Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

Cool Finds

World’s Largest Iceberg Is Melting Away After 18 Years Adrift

In the last two years, the Jamaica-sized berg began venturing north, melting and splintering into pieces along the way

A 2010 picture of the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest, which was removed from Health Sciences Park (formerly Nathan Bedford Forrest Park) in downtown Memphis last December.

At Least 110 Confederate Monuments and Symbols Have Been Removed Since 2015

But more than 1700 remain, including 772 monuments, more than 300 of which are located in Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia

The Next Flu Pandemic Might Come From Dogs

A new study found two strains of swine flu in sickly pups in China

Why Rattlesnakes Are Just as Dangerous Dead or Alive

After receiving bite from decapitated Western diamondback, Texas man required 26 doses of antivenom

An illustration of lightning on Jupiter's northern hemisphere, using an image from the JunoCam.

New Research

Jupiter’s Lightning Is More Earth-Like Than We Thought

Juno is providing scientists with new insights into the gas giant’s flashes of light

New Research

New Evidence Shows That Humans Could Have Migrated to the Americas Along the Coast

Dating of rocks and animal bones shows Alaska’s coast was glacier free around 17,000 years ago, allowing people to move south along the coast

Artist's rendering of the futuristic community, which is set for development over the next five years

Europe

Netherlands Will Welcome Its First Community of 3D-Printed Homes

Five concrete houses designed to look like “erratic blocks in a green landscape” will populate Eindhoven community

Mmm.

Sink Your Teeth Into Chicago’s New Hot Dog Museum

The Vienna Beef company is celebrating its 125th anniversary with a meaty display of memorabilia

"Laze" caused by lava interacting with ocean waters.

Watch Kīlauea’s Lava Flow Into the Ocean, Creating Billowing Clouds of ‘Laze’

The interaction between the lava and the water creates a hazardous mix of hydrochloric acid, steam and volcanic glass particles

Westminster Abbey's hidden “attic”

Europe

“Hidden” Attic in Westminster Abbey Is Opening as a Museum

Visitors can view more than 300 relics from the Abbey’s 1,000-year history and peer out at one of the best views in Europe

Inmates at Downview Prison co-created six banners for the upcoming Processions march

Europe

What to Know About This Weekend’s Centennial British Suffrage March

About 45,000 women are expected to participate in four-city procession—projected to be one of the largest collective art events in British history

New Research

Disgusting Things Fall Into Six Gross Categories

Open sores, body odors and other indicators of possible disease transmission top the list of things that gross us out

A seismic sensor installed in the ice of East Antarctica to monitor Earth's shivers and rumbles.

Earthquakes Rumble Under East Antarctica Much More Frequently Than Thought

A new study reveals that the region trembled with 27 minor earthquakes in 2009 alone

Don't you just want to squish that wittle face?

What Dogs Really Think of Your ‘Puppy’ Voice

Dog-directed speech may improve animals’ attention skills and strengthen human-pupper bonds

The team’s findings compared the estimated visual acuity, or sharpness, of about 600 species.

How Does Your Vision Compare to Other Critters in the Animal Kingdom?

A new review of visual acuity compares the sight of 600 species, from mosquitoes to eagles

A Mysterious Dinosaur Skeleton Was Auctioned Off to a Private Buyer

And paleontologists are not happy about it

Jacob Epstein, Torso in Metal from "The Rock Drill," 1913-14

Europe

Tate Britain Confronts the Aftershocks of World War I

The museum’s newest exhibition explores how British, German and French artists struggle to comprehend bloody conflict

Illustration of Sedna, a minor planet with an unusual orbit.

New Research

Is the Mysterious Planet Nine Just a Swarm of Asteroids?

Researchers investigate alternative explanations for wacky orbits of objects in our solar system

The official photo of the first Miss America winner, Margaret Gorman.

Miss America Is Ditching Its Swimsuit Competition

The pageant was founded as a ‘bathing beauty’ contest. But even in its earlier days, contestants did not always conform to the swimsuit portion happily

Those who hold out for the second marshmallow may come from more affluent households, and their future success is based on this economic advantage rather than sheer willpower

New Research

Why Delayed Gratification in the Marshmallow Test Doesn’t Equal Success

Socioeconomic status, family background amongst factors accounting for children’s varying levels of self-control

Page 609 of 1141