Up and Down Words

Prepare to be amazed.

Ask Smithsonian: What’s a Stone Baby? (1:07)

Coconut octopuses are among the most intelligent invertebrates around: They use tools, carry their shelters around for when they need them, and, fittingly, adopt an underwater walking motion that's very similar to humans.

A Coconut Octopus Uses Tools to Snatch a Crab (2:34)

It's commonly known that a single asteroid set off the dinosaurs' extinction. Even more destructive than its impact was the chain of events it set into motion.

How a Single Asteroid Wiped Dinosaurs Off This Planet (1:14)

Green tree vipers can kill in the dark. With special heat-sensing abilities, they can find prey that's all but invisible.

A Pit Viper's Sixth Sense (2:03)