Latest articles | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/latest_articles/RSS feed for with the latest articlesenWed, 11 Nov 2026 13:10:00 +0000A Rare Surviving Letter From Martha Washington Sheds Light on Her Young Daughter's Struggle With Epilepsyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-rare-surviving-letter-from-martha-washington-sheds-light-on-her-young-daughters-struggle-with-epilepsy-180989858/Recently obtained by the Library of Congress, the 1760 letter offers positive news about the health of four-year-old Martha Parke Custis, known as Patsy, the stepdaughter of George WashingtonWed, 11 Nov 2026 13:10:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-rare-surviving-letter-from-martha-washington-sheds-light-on-her-young-daughters-struggle-with-epilepsy-180989858/The Handwritten Final Draft of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' Speech Was Considered Lost. It Turned Out to Be Sitting in a Desk Drawer for Decadeshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-handwritten-final-draft-of-martin-luther-king-jrs-i-have-a-dream-speech-was-considered-lost-it-turned-out-to-be-sitting-in-a-desk-drawer-for-decades-180989856/Across seven yellow notepad pages, King is seen wrestling with word choice and revising his remarks the night before the March on Washington. The manuscript will head to auction in January and is expected to pull in more than $10 millionTue, 10 Nov 2026 21:45:09 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-handwritten-final-draft-of-martin-luther-king-jrs-i-have-a-dream-speech-was-considered-lost-it-turned-out-to-be-sitting-in-a-desk-drawer-for-decades-180989856/Octopuses Are the Ultimate Escape Artists. Now Scientists Know How the Creatures Contort Themselves to Squeeze Through Tiny Holeshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/octopuses-are-the-ultimate-escape-artists-now-scientists-know-how-the-creatures-contort-themselves-to-squeeze-through-tiny-holes-180989846/A new study reveals the step-by-step process some octopuses use to cram themselves into tight openings. The findings could inspire new designs for soft robots used during search-and-rescue missionsTue, 10 Nov 2026 21:17:11 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/octopuses-are-the-ultimate-escape-artists-now-scientists-know-how-the-creatures-contort-themselves-to-squeeze-through-tiny-holes-180989846/Dismantled to Survive the Nazi Blitz, Coventry Cathedral's Stained Glass Is 'a Medieval Jigsaw Puzzle.' Its 12,000 Fragments Are Now Digitized for Public Viewhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dismantled-to-survive-the-nazi-blitz-coventry-cathedrals-stained-glass-is-a-medieval-jigsaw-puzzle-its-12000-fragments-have-been-digitized-for-the-public-180989853/First shattered during the Reformation, the 15th-century stained glass is rife with religious imagery, comical animal scenes and even portraits of the original donors who funded its constructionTue, 10 Nov 2026 17:27:06 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dismantled-to-survive-the-nazi-blitz-coventry-cathedrals-stained-glass-is-a-medieval-jigsaw-puzzle-its-12000-fragments-have-been-digitized-for-the-public-180989853/This Adorable, Orphaned Baby Walrus Was Rescued by Two Researchers in Alaska. Now, He's Found a New Home in Floridahttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-adorable-orphaned-baby-walrus-was-rescued-by-two-researchers-in-alaska-now-hes-found-a-new-home-in-florida-180989847/The scientists were conducting fieldwork on a remote beach in northwestern Alaska when they spotted the roughly 5-month-old calf. The little one, named Annautaq, will not be able to return to the wild because he requires constant human care and will become too habituated to peopleTue, 10 Nov 2026 16:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-adorable-orphaned-baby-walrus-was-rescued-by-two-researchers-in-alaska-now-hes-found-a-new-home-in-florida-180989847/How Do Pandas Have Sex While in Human Care? As the National Zoo’s Director Details in Her New Book, It Takes a Village of Dedicated Keepershttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-do-pandas-have-sex-while-in-human-care-as-the-national-zoos-director-details-in-her-new-book-it-takes-a-village-of-dedicated-keepers-180989850/Brandie Smith, who leads the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, has seen more of pandas' private lives than most people ever will. With "In the Company of Pandas," she explores the world of the lovable black-and-white bearsTue, 10 Nov 2026 14:44:14 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-do-pandas-have-sex-while-in-human-care-as-the-national-zoos-director-details-in-her-new-book-it-takes-a-village-of-dedicated-keepers-180989850/Voyager 1 Is the Farthest Human-Made Object in the Universe—and the Spacecraft Is About to Reach One Light-Day From Earthhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/voyager-1-is-the-farthest-human-made-object-in-the-universe-and-the-spacecraft-is-about-to-reach-one-light-day-from-earth-180989845/The probe and its twin, Voyager 2, have been hurtling through space for almost 50 years, stretching humanity's reach into interstellar space. The upcoming milestone is a testament to scientific endeavor and ingenuityTue, 10 Nov 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/voyager-1-is-the-farthest-human-made-object-in-the-universe-and-the-spacecraft-is-about-to-reach-one-light-day-from-earth-180989845/The Maya Loved Using Mercury-Rich Red Paint to Decorate Pottery, Temple Walls and Even Burials. They May Have Accidentally Poisoned Their Own Water and Food Supply in the Processhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-maya-loved-to-use-mercury-rich-red-paint-to-decorate-pottery-temple-walls-and-even-burials-they-may-have-accidentally-poisoned-their-own-water-and-food-supply-in-the-process-180989851/Testing of ancient sediment from two lakes in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula has revealed "crazy" high concentrations of mercury, as one researcher puts it, confirming findings from other regions of the Mesoamerican civilizationTue, 10 Nov 2026 12:10:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-maya-loved-to-use-mercury-rich-red-paint-to-decorate-pottery-temple-walls-and-even-burials-they-may-have-accidentally-poisoned-their-own-water-and-food-supply-in-the-process-180989851/While Cleaning Out Her Aunt's Manhattan Apartment, a Woman Found a Long-Lost Georgia O'Keeffe Painting Buried Beneath Fur Coats in the Closethttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/while-cleaning-out-her-aunts-manhattan-apartment-a-woman-found-a-long-lost-georgia-okeeffe-painting-buried-beneath-fur-coats-in-the-closet-180989848/Painted in 1930, "Near Abiquiu, New Mexico I" sat in the closet for 40 years, with only a single photograph, by O'Keeffe’s husband, Alfred Stieglitz, attesting to its existence. It could fetch upwards of $3 million at auction this monthMon, 09 Nov 2026 19:55:32 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/while-cleaning-out-her-aunts-manhattan-apartment-a-woman-found-a-long-lost-georgia-okeeffe-painting-buried-beneath-fur-coats-in-the-closet-180989848/Neolithic Cannibalism Wasn't an Act of Desperation. Almost 1,000 Skeletal Fragments From Caves in Southern Spain Show How Eating Human Flesh Was a Continual Practicehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/neolithic-cannibalism-wasnt-an-act-of-desperation-almost-1000-skeletal-fragments-from-caves-in-southern-spain-show-how-eating-human-flesh-was-a-continual-practice-180989849/More than five decades after hordes of prehistoric bones were unearthed from three caves in Granada, new forensic techniques show how communities continued to consume their dead across distinct cultural erasMon, 09 Nov 2026 18:11:35 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/neolithic-cannibalism-wasnt-an-act-of-desperation-almost-1000-skeletal-fragments-from-caves-in-southern-spain-show-how-eating-human-flesh-was-a-continual-practice-180989849/