Smart News: Arts and Culture | Smithsonian Magazine

From solidifying friendships to driving evil spirits away, legends abound about these sweet dough balls

April 17, 2014

In modern role-playing games, like BioWare's Mass Effect series, gamers are being called upon to make emotional decisions.

Cool Finds

Pretty Soon, Video Games Will Be Able to Read Your Emotions

Video games are becoming increasingly adept at reading our emotions

April 16, 2014

Cool Finds

This Architect Spends His Free Time Reinventing the World’s Subway Maps

The new system is meant to be easy to read and understand, no matter how foreign the place

April 15, 2014

The stolen diamond looked nothing like these

An Albuquerque museum was robbed of a diamond that was returned the next day

April 11, 2014

Tear gas being used on protesters in Caracas in February.

Cool Finds

Here’s a Six-Minute Explainer for the Turmoil Currently Underway in Venezuela

The 2014 protests have affected not just political activists but ordinary citizens, too

April 11, 2014

Cool Finds

Almost 2 Million People Ran a U.S. Half Marathon Last Year—And Most of Them Were Women

Fitness trendsters, take note: it’s about time you go run 13.1 miles

April 11, 2014

As the bankruptcy fight rages on, Detroit’s artworks are still objects of interest

April 11, 2014

Cool Finds

A Recent Uptick in Cancer Patient Suicides in Russia Might Be Tied to the Unavailability of Painkillers

Procuring strong painkillers in Russia - even when the prognosis is death - is exceedingly difficult

April 11, 2014

New rules allow some workers time off, but don’t demand anybody turn off their phones when they go home

April 11, 2014

New Research

There Are Regional Differences in Death Row Inmates’ Last Words

Southerners are more likely to say sorry, but that doesn’t mean they actually feel remorse

April 10, 2014

Cool Finds

110 Years Ago, Times Square Got Its Name: Celebrate by Browsing Old Photos of NYC

Thanks to a new release of images from the New York City Municipal Archives, you can see what the city looked like before it was consumed by neon

April 10, 2014

Cool Finds

Horses Can Do Yoga

“The method is to tame the horse according to its nature , avoiding cause fear and pain, and by earning their trust and loyalty”

April 10, 2014

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

April 9, 2014

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

April 9, 2014

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

April 8, 2014

Cool Finds

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

Representations of the Buddha are highly particular

April 7, 2014

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

April 7, 2014

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

April 7, 2014

Parties, work, and honeymoons, all on a bike.

Cool Finds

People Use Bike Shares to Get to Work And Parties

Now is probably a good time to say that biking while drunk is never a good idea

April 7, 2014

Carcinogenic material was used as a finish coating in this painting.

New Research

Byzantine Monks Built Walls With Asbestos, Too

In millennia past, asbestos has also been used to make stronger pottery and flame-proof napkins

April 3, 2014

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