Archives | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/archives/RSS feed for ArchivesenTue, 21 Jul 2026 19:23:31 +0000A Volunteer Stumbled Upon a Strange Document in the U.K. National Archives. It Turned Out to Be a Rare Copy of the Declaration of Independence Printed in July 1776https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-volunteer-stumbled-upon-a-strange-document-in-the-uk-national-archives-it-turned-out-to-be-a-rare-copy-of-the-declaration-of-independence-printed-in-july-1776-180989169/Michael Scurr, a retired insurance broker, found the text while cataloging boxes of 18th-century correspondence housed at the London archives. It's the only known copy of its kind outside the United StatesTue, 21 Jul 2026 19:23:31 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-volunteer-stumbled-upon-a-strange-document-in-the-uk-national-archives-it-turned-out-to-be-a-rare-copy-of-the-declaration-of-independence-printed-in-july-1776-180989169/Can You Guess the Origins of Papyrus Fragments or Painted Ceramics? A College Student Turned the Met's Open-Access Database Into an Online Gamehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/can-you-guess-the-origins-of-papyrus-fragments-or-painted-ceramics-a-college-student-turned-the-mets-open-access-database-into-an-online-game-180989080/If you consider yourself an art history buff, test your smarts with Anthropeum. The game pulls ten images from the Met's open-access archive and challenges players to identify each artifact's time and place of originTue, 07 Jul 2026 17:09:01 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/can-you-guess-the-origins-of-papyrus-fragments-or-painted-ceramics-a-college-student-turned-the-mets-open-access-database-into-an-online-game-180989080/A Rare Recording of Harpo Marx Speaking Publicly Was Mislabeled in an Archive for Decades. Now You Can Listen to the 'Silent' Comedian Yourselfhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-rare-recording-of-harpo-marx-speaking-publicly-was-mislabeled-in-an-archive-for-decades-now-you-can-listen-to-the-silent-comedy-star-yourself-180988929/The comedian of the stage and big screen thrilled millions of Americans without ever speaking a word, leaving many to wonder what his voice sounded likeWed, 10 Jun 2026 16:16:07 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-rare-recording-of-harpo-marx-speaking-publicly-was-mislabeled-in-an-archive-for-decades-now-you-can-listen-to-the-silent-comedy-star-yourself-180988929/Which Memes Deserve Digital Preservation? See the Online Videos the British Film Institute Selected for a New Archivehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/which-memes-deserve-digital-preservation-see-the-online-videos-the-british-film-institute-selected-for-a-new-archive-180988912/Viral videos, tutorials, vlogs and livestream snippets produced across decades offer insight into modern culture and communication, archivists say. This material could be lost without efforts to save itMon, 08 Jun 2026 18:04:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/which-memes-deserve-digital-preservation-see-the-online-videos-the-british-film-institute-selected-for-a-new-archive-180988912/