Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

Jackie Robinson was the first Black athlete to play in modern Major League Baseball.

A Youth League’s Stolen Jackie Robinson Statue Has Been Replaced

The original statue of the pioneering baseball player vanished from a ballpark in Wichita, Kansas, earlier this year

The A23a iceberg, photographed last December. It first split from Antartica in 1986 and stayed in the Weddell Sea until 2020, when it started drifting away.

The World’s Largest Iceberg Is Stuck in a Spinning Ocean Vortex

The mega iceberg A23a is destined to melt after breaking free from Antarctica in 1986, but this pause in its journey is delaying its fate, experts say

Keith Haring painted the 170-foot-long mural on a hot summer day in 1987.

This Giant Keith Haring Mural Is a Beloved West Village Staple. Can It Be Saved?

The artwork, which adorns a wall by the pool at an old recreation center in New York City, faces an uncertain future

This specimen is the first complete tusk of its kind found in Mississippi.

Cool Finds

Rare Seven-Foot Mammoth Tusk Unearthed in Mississippi Creek

The enormous fossil belonged to a Columbian mammoth, a larger relative of the woolly mammoth

The Tower of London has loomed over the city since the 11th century.

Will the Tower of London Lose Its UNESCO World Heritage Status?

The United Nations agency is worried about high-rise developments near the famed 11th-century fortress

The mosaic was discovered during the construction of a water pipeline.

Cool Finds

Workers Stumble Upon Ancient Greek Mosaic of Dancing Satyrs

Found on the Greek island of Euboea, the pebbled design is part of a 2,400-year-old floor

The Mount Everest Base Camp, at 17,598 feet high, hosts climbers acclimating to the elevation before they make their ascent.

More Than 200 Dead Bodies Have Been Left Behind on Mount Everest, and Many Mark the Path to the Summit

Mountaineers who perished on the world’s highest peak have become landmarks for the living, though recovery crews have made risky expeditions to remove some of the corpses

The findings build on research from last year, which found that people with higher levels of the sweetener in their blood were at a greater risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Common Artificial Sweetener Linked to Increased Heart Attack Risk in Small Study

Healthy people who consumed 30 grams of the sweetener erythritol had an increased risk of blood clot formation, while people who consumed the same amount of glucose did not

Göbekli Tepe is an archaeological site in southern Turkey.

New Research

Could These Carvings in Turkey Be the World’s Oldest Lunisolar Calendar?

One researcher thinks the V-shaped markings engraved into a pillar thousands of years ago may represent the days of the year

Researchers have been looking into whether psychedelics could be used to treat PTSD. Currently, only therapy and two antidepressant medications are approved to treat the condition.

MDMA Treatment for PTSD Fails to Secure Federal Approval

One day after the FDA declined to approve the psychedelic for medical use, a journal retracted three studies of MDMA-assisted therapy due to unethical conduct by researchers

Maletsunyane Falls in the Lesotho Highlands shows how a river can erode deep valleys into uplifted lands.

Slow-Motion Ripples in Earth’s Mantle Built Mysterious and Stunning Highland Landscapes, Study Finds

Following the break-up of an ancient supercontinent, waves propagated through the hot, rocky layer beneath the planet’s brittle crust and reshaped its surface over millions of years

The 58-foot-long, 10-foot-high sculpture is expected to be the largest free-standing bronze relief in the Western Hemisphere.

The Final Piece of the National World War I Memorial Is Almost Finished

“A Soldier’s Journey,” the 58-foot-long bronze sculpture created by Sabin Howard, will be unveiled in Washington, D.C. on September 13

Ami Yuasa faces off against India Sardjoe during the women's quarterfinal on August 9.

The Paris Olympics

Breaking Just Made Its Olympic Debut. Will It Return in 2032?

The event won’t be featured at the Los Angeles Games in 2028, but that doesn’t mean its Olympic journey is over

A mantle rock sample viewed under a microscope.

Scientists Drill Deeper Into Earth’s Mantle Than Ever Before, Probing for the Origin of Life on Earth

The record-setting rock samples will provide insight into the chemical processes that may have kick-started life on our planet

Tourists walk along the Via dell'Abbondanza, one of Pompeii's major streets.

Tourist Carves His Family’s Initials Onto a Wall in Pompeii

In recent years, officials have seen a series of similar incidents at Italy’s most popular historic sites

The center of this photo, taken on August 9, shows where the Double Arch formation used to be, before it collapsed on August 8.

Iconic ‘Double Arch’ Rock Formation Collapses in Utah

Changing water levels and erosion from waves may have contributed to the collapse in the popular Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Start dates at schools across American range from mid-July to early September.

When Do Kids Go Back to School? It Depends on Where They Live

In some districts, students returned to their classrooms weeks before Labor Day

An artist's illustration of the WISE spacecraft in orbit around Earth. The mission was renamed NEOWISE in 2013 to reflect a new focus on finding near-Earth objects.

NASA Retires Orbiting Telescope That Charted Asteroids for Over a Decade

NEOWISE, which looked for potentially hazardous objects in the solar system, received its last command on Thursday and will burn up when it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere

An aerial photograph of Lahaina's banyan tree taken on August 3, 2024. A wildfire devastated the town in August 2023.

One Year After a Devastating Fire, Lahaina’s 151-Year-Old Banyan Tree Is Healing

Arborists didn’t know if the historic tree would survive, but they’ve been working to give it the best possible odds

Banksy's latest mural, which depicts two pelicans eating fish, on August 9.

New Banksy Murals Appeared in London Every Day This Week. What Do They Mean?

The street artist has unveiled five animal-themed artworks, sparking debate about their intended message

Page 144 of 1115