Favorite Hot Drink

Coffee is black and bitter—but global travelers find a surprisingly wide range of forms of the world’s favorite hot beverage

Ribbon worms come in all shapes and sizes. This one, with white stripes along the body, was found off the coast of Mexico.

14 Fun Facts about Marine Ribbon Worms

Ribbon worms swallow prey whole, grease themselves with their mucus to slide quickly through mud, split into new worms if severed, and much more

Celidh Band from town of Keady, County Armagh

Beyond Riverdance: Enjoy Classic Celtic Music for St. Patrick’s Day

A new release from Smithsonian Folkways showcases the best of Celtic classics

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