Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

A Perseid streaks across the sky over the archaeological site Stobi in modern-day Macedonia

Trending Today

The Perseids Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight

Watch the remains of comet Swift-Tuttle burn up in the atmosphere

A similar species of Irukandji jellyfish, but with the tentacles (and a fishy lunch inside).

Cool Finds

A New, Potentially Deadly Species of Jellyfish Was Discovered Floating Around Australia

The new species’ sting can cause Irukandji syndrome, which sometimes leads to stroke and heart failure

Iceland's Capital Reykjavík

Cool Finds

Iceland’s Naming Laws Prevented a 10-Year-Old From Getting a Passport

Iceland’s rules for naming children are getting a lot of attention after a few high-profile cases

None

Cool Finds

Watch How the Cultural Hubs of Civilization Have Shifted Over Centuries

A study follows the births and deaths of notable people

New Research

Lack of Workplace Support Keeps Women Out of Engineering Careers

Aspiring female engineers say that they perceive little chance of advancing in their field

New Research

Are Hard Foods Healthier? In Your Mind, Maybe

New research shows that texture plays a large role in how we see the nutritional value of food

A photographer takes pictures of Lhasa Apso dogs in a basket, during a Dog and Cat Expo in Manila. With 12.3 million dogs to 1.7 million cats, the Philippines is very much a dog country.

Cool Finds

There Aren’t Just Dog People And Cat People; There Are Dog Countries And Cat Countries

Dogs and cats are not equally popular worldwide

The LDSD being lifted into the air by balloon during a test on June 28, 2014

Cool Finds

Watch Video From NASA’s “Flying Saucer” Test

The LDSD test on June 28 went well, and more tests are expected to run next year

A European eel (not the world's oldest, however).

Cool Finds

RIP, World’s Oldest Eel

The eel, 155, passed away in a Swedish well late last week

Joe McConaughy is trying to finish the Pacific Crest Trail faster than anyone ever has.

Cool Finds

Joe McConaughy Just Set a New Pacific Crest Trail Record

He finished all 2,660 miles, from Mexico and Canada, in 53 days, 6 hours and 37 minutes

U.S. Army combat medic Shawn Aiken lies down during his EKG appointment at the VA Medical Center in El Paso, Texas May 24, 2013. Aiken, who served 16 months in Iraq and 13 months in Afghanistan and has been active duty for nearly 10 years, has severe post-traumatic stress disorder.

New Research

Some Who Suffer from PTSD Never Get Better

As many as 11 percent of Vietnam veterans diagnosed with PTSD still suffer from the disorder

New evidence shows that Rock Doves (an ancestor to today's feral pigeons) were eaten by Neanderthals

New Research

Evidence Shows Neanderthals Ate Birds

Squab was apparently on the neanderthal menu for over 40,000 years in Gibraltar

Looking across old town towards The Citadel

Trending Today

Irbil, the Iraqi City the US Is Now Defending, Is One of the Oldest Continuously Inhabited Places in the World

Irbil, Iraq, has a long, long, long history

Cool Finds

It’s a Wrap! The Forest Service Is Wrapping Historic Structures To Protect Them From Wildfires

Similar protective covering is used as emergency shelters by firefighters

New Research

Losing Weight Makes People Healthy—But Not Necessarily Happy

The relationship between losing weight and being happy is not at all straightforward

A herd of horses in Mongolia

Cool Finds

The World’s Longest Horse Race Is Going on Right Now in Mongolia

With wild horses, broken bones and treacherous terrain, this isn’t a steeplechase

Satellite view of Hurricanes Iselle (left) and Julio (right) approaching Hawaii. From NASA's Aqua satellite

Trending Today

Hawaii Braces for Two Hurricanes—Its First in 22 Years

Hawaii doesn’t see direct hits from hurricanes very often

Grayson the fish teased viewers earlier this morning by nearly going down the stairs.

Trending Today

Who’s Better at Pokémon, Anarchist Twitch Players or a Betta Fish?

Anarchy seems to be more effective than a fish, so far

The world's first climate refugees hail from Tuvalu, a Polynesian island nation.

Anthropocene

The World’s First Climate Change Refugees Were Granted Residency in New Zealand

A Tuvalese family said they can’t go home because of climate change

A man looks at skulls and bones of more than 8,000 victims of the Khmer Rouge regime at Choeung Ek, a "Killing Fields" site located on the outskirts of Phnom Penh April 17, 2014.

Trending Today

35 Years Later, Some Khmer Rouge Leaders Convicted of Crimes Against Humanity

The genocidal Khmer Rouge revolution took place from 1975 to 1979

Page 927 of 1128