Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Cool Finds

Before Robots, Japan Had Tiny Dolls That Tumbled Down Stairs And Served Tea

Automata paved the way for the creepy, lifelike robots we see today

Crashed Costa Concordia Is Still Sitting in the Water in Italy

It’s been 19 months since the crash, but the ship is still in the water

None

These People Are Living in a Tiny Apartment in the Middle of a Museum

These designs for tiny apartment-living are being put to the test

Discoveries by European explorers that didn’t involve claiming land where people were already living.

These Are All the Places That Europeans Actually Discovered

Of all the places you think were discovered by Europeans, how many were actually discovered by Europeans?

Finally, Evidence of Just How Much Scientists Love Using Adverbs

Everybody loves adverbs. Unsurprisingly, scientists love them too

Obama Is Actually the Third President to Install Solar Panels at the White House

Jimmy Carter’s 1979 solar panels were stripped down by Ronald Reagan, while no one noticed when the Bush administration installed panels to heat the pool

Should Women Be Paid for Their Eggs?

In some states donors aren’t allowed to be paid for their eggs - they can only be compensated for their travel

A depiction of what the biobulb will look like

Cracking the Code of the Human Genome

One Day We’ll Light Our Homes With Bacteria

Genetically engineered E. coli housed within a bulb-like casing can produce bioluminescence, the student think, creating the Biobulb

Doctors Should Include Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation in Medical Records

A patients medical records include all sorts of information. Now some doctors are pushing to add sexual orientation and gender identity

Getty Just Made 4,600 Incredible Images Public Domain

These images must still be credited, but they can be used for both commercial and non-commercial material

In 1967, the Submarine ALVIN Was Attacked by a Swordfish

They decided that the best thing to do was “surface the submarine and remove the swordfish.”

Ten Years Ago, 50 Million People Lost Power

Ten years later people are remembering, energy companies are trying to get better, but the grid is the same

An emergency call center

911 Won’t Always Know Your Location If You Call From a Cell Phone

Among the networks, AT&T and T-Mobile seem to be the biggest culprits at leaving out pertinent location information when customers make emergency calls

None

These Scientists Just Spent Four Months Pretending They Were on Mars

And they ate a lot of Spam

None

How Big of a Spot Can You Claim on the Beach?

Additionally, men take up more space than women, and larger groups of people tend to take up less space per person by crowding together

America Bet 500 Million Tiny Copper Space Wires Would Help Beat the Soviets

During the Cold War, filling space with tiny copper bits didn’t seem like such a bad idea

In Venezuela, Human Hair Is Hot on the Black Market

The thieves—both men and women—grab their long-haired victim or hold her at gun or knife point, then cut her hair off at the base of the pony tail

Messiah’s birth certificate (not pictured) will have to be updated if the judge gets her way.

Judge Decides Only One Person Can Be Named ‘Messiah,’ and It’s Not This Baby in Tennessee

The baby’s mother plans to appeal the decision

An ornamental copy of the Declaration of Independence

America’s Founders Were Scarily Young on July 4, 1776

How old were famous Revolutionary War figures on July 4, 1776?

None

This Underwater Expedition Is the Only Live Stream You Need to Watch Today

Right now, the Okeanos Explorer has a rover in the water about 600 meters below the ocean. You can join it by watching this live stream

Page 230 of 284