Smart News Arts & Culture

Happy Birthday to Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense

The master helped director shape both modern cinema, and the minds of a generation

How Many Stops Have You Made on the National Parks Subway?

The Sierra Club presented a fictional subway map of the U.S. National Parks and is challenging green commuters to see how many stops they can hit

Celebrating 80 Years of LEGO

Children and hobbyists rejoice - today is Lego's 80th birthday

Shannon Eastin is not in this picture, but she might be soon.

Meet the First Woman to Referee an NFL Game

Shannon Eastin, the first woman to ever referee an NFL game, got her stripes last night.

How Olympic Bodies Have Changed Over Time

From 1929 to now, how do former Olympic champions compare to today's athletes?

Faces created using Phil McCarthy’s Pareidoloop.

Facial Recognition Software Makes Art from Random Noise

An interactive infographic tracks the flow of small and light arms and ammunition around the world.

In 2010 $600 Million in Guns and Ammo Were Exported from the US

In 2010, $607 million dollars worth of small and light arms left the United States, headed to buyers around the world

In Step With Income Inequality, US Cities More Geographically Segregated than Ever

Residential segregation has increased by income in 27 out of 30 of America's metropolises, and in some cases translates to shorter lives in poorer areas

A Vietnamese man lovingly gazes at his dog, Op-kun (front). Two days later, Op-kun was snatched up by a restaurant thief and never seen again.

Vietnam’s Dogs are Both Humans’ Best Friends and Snacks

In Vietnam, dog lovers had best keep their pooches behind high, locked fences if they don't want their pets to wind up boiled in a pot

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Yesterday Was National Orgasm Day and You Missed It

Did you celebrate? If not, you'll just have to celebrate twice next year

Gore Vidal: Left in 1948 (Image: Library of Congress) Right, in 2008

Read a 2007 Essay in Smithsonian by Gore Vidal, Last Writer of His Kind

Why more writers should be as fearless, and as prickly as Vidal

Who will take more of these bad boys home with them, China or the United States?

How China Will Beat the US in Olympic Medals

How to tell which countries will take home more bling, and why weight lifting matters

Some members of the Bloomsbury Group, including Huxley. Left to right: Lady Ottoline Morrell, Mrs. Aldous Huxley, Lytton Strachey, Duncan Grant, and Vanessa Bell.

How Aldous Huxley, 118 Today, Predicted the Present Far More Accurately than George Orwell

One of the pillars of science fiction would have turned 118 today

U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. Jennifer Peters

Army Women To Get New (Non-Comic Book) Armor

The Army has announced that they are designing body armor specifically tailored to women's bodies

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English Evolving Much More Slowly on the Internet than During the Renaissance

A new study charted how English has changed over the past 500 years, finding it to be more stagnant than ever before

Why We Hoard – And How to Stop

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Should Dolphins and Whales Have Human Rights?

Because of their complex brains and rich social lives, should dolphins and whales be considered non-human legal persons, with full legal rights?

The translated conversation is displayed on a monitor.

Glasses Provide Subtitles For Foreign Language Conversations

Powell designed glasses with built-in screens that translate speech, the translation appearing live as subtitles floating in front of the wearer's eyes

The offending garden in Drummondville

City Officials Declare War on Lawn Gardens

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Superheroes’ Most Amazing Power: Getting Kids to Choose Healthy Snacks Over French Fries

Cornell researchers exploit kids' adoration of Batman for the better, using the superhero as an impetus to encourage kids to eat healthy

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