Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

New Research

Twice as Many Fishing Vessels Are Chasing Fewer Fish on the World’s Oceans

Since 1950, the number of boats has gone from 1.7 million to 3.7 million, even though fish stocks have crumbled

For the First Time, an Albino Panda Is Photographed in the Wild

An infrared camera captured an image of the rare panda in China’s Wolong National Nature Reserve

The fungus picks up gold from its surroundings, oxidizes it, and then transforms the dissolved element back into a solid state

Cool Finds

Scientists Discover Fungus That Collects Gold From Its Environment

The Australian fungus could help miners find the next generation of underground gold deposits

Chimps Seen Cracking Open Tortoise Shells—a First

One adult male even appeared to save half of his hard-shelled snack for later—an intriguing sign of future planning

Pîhtokahanapiwiyin, better known as Chief Poundmaker

After 130 Years, Canada Exonerates ‘Peacemaker’ Chief Convicted of Treason

‘In 1885, Chief Poundmaker was treated as a criminal and a traitor,’ Prime Minister Trudeau said. ‘In 2019, we recognize the truth’

An elephant at Moremi Game Reserve in Maun, Botswana.

Five Things to Know About Botswana’s Decision to Lift Ban on Hunting Elephants

The move has been criticized by conservationists but lauded by locals who say wild elephants are ruining their livelihoods

It's safe to assume Mr. Rogers would've approved of 1-4-3 Day.

Pennsylvania Honors Mister Rogers With First Annual Day of Kindness

The holiday is dubbed 1-4-3 Day in a nod to the TV personality’s favorite phrase, “I love you”

Living with the “thermostat patriarchy”

Chilly Rooms May Cool Women’s Productivity

A new study has found that women perform better on math and verbal tests in warmer temperatures

An artist's rendering of the recomposition facility

Washington Becomes First State to Allow ‘Human Composting’ as a Burial Method

The accelerated decomposition method transforms remains into soil and uses just an eighth of the energy required for cremation

Flower of tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera).

Civil War Plant Remedies Actually Fought Off Infections, Study Finds

Researchers tested the antimicrobial properties of three plants mentioned in an 1863 treatment book

Trending Today

Engineer Says Notre-Dame Is Vulnerable to High Winds

Models show damage to the roof vaults have cut the structure’s wind resistance by over half

Cool Finds

Australia Has Several New Dragon Lizard Species—and One May Already Be Extinct

A new study shows the endangered grassland earless dragon is actually four separate reptile species—and one hasn’t been seen since 1969

France outlawed ortolan hunting in 1999, but the ban was rarely enforced until 2007 and remains unevenly implemented

Ortolans, Songbirds Enjoyed as French Delicacy, Are Being Eaten Into Extinction

Hunters illegally catch some 30,000 of the 300,000 ortolans that pass through southwestern France every migration season

Michelangelo likely sketched "The Seated Man" while working as an apprentice in Domenico Ghirlandaio's studio

Cool Finds

Art Historian Says He Has Identified the Earliest Known Michelangelo Drawing

The sketch, now on view in Budapest, likely dates to between 1487 and 1490

Father Karel Stautemas raising a glass of Grimbergen beer

A Belgian Abbey Is Using Centuries-Old Recipes to Revive Its Brewery

Grimbergen Abbey in Belgium will produce its first beers in more than 200 years

Two Captive Beluga Whales Are Heading to First-of-Its-Kind Sanctuary in Iceland

It is the first refuge of its kind for belugas

The134-year-old circus advertisement was crafted using lithograph, a material meant to degrade over time. After uncovering it in the Corral Bar and Riverside Grill, the family who owns the establishment restored and encased in glass.

Huge 19th Century Circus Poster Found in Walls of Wisconsin Bar

It advertised an 1885 performance by the Great Anglo-American Circus

Trending Today

Kami Rita Sherpa Summits Everest a Record 24 Times

The mountain guide topped out on the world’s tallest peak twice in just the last week

New Research

Worn-Out Teeth Expand the Narrative of the Ancient Egyptian Career Woman

Wear patterns suggest a woman buried in the ancient city of Mendes processed papyrus reeds, a job women were not previously known to do

Tiger sharks appear to prey on migrating songbirds that fall into the ocean during autumnal storms

Baby Sharks Do (Do, Do, Do, Do, Do) Eat Songbirds

A survey of 105 tiger sharks’ stomach contents revealed the remains of 11 land-based bird species

Page 527 of 1129