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American History

Decoder glasses help visitors view both utopian and dystopian angles to the exhibition

Cool Finds

This Art Show Looks at 500 Years of Failed Utopias

So far, the ideal has yet to work out

Inspectors examined the eyes of immigrants at Ellis Island in New York Harbor, but did they change their names?

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Did Ellis Island Officials Really Change the Names of Immigrants?

On the 125th anniversary of the famous portal to the U.S., history shows inspectors were not the ones changing people’s names

Natalie Portman as Jacqueline Kennedy in the new film Jackie directed by Pablo Larraín.

Natalie Portman’s “Jackie” Reminds Us Why JFK’s Assassination Became Our National Tragedy

A Smithsonian scholar revisits those critical decisions Jacqueline Kennedy made following the death of her husband

A photograph of the National Menorah from 2011.

Why There’s A 30-Foot Menorah on the National Mall

The tradition of the National Menorah was begun under President Jimmy Carter in 1979

Dendrite Star snowflake

Cool Finds

This Historical Figure Wore the Label “Snowflake” With Pride

Wilson Bentley became the first person to photograph a single snowflake in 1885

Boo! Telling ghost stories on Christmas was a tradition for hundreds of years. Here, Marley's ghost surprises Ebenezer Scrooge in an illustration from the first edition of the classic tale.

Why Do People Tell Ghost Stories on Christmas?

Christmas ghost stories are a tradition going back much farther than “A Christmas Carol”

Why the U.S. Army Guarded the 23 Remaining American Buffalo

In 1882, General Philip Sheridan’s expedition to the protected buffalo haven in Yellowstone National Park revealed a gruesome reality

The National Menorah and one of the state Christmas trees near the White House in 2009.

Someday, Maybe We’ll Have Hanukkah in July

Hanukkah and Christmas fall on the same day this year because not everyone follows the same calendar

The American holiday celebrating African traditions is 50 years old this year.

This Year Marks the 50th Kwanzaa

The week-long holiday is a celebration of African-American culture

Lillian Randolph in It's A Wonderful Life, with a dusting of fake snow made from foamite, sugar, water and soap.

The Crazy Tricks Early Filmmakers Used To Fake Snow

Cornflakes, flour and, uh, asbestos were all used in early movies

Uniformed Letter Carrier with Child in Mailbag

Smithsonian Podcast

A Brief History of Children Sent Through the Mail

In the early days of the parcel post, some parents took advantage of the mail in unexpected ways

Crossword puzzles have been around for over one hundred years. In that time, they've gone through fads.

Why Crossword Puzzles Are Still Mostly Written By Humans

Computers can write sports articles, replace stock brokers and help diagnose patients. But they can’t write good crosswords

The Westinghouse Atom Smasher in its prime.

The Strange Story of the Westinghouse Atom Smasher

The giant bulb was an important part of early American nuclear history. Now it’s part of a miniature railroad

Eggnog is connected to a medieval drink called posset.

The Long, Rich, Boozy History of Eggnog

This December, we’re exploring the drink’s storied history

Our Top Ten Stories of 2016

From slavery to tuberculosis, it’s been a tumultuous year of exploring our past and looking to the future

Smithsonian Podcast

When the Standardization of Time Arrived in America

It used to be that each town kept its own time, and chaos reigned

A photo of Bill Clinton taken in 1993, the first year of his presidency.

Presidents Can Be Impeached Because Benjamin Franklin Thought It Was Better Than Assassination

The founding fathers struggled with the idea of whether the top leader should be impeachable

Marshall Field's was as much a part of Chicago's soul as the Lakefront and the Cubs.

For Generations of Chicagoans, Marshall Field’s Meant Business, and Christmas

The midwestern mainstay transformed commerce into a communal holiday spectacle

A modern flight data recorder, a.k.a. a "black box." Despite the name, these recorders are typically painted orange.

On This Day, The Black Box Proved Its Worth

The Park Slope plane crash was a tragedy, but it proved the importance of the flight data recorder

Bei Bei, the National Zoo's youngest giant panda cub, during a veterinary exam when he was less than three months old.

The Long, Adorable History of Pandas in America

Su Lin was the first giant panda to come to America, landing in San Francisco in 1936

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