Artifact of the Week | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/artifact-week/RSS feed for Artifact of the WeekenThu, 14 Jul 2016 15:56:48 +0000The Epic Failure of Thomas Edison's Talking Dollhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/epic-failure-thomas-edisons-talking-doll-180955442/Expensive, heavy, non-functioning and a little scary looking, the doll created by America's hero-inventor was a commercial flopMon, 01 Jun 2015 14:07:19 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/epic-failure-thomas-edisons-talking-doll-180955442/Few Artifacts of the Transatlantic Slave Trade Still Exist. These Iron Blocks Help Tell That Gut-Wrenching Storyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/few-artifacts-transatlantic-slave-trade-exist-iron-blocks-tell-gut-wrenching-story-180959803/A profound symbol of the horrific conditions aboard a slave ship is the ballast used as a counterweight for human cargoThu, 14 Jul 2016 15:56:48 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/few-artifacts-transatlantic-slave-trade-exist-iron-blocks-tell-gut-wrenching-story-180959803/The NOW Button Takes Us Back When Women's Equality Was a Noveltyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/now-button-takes-us-back-when-womens-equality-was-a-novelty-180959683/At the half-century mark, for the National Organization for Women it is still personal—and politicalWed, 06 Jul 2016 15:14:36 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/now-button-takes-us-back-when-womens-equality-was-a-novelty-180959683/How Roundup Ready Soybeans Rocked the Food Economyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-roundup-ready-soybeans-rocked-food-economy-180959397/This 1980s-era “gene gun” fired the shot heard around the worldThu, 30 Jun 2016 14:58:47 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-roundup-ready-soybeans-rocked-food-economy-180959397/The Revolutionary War Patriot Who Carried This Gunpowder Horn Was Fighting for Freedom—Just Not His Own https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/patriot-who-carried-revolutionary-war-era-gunpowder-horn-was-fighting-freedomjust-not-his-own-180959385/ Simbo, an African-American patriot, fought for his country's liberty and freedom even as a large population remained enslavedWed, 22 Jun 2016 16:36:54 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/patriot-who-carried-revolutionary-war-era-gunpowder-horn-was-fighting-freedomjust-not-his-own-180959385/This Segregated Railway Car Offers a Visceral Reminder of the Jim Crow Erahttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/segregated-railway-car-offers-visceral-reminder-jim-crow-era-180959383/Subtle and not-so-subtle reminders of a time when local and state laws forced racial segrationMon, 13 Jun 2016 17:50:20 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/segregated-railway-car-offers-visceral-reminder-jim-crow-era-180959383/A Long-Lost Manuscript Contains a Searing Eyewitness Account of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/long-lost-manuscript-contains-searing-eyewitness-account-tulsa-race-massacre-1921-180959251/An Oklahoma lawyer details the attack by hundreds of whites on the thriving black neighborhood where hundreds died 95 years agoFri, 27 May 2016 11:50:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/long-lost-manuscript-contains-searing-eyewitness-account-tulsa-race-massacre-1921-180959251/To Really Appreciate Louis Armstrong's Trumpet, You Gotta Play it. Just Ask Wynton Marsalishttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/to-really-appreciate-louis-armstrongs-trumpet-you-gotta-play-it-180959184/It’s not always the white-glove treatment; some artifacts live on through performanceMon, 23 May 2016 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/to-really-appreciate-louis-armstrongs-trumpet-you-gotta-play-it-180959184/That Revolutionary May Day in 1976 When California Wines Bested France's Finest https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/that-revolutionary-May-day-1976-when-california-wines-bested-france-finest-180958971/Forty years ago, a Copernican moment took place in viniculture when the world realized the sun didn’t always revolve around French winesTue, 03 May 2016 19:21:23 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/that-revolutionary-May-day-1976-when-california-wines-bested-france-finest-180958971/Famous for His Rocking Chair, Sam Maloof Made Furniture That Had Soulhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/famous-his-rocking-chair-sam-maloof-made-furniture-had-soul-180958943/A centennial appreciation for this master of mid-century modernism is underway with a California exhibition and an upcoming seminarMon, 02 May 2016 16:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/famous-his-rocking-chair-sam-maloof-made-furniture-had-soul-180958943/