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Smart News / Smart News Arts & Culture

On April 25, protesters demonstrate against Venice's new day-tripper tax.

Venice’s First-of-Its-Kind ‘Day-Tripper Tax’ Sparks Outrage

Protestors say the entry fee is an ineffective solution to the city’s overtourism challenges

John Lennon plays the rediscovered 12-string Framus Hootenanny guitar.

Cool Finds

Man Finds John Lennon’s Forgotten Guitar in His Father’s Attic

The 12-string instrument, which is going to auction in late May, spent 50 years hidden away in the British countryside

The Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney is home to Australia's largest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts.

Australian Museum Removes Mummified Body Parts From Display

“We have become so accustomed to seeing them on show that we often forget they once belonged to living people,” says Melanie Pitkin, a senior curator at the Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney

The Enterprise model had been missing for decades when it reappeared in an eBay listing last fall.

Original ‘Star Trek’ Enterprise Model Resurfaces Decades After It Went Missing

The model used in the original series’ opening credits is now back with Eugene Roddenberry Jr., the son of the show’s creator

Authorities don't know why the sails fell off in the early hours of April 25.

Moulin Rouge Windmill Blades Fall Off in the Middle of the Night

The iconic Paris landmark has never experienced such a mishap in its 135-year history

Japanese Americans were forced to leave behind their homes and belongings, then report to incarceration sites.

The Public Finally Has Access to an Accurate List of Japanese Americans Detained During World War II

Researchers who spent years fixing errors in shoddy government records have partnered with Ancestry to make a wide selection of historical documents related to the period available for free

The statue was unveiled on what would have been Elizabeth's 98th birthday.

New Statue Honors Elizabeth II—and Her Beloved Corgis

The seven-foot-tall bronze monument is billed as the “first permanent memorial” to the late queen

Police recovered Salvator Rosa's A Rocky Coast, With Soldiers Studying a Plan, from a man in Romania.

Lost 17th-Century Painting Returns to an Oxford Gallery Four Years After It Was Stolen

“A Rocky Coast, With Soldiers Studying a Plan” was recovered from a man in Romania who alerted the authorities

The cathedral's collection of Mays paintings includes Aubin Vouet's Le Centurion Corneille aux pieds de Saint Pierre, completed in 1639.

Oil Paintings Rescued From Notre-Dame Cathedral Fire Go on Display

Known as the “Mays,” the artworks were created for an annual competition in the 17th century

The 1.8- by 2.6-inch sketch by Michelangelo and an accompanying letter from his descendant, Cosimo Buonarroti

Cool Finds

This Tiny Scribble by Michelangelo Just Sold for Over $200,000

The sketch was found attached to the back of a work by one of the Renaissance artist’s associates

Victor Montalvo will be competing for Team USA in breaking at the Summer Olympics in Paris.

The Paris Olympics

How Breaking Went From a Street Dance to an Olympic Sport

This summer, 32 athletes will compete in what’s commonly known as breakdancing, a dance sport that combines athleticism and artistry

Poetry lovers can call 503-928-7008 to hear a new daily poem through the end of April.

Call Oregon’s Poetry Hotline to Hear a New Poem Every Day This Month

The hotline, created by the state’s poet laureate, has already received thousands of callers

Clara Bow in a still from The Pill Pounder, which premiered 101 years ago

Cool Finds

Lost Silent Film Featuring Clara Bow Discovered in a $20 Box of Old Reels

Bow, who also serves as inspiration for a new Taylor Swift song, was one of Hollywood’s first starlets

Artist Graham Sutherland painted this study of William Churchill in preparation for a portrait that the politician famously despised.

A Study for the Portrait Winston Churchill Famously Abhorred Is for Sale

The final painting, dramatized on Netflix’s “The Crown,” was secretly burned in the middle of the night

After its century-long disappearance, the book was returned in good condition earlier this year.

Cool Finds

Overdue Book Returned to Colorado Library After 105 Years

The Fort Collins library waived the fine, which totaled over $14,000 when adjusted for inflation

Ruben Soto (right), a migrant from Venezuela, sits with Rosa Bello, a Honduran migrant, on top of a freight train known as “The Beast.” Ruben and Rosa met in Mexico and fell in love on their way to the United States.

See 25 Astonishing Images From the World Press Photo Contest

The winning photographs capture moving moments in the midst of tumultuous global events

In Scrabble Together, players work as a team to solve challenges.

Scrabble Introduces a Less Competitive Version of the Classic Word Game

Scrabble Together, now available in Europe, is the first major update to the game in more than 75 years

Copenhagen's Old Stock Exchange was undergoing renovations when the building caught fire on April 16, 2024.

Fire Devastates Copenhagen’s Historic Stock Exchange

Its signature 184-foot spire collapsed, but rescuers salvaged some of the valuable artworks inside

Visitors at the Dalí Museum can pick up a recreation of the artist's Lobster Telephone (1938) and ask the A.I. replica a question.

Art Meets Science

You Can Chat With an A.I. Replica of Salvador Dalí

At a Florida museum, “Ask Dalí” allows visitors to speak with the Surrealist artist via a lobster telephone

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov performs a dance at his 35th birthday celebration in 2011.

Chechnya Bans Music That Isn’t Between 80 and 116 Beats Per Minute

Officials have given artists until June 1 to rewrite material that does not fall within the accepted range

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