Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

A crowd gathers in Times Square in 1945. Since then, we’ve added a few more people to the population.

A Different Kind of Pi Day – the U.S. Population Hits π x 100,000,000

The U.S. Census Bureau announced yesterday that our population has hit one of math’s favorite landmarks

Imagine going from the podium, to the pickle aisle.

After London Many Olympians Find Real Life Hard to Swallow

You’re not the only one with post Olympics blues, athletes have it way worse

None

What Caused the Deadly Iranian Earthquakes?

Straddling the seam between the Eurasian and Arabian tectonic plates, Iran has a history plagued with earthquakes

These two skulls are having a moment – but how often did they get together in real life?

Hot for Hominids – Did Humans Mate With Neanderthals Or Not?

Geneticists are busy figuring out whether humans and Neanderthals got busy

None

Shark Week Loses its Bite, and That’s a Good Thing for Sharks

After 25 years of man-eating, Discovery’s Shark Week embraces conservation

Julia Child Loved Science but Would Hate Today’s Food

It’s her birthday today, and while the master chef loved science she would have hated today’s laboratory produced food

Trading fat in chocolates for a fruit juice substitute.

Science Takes Fat Out Of Chocolate, Replaces It With Fruit

Scientists have found a way to replace about 50 percent of chocolate’s fat with fruit juice without losing flavor

None

Want to Get Rich? Win an Olympic Medal for Azerbaijan

How does the United States stand up against other countries in rewarding our Olympic athletes? Not well

Three of the 87 record eggs removed from the python

Big Momma – Record 87 Eggs Found in Gargantuan Everglades Python

University of Florida researchers cut into the largest python found in the Everglades, measuring a whopping 17-feet-7-inches long and weighing 165 pounds

None

These Are the Mega-Cities of the Future

In 2025, chances are you’ll live in one of these cities. Today, chances are you haven’t heard of some of them

Google Earth Probably Didn’t Just Find New Pyramids

Amateur archaeologist claims to have found lost pyramids using Google Earth. Real archaeologists are skeptical

Click Around This High Definition 360° Panorama of Mars

Happy Birthday to Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense

The master director helped shape both modern cinema, and the minds of a generation

None

What if All 2,299 Exoplanets Orbited One Star?

For the past two years, NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler satellite has consistently challenged our view of just how many planets there are out there.

None

What’s in Your Shark Fin Soup?

Americans who eat shark fin soup may be unknowingly chowing down on globally endangered species, a new study found

None

New Lacewing Species Discovered… on Flickr

Wildlife photographer Guek Hock Ping discovered a new species. Only, he didn’t know it

None

This is What Fire Breathing Looks Like in Slow Motion

Super high speed camera catches a fire breather in action.

How Many Stops Have You Made on the National Parks Subway?

The Sierra Club presented a fictional subway map of the U.S. National Parks and is challenging green commuters to see how many stops they can hit

How Lincoln’s Assassination Launched the Funeral Industry

The doctor who embalmed Abraham Lincoln changed the way Americans think about funerals.

None

The Olympics Are Over and Here Are the Best Infographics

While athletes were setting world records, designers and journalists were building graphics and games to track them. Here are the best ones.

Page 1118 of 1132