Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News

George W. Bush's self portrait.

Trending Today

How to Get a Solo Show as an Amateur Artist: First, Serve Two Terms As President…

President George W. Bush’s portraits of world leaders appear to be copied off photos available on the internet

New Research

Lawyers Who Make Less Money And Get Worse Grades Are the Happiest

Money can’t buy you happiness, even if you’re a lawyer

Voynich Manuscript

Cool Finds

Is One of the Weirdest Books on the Planet Actually a Hoax?

This small book has puzzled scholars for decades and remains a mystery

Cool Finds

This Winter Was Hard on Animals, Too

As tough as it was on humans, it may have been even harder on the animals who don’t get to curl up in front of the fire

Trending Today

Microsoft Is Killing XP, But 75 Percent of ATMs Still Use It

420,000 ATMs are about to become easy targets for hackers

New Research

Violinists Can’t Tell the Difference Between Old and New Instruments

Regardless, many report still preferring old-school violins made by Italian masters

The Midwest aglow with a visualization of photosynthetic fluorescence.

New Research

Under the Summer Sun, the Corn Belt Is the Most Biologically Productive Place on Earth

During the peak growing season, the corn belt outproduces the Amazon

"Hey Neil I found something!" - Buzz Aldrin, maybe.

Cool Finds

The First Meal Eaten on the Moon Was Bacon

Bacon has a long history in the American space program

New Research

Playing Video Games Could Actually Change Your Brain—But Not in a Bad Way

Despite video games’ bad rep, they might improve a person’s strategizing and multi-tasking abilities

Cool Finds

Andy Warhol Probably Never Said His Celebrated “Fifteen Minutes of Fame” Line

In the interest of branding, however, it doesn’t matter who said it, only that it worked

Cool Finds

States Don’t Have to Disclose Where They Obtain Lethal Injection Drugs

First Missouri and now Texas has refused to disclose the origins of lethal injection drugs used in recent executions

New Research

Nearly Half of Americans Believe At Least One Conspiracy Theory

William S. Burroughs once said, “Sometimes paranoia’s just having all the facts.”

Trending Today

Rwanda Has Become a Poster Child for Health Equity

Life expectancy has doubled, and child vaccinations rates are higher than they are in the U.S.

None

Cool Finds

This Rare Footage Shows Two Live 15-Foot-Long Oarfish Swimming in the Ocean

Two very shy oarfish were seen swimming near the shoreline in Mexico

Cool Finds

The “Tibetan Book of Buddhist Proportions” Show Exactly How to Draw the Buddha

Representations of the Buddha are highly particular

Anti-government protests in Maidan Square, Kiev, earlier in the year.

Trending Today

After Crimea, Donetsk May Be the Next Region to Leave Ukraine

Pro-Russian protesters took control of government buildings in three Ukrainian provinces over the weekend

Trending Today

An Effort to Crack Down on Fake Yelp Reviews Goes to Supreme Court

About 20 percent of reviews on Yelp might be fraudulent. But should Yelp have to disclose the identities of its reviewers?

Roseland

Trending Today

Why the Roseland Ballroom Had to Stop Dancing

Tonight is the last preformance at the iconic New York concert venue the Roseland Ballroom

Cool Finds

Combat Juggling Is Your New Favorite Sport, Now That You Know It Exists

The premise of combat juggling is pretty simple: juggle three items, and try to get your opponent to drop his three

Christmas Island Red Crab

Cool Finds

Christmas Island Is 63 Percent National Parkland…And Has More Crabs Than People

This nature’s paradise is hard to get to, but is home to a fascinating phenomenon

Page 958 of 1127