Innovation | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/innovation/RSS feed for InnovationenMon, 03 Aug 2026 14:22:30 +0000The History of the Beach Read, From 19th-Century 'Moral Debasement' to BookTokhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/the-history-of-the-beach-read-from-19th-century-moral-debasement-to-booktok-180989238/The still-popular genre got its start 150 years ago, when publishers profited off the rise of travel in the United States during an otherwise slow publishing seasonMon, 03 Aug 2026 14:22:30 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/the-history-of-the-beach-read-from-19th-century-moral-debasement-to-booktok-180989238/The First At-Home Test for Infected Ticks Could Improve Lyme Disease Diagnosishttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/the-first-at-home-test-for-infected-ticks-could-improve-lyme-disease-diagnosis-180989235/LymeAlert will hit the market in August. The latest tool against the tick-borne illness could become a medicine cabinet stapleFri, 31 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/the-first-at-home-test-for-infected-ticks-could-improve-lyme-disease-diagnosis-180989235/How A.I. Will Reshape Radiology—Without Replacing Radiologistshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-ai-will-reshape-radiologywithout-replacing-radiologists-180989220/Human experience and flexibility are still necessary even as digital diagnostic tools improveWed, 29 Jul 2026 18:15:28 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-ai-will-reshape-radiologywithout-replacing-radiologists-180989220/A Brief History of Hold Music, From Early Patents to the Soundtrack of Customer-Service Purgatoryhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/a-brief-history-of-hold-music-from-early-patents-to-the-soundtrack-of-customer-service-purgatory-180989185/Sixty years ago, Alfred A. Levy patented his “telephone hold program system.” Little did he know a teenager’s unearthed New Age practice tape would become its enduring anthemFri, 24 Jul 2026 16:00:08 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/a-brief-history-of-hold-music-from-early-patents-to-the-soundtrack-of-customer-service-purgatory-180989185/How Shrimp Shells Are Being Turned Into 'Carbon Negative' Fuel, Food and Construction Materialshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-shrimp-shells-are-being-turned-into-carbon-negative-fuel-food-and-construction-materials-180989061/Engineers in Singapore have developed a new, multistep chemical process that transforms organic waste into useful, sustainable productsMon, 06 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-shrimp-shells-are-being-turned-into-carbon-negative-fuel-food-and-construction-materials-180989061/Can Printed 'Skin' Heal Burns and Prevent Scars?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/can-printed-skin-heal-burns-and-prevent-scars-180989000/Inks created with a patient’s own cells may one day help the body regrow tissuesWed, 24 Jun 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/can-printed-skin-heal-burns-and-prevent-scars-180989000/100 Years Ago, Students Across the U.S. Took the First SAT. Today, Relatively Few Colleges Require the Test. Where Is It Headed?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/100-years-ago-students-across-the-us-took-the-first-sat-today-relatively-few-colleges-require-the-test-where-is-it-headed-180988997/The standardized exam has evolved over the past century, all in the name of testing for college readiness. Now, it has become a symbol of the American higher education systemTue, 23 Jun 2026 16:16:05 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/100-years-ago-students-across-the-us-took-the-first-sat-today-relatively-few-colleges-require-the-test-where-is-it-headed-180988997/Scientists Are Using Nanomaterials to Heal Stubborn Wounds That Resist Antibiotic Treatmenthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/scientists-are-using-nanomaterials-to-heal-stubborn-wounds-that-resist-antibiotic-treatment-180988972/Light-activated therapies may offer a solution to slow-healing lesions common in diabetics and burn victimsWed, 17 Jun 2026 16:36:51 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/scientists-are-using-nanomaterials-to-heal-stubborn-wounds-that-resist-antibiotic-treatment-180988972/Cellphones Were Created to Untether Us. Then They Got Smart and Evolved Into an Omnipotent Appendagehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/cellphones-were-created-to-untether-us-then-they-got-smart-and-evolved-into-an-omnipotent-appendage-180988882/One device made it possible to hold a telephone, a watch, a calculator, the mailbox, credit cards, a meteorologist, a television, a detailed map of the globe, millions of songs and books … all in one hand.Wed, 17 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/cellphones-were-created-to-untether-us-then-they-got-smart-and-evolved-into-an-omnipotent-appendage-180988882/This Unsung Black Developer Unlocked the Code to Turning a Video Game Console Into a Virtual Living Room Arcadehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/unsung-black-developer-unlocked-code-turning-video-game-consolo-into-virtual-living-room-arcade-180988819/Jerry Lawson’s Channel F system was the first to put games on interchangeable cartridges, paving the way for Atari, Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStationTue, 16 Jun 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/unsung-black-developer-unlocked-code-turning-video-game-consolo-into-virtual-living-room-arcade-180988819/With a Few Tweaks, the Country’s Favorite Sports Went From Pastimes to Part of the Fabric of Our Culturehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/with-few-tweaks-countrys-favorite-sports-went-pastimes-part-fabric-culture-180988816/Can you imagine a football game where there was never a passing play? The forward pass is just one of the innovations that made these contests into eventsMon, 15 Jun 2026 15:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/with-few-tweaks-countrys-favorite-sports-went-pastimes-part-fabric-culture-180988816/When Clarence Birdseye Tasted the Trout That Had Been Frozen by Inuit Fishermen, It Changed the Way We Buy Foodhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/when-clarence-birdseye-tasted-trout-had-been-frozen-inuit-fisherman-changed-way-buy-food-180988815/The inventive entrepreneur concluded that the faster things were frozen, the less damage was done to the structure of the food. Once thawed, they were “exactly like fresh”Mon, 15 Jun 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/when-clarence-birdseye-tasted-trout-had-been-frozen-inuit-fisherman-changed-way-buy-food-180988815/How the Hashtag Became the Way to Instantly Invite Literally Everyone Into the Conversationhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-hashtag-became-way-instantly-invite-literally-everyone-into-conversation-180988813/In the nascent days of Twitter, users wanted a quick way to cluster posts about a single subject. Someone suggested using a pound sign, and #TheRestIsHistoryFri, 12 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-hashtag-became-way-instantly-invite-literally-everyone-into-conversation-180988813/A Moment of Divine Inspiration Helped Melvil Dewey Bring Obsessive Order to the Infinitely Disorganized Stacks in the Libraryhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/moment-divine-inspiration-helped-melvil-dewey-bring-obsessive-order-infinitely-disorganized-stacks-library-180988856/The Massachusetts student let his mind wander during a Sunday sermon and created the decimal-based system that greatly simplified the search for any book you were looking for.Thu, 11 Jun 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/moment-divine-inspiration-helped-melvil-dewey-bring-obsessive-order-infinitely-disorganized-stacks-library-180988856/The Man Who Created a Written Language for the Cherokee Did It So Efficiently and Elegantly, His Peers Thought It Was Magichttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/man-created-written-language-cherokee-did-efficiently-elegantly-peers-thought-magic-180988850/Sequoyah’s syllabary faced suspicion initially, but after a demonstration, his version of “talking leaves” was widely embraced. And then the word spreadWed, 10 Jun 2026 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/man-created-written-language-cherokee-did-efficiently-elegantly-peers-thought-magic-180988850/When Patent Protections Couldn’t Keep Pace With Ingenuity in the Colonies, One Inventive Woman Took Her Case to Britainhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/patent-protections-couldnt-keep-pace-with-ingenuity-colonies-one-inventive-woman-took-case-britain-180988827/Sybilla Righton Masters devised a novel way to work with grains available to her in Philadelphia. A long journey led to the first patent issued to an American (though it went to her husband)Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/patent-protections-couldnt-keep-pace-with-ingenuity-colonies-one-inventive-woman-took-case-britain-180988827/