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Herbert O. Yardley claimed that the Black Chamber deciphered more than 45,000 diplomatic code and cipher telegrams of foreign governments between 1917 and 1929.

Untold Stories of American History

The Spy Who Exposed the Secrets of the Black Chamber, One of America’s First Code-Breaking Organizations

In 1931, Herbert O. Yardley published a tell-all book about his experiences leading a covert government agency called the Cipher Bureau

View of the S.S. Pacific anchored near Fort Tongass in Alaska in 1868

Hundreds Died When This Steamship Sank in the Pacific Northwest in 1875 With Gold Worth Millions On Board

A century and a half later, the sinking of the S.S. Pacific remains one of the deadliest maritime disasters in the region’s history

The magnetic north pole, distinct from the geographic North Pole, is the point where Earth’s magnetic field lines converge.

Earth’s Magnetic North Pole Is Shifting Toward Siberia and Raising Questions About Unusual Movement

Scientists released an update to a model that maps the ever-moving pole and has significant implications for navigation systems

The Douglas C-54D Skymaster vanished during a routine transit flight from Anchorage to Great Falls, Montana, on January 26, 1950.

The Enduring Mystery of a Plane That Vanished in the Icy Canadian Wilderness With 44 People On Board

Seventy-five years ago, a Douglas C-54D Skymaster disappeared en route from Alaska to Montana. No trace of its crew and passengers, including a pregnant mother and her young son, has ever been found

Homeowners found star-shaped debris outside their home on Prince Edward Island, Canada, after a meteorite strike in July.

Cool Finds

Meteorite Crash in Canada Is Caught by Home Security Camera in Likely World-First Video Footage

The space rock—recorded with visuals and sound—landed where the homeowner had been standing just minutes earlier

A Surinam golden-eyed tree frog calls for a mate, puffing out its cheeks.

See 25 Incredible Images From the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest

Cast your vote for your favorite of the photographs, which are all contenders for the People’s Choice award, through January 29

Captain John Voss, left, aboard the Tilikum in Samoa. “So diminutive,” one Australian reporter wrote of the boat, “one wondered and admired the pluck, perseverance and skill displayed in bringing her across the 9,200 miles of trackless ocean.”   

The Death-Defying Attempt to Circumnavigate the World in a Canoe

How Captain John Voss put his dugout canoe—and himself—to the ultimate test

Steller's sea eagles are massive birds of prey typically found along the coasts of northeastern Asia. The one pictured above is not the bird spotted in Canada.

Rare and Giant Steller’s Sea Eagle Spotted Thousands of Miles From Home in Eastern Canada Park

The bird, thought to be the only one of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, is presumed to be Stella, an out-of-place raptor spotted at sites across North America in recent years

The weeklong exhibition showcases items submitted by members of the public.

The Museum of Bad Gifts Is a Celebration of Outlandish Objects, From Ceramic Clowns to Cat Nail Clippings

Presented like pieces of fine art, the peculiar presents are mounted on the walls of a gallery in Toronto. Many of them will ultimately be sold at auction

A northern saw-whet owl in Canada

Meet the Tiny, Adorable Owls That Have Mastered the Art of Hiding

One of the smallest owls in North America, the northern saw-whet lives among us and is rarely seen—but one volunteer science project aims to find them and uncover their secrets year after year

An illustration of the Mary Celeste in 1861, when the ship was known as the Amazon

On This Day in History

An Abandoned Merchant Ship Was Discovered Floating in the Atlantic in 1872. The Mystery of Its Missing Crew Was Never Solved

Speculation about what happened to the “Mary Celeste,” found empty on this day in 1872, was so rife that even famed author Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a sensational short story about it

Makenzie Van Eyk (second from right) holds the message in a bottle that she wrote 26 years ago. Roland St. Pierre (far left) was her teacher at the time. Her daughter Scarlet (second from left) and son Huxley (far right) are enrolled in the same school she attended.

Cool Finds

A Little Girl Dropped a Message in a Bottle Into a Lake. Her Daughter’s Classmate Found It 26 Years Later

Makenzie Van Eyk wrote the letter as part of a class project in 1998, when she was in fourth grade. Recently, the note was discovered by a boy who goes to school with her daughter—who is now in fourth grade herself

The Ofaerufoss waterfall is part of the Nyrdri-Ofaera River, meaning the “impassable northern river.” The river flows into Eldgja, or the “Canyon of Fire.”  

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

Go Chasing Waterfalls With These 15 Awe-Inspiring Images

See photographs of the beautiful natural wonders from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

In the late 18th century, George Vancouver and his crew systematically sighted 75 geographical features in the Pacific Northwest, giving them entirely new names based on European taxonomy and imperial ambitions.

How Captain George Vancouver Mapped and Shaped the Modern Pacific Northwest

The British explorer named dozens of geographical features and sites in the region, ignoring the traditions of the Indigenous peoples who’d lived there for millennia

Masset, QCI, Emily Carr, 1912

Cool Finds

An Art Dealer Bought This Painting at a Barn Sale for $50. It Turned Out to Be an Emily Carr Worth Nearly $150,000

The Canadian Post-Impressionist artist was famous for her evocative landscapes and paintings incorporating motifs from First Nations groups

James Fitzjames was a captain aboard the HMS Erebus. Now, researchers have identified his remains with DNA analysis.

DNA Reveals Identity of Officer on the Lost Franklin Expedition—and His Remains Show Signs of Cannibalism

Researchers recently identified James Fitzjames, a captain on the ill-fated HMS Erebus that went looking for the Northwest Passage in 1845

The Roaring Lion, Yousuf Karsh, 1941

A Thief Replaced This Iconic Churchill Portrait With a Fake. Two Years Later, the Original Has Been Recovered

Investigators discovered that the original print of “The Roaring Lion” had been sold to a buyer in Italy

Tintagel Castle, a dramatic 13th century fortress on the rocky coast of Cornwall, England, has been associated with King Arthur.

Nine Mythical Places Archaeologists Think May Have Actually Existed

Historical evidence is helping to pinpoint the exact locations of fabled sites, from King Arthur’s castle to Solomon’s Temple

Baby beluga whales and adults alike spend the summer in the Churchill River.

Watch Chatty Beluga Families Migrate With These Stunning Live Cams in Canada

Polar Bears International and Explore.org are once again capturing video footage and audio recordings of the social marine mammals as tens of thousands congregate in the Churchill River this summer

Gilkey Trench in the Juneau Icefield

Alaska’s Juneau Icefield Is Melting at an ‘Incredibly Worrying’ 50,000 Gallons per Second, Researchers Find

Between 2010 and 2020, the icefield lost 1.4 cubic miles of ice each year, according to a new study

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