Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

Panda cub Xiao Qi Ji somersaults through the fresh powder.

See Pandas, Elephants, Cheetahs and More Enjoy a Snow Day at the National Zoo

At least six inches of snowfall covered Washington, D.C. this week causing closures and delays for residents, but the zoo animals were out to play

A first-century C.E. mosaic of Hercules and Iolaus

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Identify Possible Location of Lost Temple of Hercules

Experts in Spain used laser scanning technology to locate submerged ruins along the coast of the Bay of Cádiz

Exploding meteors, also called airbursts, happen with a chunk of space rock smashes into Earth's dense atmosphere. 

Boom Heard in Pittsburgh on New Year’s Day Was Likely an Exploding Meteor

The energy released during the blast is as powerful as 30 tons of TNT

Actress and comedian Betty White, pictured here in 2015, died last week at the age of 99.

Women Who Shaped History

How Betty White Broke Barriers for Women in Television

A Smithsonian curator reflects on the legacy of the beloved “Golden Girls” actress

Though ichthyosaurs and whales never existed at the same time, they both evolved from species that walked on Earth and transitioned to the sea. 

Earth’s Oldest Ocean Giant Was a Reptile With an Eight-Foot Skull

The newly discovered specimen sheds light on how the sea creatures, known as ichthyosaurs, evolved their gargantuan size so quickly

Only three substances—clove extract, tolfenamic acid, and pyritinol—showed slightly more symptom relief than the placebo.

From Korean Pear Juice to Clove Extract, Scientists Put Hangover Cures to the Test—but None Worked

Researchers examined 23 different at-home treatments for side effects of heavy drinking

Built in the third-century, the large Roman baths complex also featured open-air swimming pools, as well as a temple, garden and library.

Italy Bans McDonald’s Drive-Through at Ancient Roman Baths Site

Upholding an earlier decision, the high court halts construction of a new restaurant, resolving a years-long dispute in favor of cultural preservation

Numerous books, films and other works first published in 1926 enter the public domain on January 1.

Winnie-the-Pooh, an Ernest Hemingway Classic and a Massive Library of Sound Recordings Will Enter the Public Domain on January 1

Works newly available to copy, republish and remix in 2022 also include poems by Langston Hughes and Dorothy Parker

An artist’s conception of the James Webb Space Telescope at work.

The James Webb Telescope Successfully Launches Into Space

A rocket carrying the $10 billion dollar invention blasted off Christmas morning and powered up as planned, providing astronomers with a long-awaited gift

An intercontinental ballistic missile takes flight from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, in 2002. In 1962, the United States would confront the Soviet Union on its missile stockpiles in Cuba, edging the two nations to the brink of nuclear war.

History of Now

‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’ Conjures Images of Peace Everywhere—and Nuclear Annihilation

Composed at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the classic Christmas song contains another message—one of unity

Sharks have been on the planet for close to 500 million years and, in that time, have developed an extraordinary immune system with immune mechanisms that mammals do not have.  

How Shark Antibodies Could Aid the Fight Against Coronavirus and Prepare for Future Outbreaks

The protein-like immune molecules were found to block SARS-Cov-2 from entering human cells

Virignia Governor Ralph Northam (center) looks on as conservators Kate Ridgway (left) and Sue Donovon (right) remove the time capsule's contents.

Cool Finds

A Time Capsule Found Beneath Richmond’s Robert E. Lee Monument Confounds Historians

An almanac, a silver coin and a cloth envelope were among the intriguing artifacts found in the box

Arthropleura skittered around the Earth during a time when England was located near the equator and experienced tropical weather.

This Ancient, Nine-Foot-Long, 100-Pound Millipede Could Be the Largest Invertebrate to Ever Live

This critter roamed Earth around 326 million years ago, and it’s genus survived for 45 million years

Approximately 315 different glaciers between British Columbia and Alaska have the potential to create new salmon habitat.

Melting Glaciers May Create 3,800 Miles of New Salmon Habitat by 2100

As the ice retreats, water could carve new streams in the thawed out land

Two reseach teams analyzed a sample of the Ryugu's surface.

What Five Grams of ‘Primordial’ Stardust From an Asteroid Tell Scientists About How the Early Solar System Formed

Ryugu is a carbonaceous, water-rich space rock with a unique, dark coloration and porous composition

Workers removed the sculpture from the University of Hong Kong's campus under the cover of night.

Hong Kong Removes ‘Pillar of Shame’ Honoring Tiananmen Square Victims

The move arrives amid continuing crackdowns on pro-democracy protesters in the Asian city

The ring bears an image of a shepherd boy with a sheep or ram on his shoulders, symbolizing Jesus as the "Good Shepherd."

Cool Finds

Early Christian Ring Found in Third-Century Shipwreck Off of Israel

Researchers discovered jewelry and other artifacts from two sunken ships off the ancient port city of Caesarea

A Louis Wain illustration of cats singing carols

See Louis Wain’s Exuberant Cat Art at the Hospital Where He Spent His Later Years

The Victorian artist’s famous feline portraits are on view at England’s Bethlem Museum of the Mind

The robot moves by redistributing liquid and air in its "body."

This Legless, Pancake-Shaped Robot Is an Impressive Jumper

A leaping robot is challenging to design, but this one can hop six times its body length per second and nearly eight times its height

The high-tech gadget dubbed the Apollo can opener was designed to pierce the vacuum-sealed cylinder while capturing any lunar gases that may still lurk within its walls.

Why Scientists Waited 50 Years to Study This Moon Dust

This Christmas season, researchers will finally get to unseal the contents of a soil sample from the Apollo 17 mission

Page 331 of 1116