Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

New Research

What Do Glaciers Say When They Sing?

Glaciers make some curious sounds

Rosetta’s OSIRIS narrow-angle camera captured this parting shot of the Philae lander after separation and before touchdown.

Trending Today

Comet 67P Has a Welcome Song for Rosetta And Philae

A successful touchdown after the comet chase is just the herald of more discoveries to come, including the cause of the comet’s strange song

Cool Finds

This Is Your Brain on Ideas

Momentarily tuning out the world seems to be a requirement for tapping into an insightful idea

Chinese President Xi Jinping in a meeting with President Obama a few years ago

Trending Today

China’s Climate Promises: Necessary, But Not Sufficient

The new U.S. and Chinese climate goals are important, but they’re not enough to stop the problem

New Research

Living in Tough Environments Makes People More Prone to Belief in God

People living in harsh natural environments are more likely to believe in a tough, moralizing god

New Research

Beyond Owls And Larks: There Are Four Types of Sleepers

The two new groups include people who are rather energetic all day and others who are lethargic

New Research

A Single Smelly Compound Sparks Carnivores’ Lust for Blood

When given scented wooden blocks soaked in this single chemical, captive carnivores go wild

New Research

How Cats Transformed From Wild Animals to Cuddly Companions

Genetically, there’s not that much separating feline pets from jungle beasts

First introduced in 1961, the B-52 is still an important part of the U.S. Air Force's fleet. Retrofitting some to let them carry and launch drones could give these flying fortresses even more utility.

Cool Finds

DARPA Wants Flying Drone Carriers

Retrofitting big bombers into drone carriers could make Cold War tech more useful for modern warfare

Trending Today

Tomorrow, a Man-made Spacecraft Will Land On a Comet for the First Time, Ever

The action starts bright and early

Cool Finds

Grad Students Carry 40 Percent of All Student Debt

But they make up just 14 percent of enrollment at U.S. universities

New Research

Can’t Clap to the Beat? You Might be Beat-Deaf

For some people, tapping their foot to the beat is a challenge at a fundamental level

Prehistoric cave painting of a steppe bison from Altamira, Spain

Cool Finds

Researchers Are Examining a 9,000-Year-Old Bison Mummy

The well-mummified specimen of a steppe bison, a now-extinct species that lived in the Ice Age, has intact organs

Cool Finds

A Lost John Steinbeck Short Story Was Rediscovered, Published

The short story deals with the racial politics of the mid-20th century

Cool Finds

19th Century Concern Trolling: Chess Is “a Mere Amusement of a Very Inferior Character”

The writers of Scientific American had some not nice things to say about chess

Cool Finds

A Soldier’s Room Has Remained Virtually Untouched Since WWI

The home’s current owner, however, says he feels little connection to the dead soldier

Performers in "Multiverse" during the opening of a 2010 art festival in Kiev

New Research

What If There Are Parallel Universes Jostling Ours?

It could explain a lot of weird, quantum physics

New Research

Large Dinosaurs Had a Nesting Strategy to Avoid Breaking Eggs

Oviaptorosaurs likely kept their eggs in open nests—more like bird than crocodiles—but needed to arrange their eggs carefully

Cool Finds

The World of Personal Computers in the 1980s Was A Wacky, Wonderful Place

You can experience early video games and operating systems yourself through retrocomputing and ads

George Washington's only complete set of dentures, made out of lead, human teeth, cow teeth and elephant ivory.  

Cool Finds

George Washington Didn’t Have Wooden Teeth—They Were Ivory

Washington’s teeth were made of a lot of things, but not wood

Page 893 of 1116