Smart News: Ideas & Innovations | Smithsonian Magazine

Hyman G. Rickover created the U.S. Navy's nuclear program, but remained ambivalent about it throughout his life

Happy(?) Birthday to the Father of the Nuclear Navy

Hyman G. Rickover pushed to nuclearize the Navy’s submarines, but admitted he’d rather ‘sink them all’ to protect humanity

January 27, 2017

Partially made from the world’s thinnest, strongest material, lights on the dress change color based on the wearer’s breathing rate

January 26, 2017

Fred Marriott in his modified Stanley Steamer, the Rocket, shortly before he broke the land-speed record.

Why Did People Think Steam-Powered Cars Were a Good Idea?

In the early days, steam cars were as common as gas ones. Why aren’t we driving them today?

January 26, 2017

An undated box that originally held Eskimo Fudge Pies.

The Weird, Brief History of the Eskimo Pie Corporation

It was America’s first chocolate-covered ice cream bar, patented on this day in 1922

January 24, 2017

Cool Finds

This Necklace Contains All of the World’s Languages

Because cultural preservation never goes out of fashion

January 23, 2017

Samuel Zemurray was sometimes called "The Banana Man."

Where We Got the Term “Banana Republic”

Hint: it’s not a great moment in American history

January 18, 2017

Sending teensy satellites into space isn’t just an experiment in cute—it’s an effort to reduce the cost of sending tech into space

January 16, 2017

In 1957, The U.S. Flew a Jet Around the World to Prove it Could Drop a Nuclear Bomb Anywhere

The B-52 bomber that made the flight was part of a new bomber class that was still proving its worth

January 16, 2017

The Heinkel He-280, the world's first jet fighter, was developed in Nazi Germany during World War II.

Since First Successfully Used More Than 75 Years Ago, Ejection Seats Have Saved Thousands

The faster an airplane is moving, the harder it is to get out of: that’s why ejection seats are so important

January 13, 2017

Spent shell casings pile up as a soldier fires his weapon during a U.S. Army weapons qualification.

Cool Finds

Department of Defense Calls for Biodegradable, Seed-Planting Ammo

These seed bombs could make Army training easier on the environment

January 12, 2017

New Research

How a Children’s Toy Could Help Fight Malaria

A 20-cent whirligig-like centrifuge could help doctors in remote regions diagnose disease

January 12, 2017

Essento mealworm burger, with all the fixins'

In the continued quest for sustainable proteins, another company is wriggling into the market

January 12, 2017

The warning label on cartons of duty-free cigarettes in Munich, Germany circa 2006.

People Have Tried to Make U.S. Cigarette Warning Labels More Graphic for Decades

On this day in 1964, the surgeon general officially said that smoking causes cancer. But warning labels in America still don’t show its effects

January 11, 2017

A hot toddy isn't actually medicine, but it can feel like it is.

The Hot Toddy: A “Medicinal” Drink That Might Actually Work

On National Hot Toddy Day, warm up with this tasty drink, whether you’re sick or not

January 11, 2017

Inventor Sir Clive Sinclair demonstrates his battery-assisted pedal powered tricycle at Alexandra Palace, London.

This Three-Wheeled, Battery-Powered Plastic Car-Bike Was a Giant Flop in 1985

But today, some have asked if Sir Clive Sinclair was just ahead of his time

January 10, 2017

A portrait of John D. Rockefeller circa 1900, after he had built Standard Oil into the largest oil company in the United States.

John D. Rockefeller Was the Richest Person To Ever Live. Period

Standard Oil, his company, is one of the biggest reasons we have anti-monopoly laws

January 10, 2017

People lined up to buy the first iPhone in New York, June 29,2007

Not everyone thought the sleek phone/browser/music player would have mainstream appeal

January 9, 2017

A daguerreotype portrait of Samuel Morse by his student, Mathew Brady, circa 1844-1860.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

The Inventor of the Telegraph Was Also America’s First Photographer

The daguerreotype craze took over New York in the mid-nineteenth century

January 9, 2017

For 2,000 Finns, free money is now a thing.

Two thousand unemployed Finns will now get around $594 a month—whether they get jobs or not

January 5, 2017

This six-shooter, in the collection of the National Museum of American History, is not the very first Colt six-shooter, but an updated, slightly lighter version Colt produced between 1848 and 1861.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

On This Day in 1847, a Texas Ranger Walked Into Samuel Colt’s Shop and Said, Make Me a Six-Shooter

Samuel Colt was a clever marketer as well as a talented inventor

January 4, 2017

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