Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Discoveries

William Still and a recent street view image of the row house where conservationists believe he and his wife Letitia once lived.

Underground Railroad Safe House Discovered in Philadelphia

Preservationists say they have identified the home of famed black abolitionist William Still, who offered refuge to hundreds of freedom seekers

15th-Century Pot of Gold (and Silver) Found in the Netherlands

Archaeologists say the coins can shed light on a little-known period of Dutch history

A Slave Cemetery May Have Been Discovered at a Plantation Near Annapolis

Archaeologists have found possible grave markers, and cadaver dogs have indicated the presence of human remains

Never-Before-Seen Mineral Found Inside a Diamond

The diamond acted as a container, keeping a piece of calcium silicate perovskite stable as it moved towards the Earth’s surface

None

7,000-Year-Old Native American ‘Bog Burial’ Found Off the Coast of Florida

Experts have identified the remains of at least six individuals, and suspect there are many more bodies to be found

Thismia neptunis

Cool Finds

After 150 Years, This Bizarre Plant Was Rediscovered in Malaysia

Thismia neptunis spends most of its life underground, only making a rare appearance to bloom

131-Year-Old Message in a Bottle Found on Australian Beach

The oldest yet found, the relic was thrown into the Indian Ocean by German sailors conducting an experiment

An artist's impression of the tiny bird.

127-Million-Year-Old Baby Bird Fossil Offers Peek Into Ancient Avian Development

The baby enantiornithe had a soft sternum and likely could not fly

Did a falling apple really influence Newtonian physics?

Sometimes, a Scientific “Eureka!” Moment Really Does Change the World

Your plastic credit card, microwaveable popcorn and erection enhancers all owe to a fortuitous moment of connection

Tattoos on the Pre-dynastic female mummy from Gebelein.

Earliest Figural Tattoos Discovered on 5,000-Year-Old Mummies

The markings include a bull, a sheep and a mysterious ‘S’ motif

The researchers found that the Danger Islands have 751,527 pairs of Adélie penguins, more than the rest of the entire Antarctic Peninsula region combined.

Scientists Discover “Super-Colony” of 1.5 Million Adélie Penguins in Images From Space

In other areas of the Antarctic, the black and white birds are in decline—but on the Danger Islands, they thrive

The new species of tardigrade, Macrobiotus shonaicus found in the moss of a Japanese parking lot.

New Tardigrade Species Found in Parking Lot in Japan

The adorable microscopic critter has a unique leg fold and lays unusual eggs

"Reflections of the Weeping Willow on the Water-Lily Pond" Claude Monet

Long-Lost Monet, Sent Away for Safekeeping Before WWII, Found in Louvre Storage

The painting was acquired by Japanese art collector Kōjirō​ ​Matsukata in the 1920s. It will go on view at the National Museum of Western Art in 2019

Kinorhynchs (aka mud dragons) range in size from about 0.13 to one millimeter. Like other meiofauna species, they are integral parts of marine food chains in sediments throughout the world.

King of the Mud Dragons

Robert Higgins has spent his career dredging out tiny creatures from dirt and obscurity

Salvador Dalí (1904-1989), Untitled, 1932

Rediscovered Salvador Dalí Painting Goes on Display

The work, authenticated by Dalí scholar Nicolas Descharnes, was stored in private collections for the past 75 years

If you look closely at the lower right of galaxy NGC 613, the baby supernova pops into existence at the end of one of the galaxy's spiral arms.

New Research

Amateur Astronomer Captures Supernova’s First Winks of Light

Scientists say the chances were less than one in a million

Restored Stone Declaration of Independence.

Copy of Declaration of Independence, Hidden Behind Wall Paper During the Civil War, Resurfaces in Texas

The document, which belonged to James Madison, is one of 200 facsimiles commissioned in the 19th century

Fragments of Famed ‘UFO’ Discovered in Archives of London Museum

Though experts deemed it a hoax, the ‘Silpho Saucer’ created a sensation when it was discovered in the 1950s

Tombs in the ancient city of Hierapolis, in modern-day Turkey.

New Research

How the Roman “Gates of Hell” Killed Animal Sacrifices but Let Human Priests Escape Unharmed

In ancient times, the gates seemed to respond to supernatural powers, but it’s actually all about science

Gilbert Stuart Williamstown Portrait of George Washington

Lock of Washington’s Hair Found in 18th-Century Almanac

It was once common practice to give away locks of hair as gifts and keepsakes

Page 18 of 26