Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

New Research

If a Cosmic Bubble Destroys the Universe, Scientists Now Know When It’ll Happen

Don’t panic yet; the end won’t be for at least 10 octodecillion years, if it happens at all

Leif Erikson pointing toward North America. Did he use a sunstone to navigate the open seas?

New Research

Simulation Suggests Viking Sunstones of Legend Could Have Worked

If they existed, the crystals—used to locate the sun’s position on cloudy days—could have helped Vikings sail to far away places

Illustration of pregnant ichthyosaur with octuplets.

Fossilized ‘Sea Monster’ Found Pregnant With Eight Babies

The fossil provides the earliest evidence of ichthyosaur embryos from the UK

A new study reveals how Walden Pond has dramatically changed thanks to human activity.

Humans Have Wreaked Havoc on Walden Pond

A new study details the intensity of the damage to this beloved location

Archaeologists Used Drones to Find New Ancient Drawings in Peru

About 50 new examples of the Nazca lines had been hiding in plain sight

Cool Finds

“Lost” Feminist Dinner Set Goes on Public Display for the First Time

The 50-plate “Famous Women Dinner Set” by Bloomsbury Group artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant includes portraits of the well-known and the overlooked

The structure of herpes virus simplex 2, aka genital herpes

Art Meets Science

Herpes Is Kind of Beautiful, On the Molecular Level

This detailed visualization of the herpes virus is a step toward finding new treatments

The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist

Europe

Ancient Statue Destroyed by ISIS Resurrected in London—With a Twist

Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz has created a reproduction of the statue using 10,500 date syrup cans

New Research

The Center of the Milky Way May Be Chock-Full of Black Holes

Researchers spotted about a dozen black holes lurking at our galactic center—and there may be up to 10,000 more

A scene from The City Without Jews.

1924 Film That Anticipates the Holocaust Found and Restored

A collector found a complete copy of the film at a flea market in Paris in 2015

Not a sick raccoon, but one that is certainly riled up.

‘Zombie-Like’ Raccoons Are Terrorizing Youngstown, Ohio

Sadly, the critters’ strange behavior can likely be ascribed to a serious illness

Cool Finds

400-Year-Old Painting by Dutch Master Found in Iowa Storage Room

Otto van Veen’s “Apollo and Venus” was likely hidden away by the Des Moines Women’s Club for showing too much skin

A rendering of the Statue of Unity.

India Is Building the World’s Tallest Statue

The monument will stand nearly 600 feet tall and it honors India’s first deputy prime minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Last year, Sesame Street introduced Julia, a Muppet with autism.

Sesame Place Becomes First Theme Park to Be Designated a Certified Autism Center

The International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards announced the honor on World Autism Day

Governor Djehutynakht

New Research

The F.B.I. Helped a Museum Learn the Identity of a 4,000-Year-Old Severed Head

Cutting-edge DNA analysis revealed the mummified head belonged to Djehutynakht, a governor in Middle Kingdom Egypt, and not his wife as some believed

New Research

How Do Tiny Chicks Crack Out of Their Eggs?

The secret is in the egg shells’ nanostructure

Rare Case of ‘Coffin Birth’ Seen in Medieval Grave

The pregnant woman’s remains may also suggest that she underwent cranial surgery due to a life-threatening complication

Chilling Out in Hot Springs May Help Japan’s Snow Monkeys Reduce Stress

A new study found that bathing in the springs is linked to lower levels of a metabolite associated with stress

Two related images from The Book of Ishness, a sketchbook of abstract paintings that Tolkien began while he was an undergraduate at Exeter College, Oxford. The images date from early 1914 when Tolkien was in his third year.

Europe

Unseen Illustrations by J.R.R. Tolkien Are Coming to Oxford

“Tolkien: Maker of Middle Earth,” opening at the Bodleian libraries this summer, will include manuscripts, letters, maps and artwork

Cool Finds

Rare Tiny T. Rex Unearthed in Montana

Researchers are yet unsure if the creature is a baby dino or an example of the contentious Nanotyrannus

Page 595 of 1116