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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

Which Is the Most Lucrative “12 Days of Christmas” Career?

Of the iconic Christmas gifts, which would give you the best career prospects?

Baikal Ice

Siberian Musicians Used the Frozen Surface of the World’s Largest Lake as a Drum

Siberians by chance discovered that Lake Baikal’s frozen waves created an unexpectedly bright sound when one of them fell and thunked the ice with her hand

Microbes May Be Responsible For Wine Regions’ Distinctive Flavors

Wines’ regionally-distinctive flavors may be caused by the bacteria and fungi that live on the grapes

The Hunger Games Is Getting More People Interested in Archery

For Hunger Games fans, there’s a new hobby in town: archery

The Pictures in Your Home Goods Catalogs Are Probably Computer Rendered

Some materials are harder to render than others, but soon those catalogs will be full of space that never existed in the real world

Hockey Players Sue League For Failing to Address Head Injuries

On Monday, ten retired N.H.L. players sued the league for fraud and negligence

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Which Seat Should You Pick at the Movie Theater?

When you walk into a theater, you’re probably still going to argue with your friends about which seat to pick. But now you know the right answer

Men Are Just As Picky As Women About Who They’d Date—If They’re the Ones Being Pursued

When women have to be the pursuer, they become much less picky

Playing Sports Is Getting Too Expensive for Many Kids’ Families

Organized sports are really expensive, and informal practice grounds are disappearing

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Your Life Experiences Aren’t So Special—Here’s Proof

There’s this feeling that each of us is wandering through life, the unique product of our own past and our own experiences.

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With 502,165 Bulbs, Australian Man Retakes World Record for Most Christmas Lights on a Single Home

David Richards first claimed that title back in 2001, with a paltry 331,038 lights, but last year he was overtaken by a New York family

People Stay at Jobs Where They Can Have Fun And Work Less Hard

If employee performances were broken down by age, however, the data show that older employees actually increase their sales performance at funner jobs

Here’s How Disney Animates Snow

In the Disney animation studio, different types of snow are made by tweaking a computer model. In the real world, they’re made by changing the temperature

Young Girls Are More Likely to Want Braces Than Boys

The fact that women feel the need to change their appearance more than men starts long before Botox and boob jobs are on the table

Here’s What the U.S. Is Trying to Do With the Iran Nuclear Deal

The Iran nuclear deal won’t stop the country’s ability to make a nuclear weapon, but it will give us more warning time

Good Benefits Don’t Make Unemployed People Happy About Being Unemployed

People really don’t like being unemployed, and having good unemployment assistance doesn’t change that

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This Museum Exhibit Shows How Awesome Overlooked Female Drummers Actually Are

It turns out that there are, in fact, women who drum. And they are amazing

Cheese made from human toe bacteria

This Exhibit Features Cheese Made From the Bacteria of Human Tears, Belly Buttons And Noses

The artists recently held a wine and cheese pairing event, in which visitors stuck their noses close to the human cheese and took a big whiff

3-D Printed Selfies Combine the Two Trends of the Year

If you’re tired of hearing about selfies or 3D printing this is not the story for you because it involves both

The More Reality TV You Watch, the More One Night Stands You Have

Watching reality television that depicts sex does actually say something about your sex life, according to new research

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