Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

New At-Home Test Could Tell Women If Their Pregnancy Has Terminated

Women who both do and do not want to be pregnant could benefit from the new test

The Civil War

When the Union Ran Out of Ironclads, They Built Timberclads

A curious photograph caught one library specialist at the Library of Congress by surprise: a wooden ironclad

None

On Venus It Snows Metal

To add to the list of crazy things about space, is this fact: on Venus, it snows metal

The fire near Colorado Spring as of yesterday afternoon.

Colorado Wildfire Forces Evacuations, Threatens World’s Highest Suspension Bridge

A series of three wildfires are currently tearing through Colorado

A Survey of Women With Broken Bones Shows the Prevalence of Domestic Abuse

One in three women has been the victim of domestic abuse.

None

This New Photo App Can Help Doctors Brainstorm What, Exactly, That Weird Thing Growing on Your Leg Is

It’s like Instagram but with rotting toes and tumors instead of filters

The Beck’s Edison Bottle

Beer Bottle Meets 19th-Century Phonograph, Makes Beautiful Music

Engineers and music experts in New Zealand tinkered with the concepts behind Thomas Edison’s original phonograph to make a beer bottle sing

None

Teeny Tiny Rock Fragments Testify That a Meteor Caused the Biggest Impact Event in Recorded History

On June 30, 1908, an enormous explosion in a remote stretch of Siberia flattened and bruned nearly 1,000 square miles of forest, totaling around 80 million trees

Bacteria Makes Squid Sparkly and Sleepy

Bacteria sets up shop in squid to make it sparkle, and also might tell it when to go to sleep

Coffee plant leaves infected with coffee rust.

Half of Central America’s Coffee Harvest This Year Is in Danger

Thanks to climate change, coffee rust’s ideal habitat seems to be spreading as higher elevations and more northern areas become warmer

Five-year-old don Filippino’s abnormally swollen skull.

Florence’s Powerful Medici Family Suffered from Rickets Because of Too Much Time Spent Indoors

Study of the Medici’s children shows that they suffered from rickets, or the bone softening affliction caused by a lack of vitamin D from sunlight or food

None

San Francisco From the Air, 1938 and Today

This amazing composite photo gives a scrollable, zoomable high-resolution view of 1938 San Francisco

None

Where in the World Will the Fracking Boom Visit Next?

Fracking has reshaped American drilling, and shale gas stores are popping up all over the world

Lego Faces Are Getting Angrier

As LEGOs have gotten more and more varied, they’ve given the little yellow dude more expressions, many of them angry

Even Astronauts Have Accidents

Peeing in space is way harder than you might think

Jurassic Park’s Stars Would Be Very Different Animals If the Film Were Made Today

In the past 20 years our knowledge about dinosaurs has grown, meaning that some dinosaur-related points depicted in the film are either outdated or wrong

None

This 19th-Century Politician Never Thought He’d Be Outed for Vandalizing an Egyptian Temple

Unlike a Chinese youth shamed for the markings he left on an Egyptian Temple, Luther Bradish got away guilt-free with his sneaky bid at immortality

None

So Long Chris Hadfield, Thanks for All the Fish

Chris Hadfield, the 53-year old astronaut superstar, is retiring

How a Dog Virus Could Wipe Out Tigers

None

People Don’t Seem to Get What ‘Designated Driver’ Means

A new study found that around 40 percent of designated drivers drink, and almost 20 percent do so to the point that their own ability to drive may be impaired

Page 1029 of 1120