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Ask Smithsonian 2017

How Does Earth’s Geomagnetic Field Work?

You asked, we answered

A mid-air tourist flight. The author is second from the left.

The Future of Zero-Gravity Living Is Here

Entrepreneurs predict there will be thousands of us living and working in space. Our correspondent takes off to see what that feels like

Bjarke Ingels

Bjarke Ingels Makes the Impossible Concrete

The star architect is mapping out a new daring plan for the Smithsonian

How Mastiffs Became the World’s Top Dogs

The large, furry dogs of Tibet took an evolutionary shortcut millenia ago

Aubrey de Grey says, “There’s no such thing as aging gracefully.”

Can Human Mortality Really Be Hacked?

Backed by the digital fortunes of Silicon Valley, biotech companies are brazenly setting out to “cure” aging

The world’s largest model world, the Unisphere was erected for the grand fair themed “peace through understanding.”

What the Unisphere Tells Us About America at the Dawn of the Space Age

A towering tribute to the future past—and one man’s ego

Exoskeletons, automaton pets and tiny toy humanoids (pictured) populate the Korea Institute of Robot and Convergence.

A Visit to Seoul Brings Our Writer Face-to-Face With the Future of Robots

In the world’s most futuristic city, a tech-obsessed novelist confronts the invasion of mesmerizing machines

History of Now

Joe Pyne Was America’s First Shock Jock

Newly discovered tapes resurrect the angry ghost of Joe Pyne, the original outrageous talk show host

The soil microbe Bacillus subtilis is ubiquitous, but one rare strain yielded scientific pay dirt.

One Girl’s Mishap Led to the Creation of the Antibiotic Bacitracin

Margaret Treacy was the namesake for a breakthrough medication

“Salt Series” taken during a low-altitude flight in Western Australia.

Australia’s Salt Ponds Look Like Beautiful, Abstract Art From Above

Taking to the sky to show how industry shapes the earth

New York Water Taxi

How New York City Is Rediscovering Its Maritime Spirit

The city’s waterfront fell into dangerous decline, but now its on the rebound with a new wave of money and creativity

In 1950, Tollund Man’s discoverers “found a face so fresh they could only suppose they had stumbled on a recent murder.”

Europe’s Famed Bog Bodies Are Starting to Reveal Their Secrets

High-tech tools divulge new information about the mysterious and violent fates met by these corpses

Ask Smithsonian 2017

What’s the Difference Between Horns and Antlers and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

“Very, very early in my boyhood,” Hudson wrote, “I had acquired the habit of going about alone.”

The Naturalist Who Inspired Ernest Hemingway and Many Others to Love the Wilderness

W.H. Hudson wrote one of the 20th century’s greatest memoirs after a fever rekindled visions of his childhood.

The Unsavory History of Sugar, the Insatiable American Craving

How the nation got hooked on sweets

From the Smithsonian National Museum of American History

History of Now

This Jigsaw Puzzle Was Given to Ellis Island Immigrants to Test Their Intelligence

A confusing set of blocks could seal their fate

Jefferson Davis

The Trial of the Century That Wasn’t

The case against Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, would have been a legal showdown of the ages

Cover of Smithsonian Magazine, April 2017

Discussion

Reader responses to our April issue

Eternally mysterious Mount Fuji, as seen from Lake Kawaguchiko, remains a powerful force in Japanese culture and a must-do hike for truth-seekers despite the crowds and the looming threat of eruption.

Why Mount Fuji Endures As a Powerful Force in Japan

Not even crowds and the threat of an eruption can dampen the eternally mysterious volcano

Equus first evolved in North America millions of years ago.

How the Mustang, the Symbol of the Frontier, Became a Nuisance

A mainstay of Western culture, the free-roaming stallions are now a force to be reckoned with

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