Boats | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/boats/RSS feed for BoatsenThu, 03 Sep 2026 11:45:00 +0000To Defeat the Royal Navy During the American Revolution, a Rebel Inventor Designed a Secret Weapon: a Bomb-Carrying Submarinehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/to-defeat-the-royal-navy-during-the-american-revolution-a-rebel-inventor-designed-a-secret-weapon-a-bomb-carrying-submarine-180989400/David Bushnell developed the "Turtle" submersible as a student at Yale University. The vessel's attack on a British flagship failed, but the trailblazing boat's legacy endures 250 years laterThu, 03 Sep 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/to-defeat-the-royal-navy-during-the-american-revolution-a-rebel-inventor-designed-a-secret-weapon-a-bomb-carrying-submarine-180989400/This Letter Penned on the ‘Titanic’ Days Before It Sank Shares the Perspective of the Ship's Second-Class Passengershttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-letter-penned-on-the-titanic-days-before-it-sank-shares-the-perspective-of-the-ships-second-class-passengers-180989174/The letter, now up for auction, describes good weather and bustling activity as the "Titanic" prepared to set off across the Atlantic OceanWed, 22 Jul 2026 17:59:09 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-letter-penned-on-the-titanic-days-before-it-sank-shares-the-perspective-of-the-ships-second-class-passengers-180989174/For Three Hours Every Day, Open Ocean Transforms Into Australia's 'Ghost' Reefhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/for-three-hours-every-day-open-ocean-transforms-into-australias-ghost-reef-180989152/An isolated wonder some 1,200 miles from the nearest city, Montgomery Reef disappears as quickly as it appears, mirroring the supposed vanishing of its original owners, a tribe of Indigenous giantsMon, 20 Jul 2026 17:34:30 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/for-three-hours-every-day-open-ocean-transforms-into-australias-ghost-reef-180989152/