Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Smart News / Smart News Ideas & Innovations

Josephine Peary, wife of the legendary Arctic explorer Robert Peary, wears a parka in 1892

Family Travel

Explore the High Fashion of Exploration

From the Arctic to the Moon, a new exhibit shows how the outfits of exploration have impacted the outfits of the runway

The 'Chicago,' one of four aircraft to attempt the round-the-world trip. The others were named 'Seattle', 'Boston,' and 'New Orleans.'

How The U.S. Won the Race to Circumnavigate the Globe by Air

The first round-the-world flight was an achievement but also a surprise

Maori Translation of ‘Moana’ Is a Hit in New Zealand

Experts hope the film will spark a renewed interest in the Maori language

A VR animation of a 1945 design for a massive elevated airport over the Hudson River

New Exhibit Imagines the Buildings New York Could’ve Had

From a gigantic airport, to an urbanized Ellis Island, the show reveals the many fascinating ideas for New York City that never made it off the page

The ice cream cone came to the attention of American audiences at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.

The Amazing, Portable, Edible Ice Cream Cone

Unlike foods that came before it, ice cream in a cone could be eaten on the go–without a spoon

A record-breaking gathering of Waldo (known across the pond as 'Wally') impersonators in Dublin, Ireland, in 2011.

The Science Behind Our Search for Waldo

‘Where’s Waldo’ was first published on this day in 1987

An Enigma machine used during World War II to send coded messages

Family Travel

More Than 5,000 Objects of Espionage Are Coming to the Spy Museum

The trove of cool artifacts comes from the world’s largest private collection of spycraft

Carbon Dating Reveals the History of Zero Is Older Than Previously Thought

An ancient text called the Bakhshali manuscript has bumped zero’s origin story back by 500 years

Chocolate was in North America as early as 900-1200 A.D.

A Brief History of Chocolate in the United States

Eating chocolate is a relatively new innovation

A friendly Nauga.

How the Nauga and its Fictional Friends Helped Make Synthetic Fabric Cuddly

What started out as an advertising ploy turned into a low-key cultural phenomenon

This 1846 map of the solar system includes Vulcan as the planet closest to the sun.

Why Everyone Went on a Wild Goose Chase Looking for the Planet Vulcan

The idea of a ninth planet in the Solar System would resolve a mathematical conundrum about Mercury–only problem is, it wasn’t there

Family Travel

How a “Snowman” Lasted the Entire Summer In Chicago

The icy Fischli/Weiss art installation on top of the Art Institute survived the swelter of the Windy City and will go on display next in San Francisco

Unlike Samuel Morse's one-key telegraph, Baudot's used five keys.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

The Roots of Computer Code Lie in Telegraph Code

Émile Baudot, born a year after the first long-distance telegraph message was sent, helped advance the technology

A Piggly Wiggly in 1939.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

The Bizarre Story of Piggly Wiggly, the First Self-Service Grocery Store

What’s in a name?

Part of the Great Trail in Nova Scotia

Trending Today

Canada Completes World’s Longest Hiking Trail

After 25 years and millions of dollars, the coast-to-coast hiking, biking and paddling trail has an official route

Emma Nutt was just the leading edge of the wave.

Long Before Siri, Emma Nutt’s Voice Was on the Other End of the Line

She was the first female telephone operator. Before her, telephone operators were teenaged boys. That didn’t go so well

Paul Ehrlich was the first to take a chemical approach to immunity.

The First Syphilis Cure Was the First ‘Magic Bullet’

The term ‘magic bullet’ once just meant a targeted drug

The familiar home vacuum was immediately predated by the carpet sweeper.

The Vacuum Cleaner Was Harder to Invent Than You Might Think

The original vacuum cleaner required a number of improvements before becoming the household staple it is today

Artificial intelligence is trying to write the sixth Game of Thrones book

A Neural Network Attempted to Write the Next Game of Thrones Book

Impatient readers can quench their thirst with the awkward, yet fascinating, prose of a neural network trained on George R.R. Martin

The first can opener was a blade that sawed around the can's edge, leaving a jagged rim.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Why the Can Opener Wasn’t Invented Until Almost 50 Years After the Can

The first ‘can opener’ was a hammer and chisel

Page 43 of 101