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Food

Cool Finds

These Meals Are Made of Paper

Stop-motion spaghetti? Yes, please

Sample of Niku Udon.

Japan’s Most Mouthwatering Dishes Are Made of Plastic

Discover sampuru, the art of mind-blowingly realistic fake food

Trending Today

Thieves Are Making Off With Millions of Dollars in Stolen Nuts

It’s a hard case to crack

It may not have been love at first sight, but America is finally developing a crush on bottled water.

Trending Today

Sorry, Soda: The U.S. Is Just Not That Into You

Americans will buy more bottled water than soda for the first time ever in 2016

The "Bee and Bee" at the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver, Canada is made from materials gathered from urban gardens across the city and woven together with found pieces of ivy, wool, and leaves.

Cool Finds

Forget the Hive, Now Wild Bees Can Check in to These Swanky Hotels

Don’t six-legged guests also deserve the best bang for their buzz?

Haiqiang Chen tests his UV oven at the University of Delaware

New Research

Summer Produce Could Last Longer With These Five New Technologies

Scientists seek solutions to slow the inevitable process of decomposition

Dive into a Pool of Sprinkles at the Museum of Ice Cream in New York

Grab your spoons—this delicious popup will melt in a month

A tin jar containing what may be 340-year-old cheese recovered from the Kronan shipwreck.

Cool Finds

Gouda Find: Divers Discover 340-Year-Old Dairy Product in Shipwreck

One researcher compared the scent to a mixture of yeast and a type of unpasteurized cheese called Roquefort

Evaporated cane juice is just plain sugar, says the FDA.

Trending Today

How to Spot Added Sugars

It’s all in the wording

Japanese-style katsu curry

New Research

Sadly, Eating Curry Probably Won’t Keep You From Going Bald

A new survey sponsored by wigmakers equates correlation with causation

Indigenous cultures of Alaska have enjoyed the frozen treat known as akutuq for many centuries. An Inupiaq word meaning “to stir,” akutuq traditionally consists of animal fat mixed with seal oil, whipped together with handfuls of berries and freshly fallen snow to make a frothy, frozen concoction.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

What Is Eskimo Ice Cream?

Answer: Not your typical summer dessert

Yao honey-hunter Orlando Yassene holds a wild greater honeyguide male in the Niassa National Reserve, Mozambique.

New Research

Forget Bees: This Bird Has the Sweetest Deal With Honey-Seeking Humans

The effectiveness of the honeyguide call sheds light on why this golden relationship has stuck around so long

Illustration of a Velafrons, a hadrosaur whose name means "sailed forehead."

Chew on This: Powerful Jaws Fueled a Jurassic Herbivore Boom

Teeth, not flowers, might be the key to the duckbills’ success

Right: Photograph during excavation exhibiting excellent dry preservation of plant remains Left: A well-preserved, desiccated barley grain found at Yoram Cave.

New Research

After 6,000 Years of Farming, Barley Is Still (More or Less) the Same

Talk about an ancient grain

A typical night market in Taiwan.

The Best Night Markets for Midnight Snacking in Taipei

Go light on dinner, these magnificent markets add rich flavor to Taipei’s nightlife

One of the ingredients of the ancient Roman burger? Ground pistachios.

Taste-Testing the History of the Hamburger

One intrepid reporter cooked three different versions of the burger to uncover just when, exactly, the sandwich was invented

Two skulls belonging to extinct marine mammal herbivores used in the new study, both from the Smithsonian's collections.

When Did Today’s Whales Get So Big?

More recently than you might think, say scientists who scoured the fossil record

Cool Finds

Give Me a Drink, HAL: Artificial Intelligence Helps Design New Beer

IntelligenceX uses AI to guide its brewmaster’s tweaks

Cool Finds

The KGB’s Favorite Restaurant Reopens in Moscow

Aragvi, the haunt of Soviet-era celebrities and spies opens after a 13-year absence and $20 million renovation

Cool Finds

Why the Humble Sweet Potato Won the World Food Prize

Researchers are helping to fight malnutrion and childhood blindness in Africa with new varieties of starchy, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes

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