Articles tagged as Trending Today | Smithsonian Magazine

A mild winter and rain has led to a spring explosion of the amphibians, which are clogging pool filters, lawns and driveways

March 26, 2019

Tamara Lanier takes questions this week during a press conference announcing a lawsuit against Harvard University.

Tamara Lanier claims the university has profited off the images of her ancestors

March 22, 2019

Armando, the long distance pigeon racing champ, was recently bought by a Chinese buyer and put out to stud

March 22, 2019

Wildflower enthusiasts waiting to exit toward Walker Canyon on March 9, 2019.

Lake Elsinore has seen tens of thousands of people descend on Walker Canyon to see the recent superbloom, overwhelming local resources

March 19, 2019

One of a series of images from the Illustrated London News for October 13, 1888 carrying the overall caption, "With the Vigilance Committee in the East End".

New Research

No, We Still Cannot Confirm the Identity of Jack the Ripper

The case for the unmasking is tied to a shawl alleged to have been found next to Ripper victim Catherine Eddowes, but its provenance is uncertain

March 18, 2019

Researchers played nonstop loops of Led Zeppelin, A Tribe Called Quest and Mozart to cheese wheels to find out how sound waves impacted flavor

March 18, 2019

The rare ephemeral lake was caused when the compacted, dry desert soil wasn’t able to absorb the .87 inches of rain that recently fell on the national park

March 13, 2019

Lee Spencer smashed the previous record by 36 days, rowing his boat solo and unsupported from Portugal to French Guiana in just 60 days

March 13, 2019

New Research

Dog Walks Are Good Exercise for Seniors—But Be Careful, Fractures Are on the Rise

Injuries caused by walking a dog on a leash have doubled in the last 15 years for Americans aged 65 and over

March 12, 2019

Australia has stepped in to help contain the 600 tons of heavy fuel oil leaking from the transport that ran aground on Rennell Island early last month

March 11, 2019

This year’s harvest is down 57 percent, and may force the nation to import its treasured olive oil from other parts of the Mediterranean

March 7, 2019

First responders walk through a neighborhood in Beauregard, Alabama.

So far, 23 people are confirmed dead in Lee County, Alabama, after Sunday’s tornadoes

March 5, 2019

The curia in Pompey’s Theater where Caesar died in the Largo di Torre Argentina is currently a fenced-off feral cat colony

March 5, 2019

The Lady K tow boat kicks up a wake full of green algae a few hundred feet from the city of Toledo's Water Intake on Lake Erie, for testing on Monday, August 4, 2014.

A controversial referendum passed this week establishes a bill of rights for the Great Lake and grants it legal standing in suing polluters

March 1, 2019

American South

Houston’s Rothko Chapel Casts a New Light

When the meditative space reopens, a new skylight will filter the right amount of light on the 14 canvasses installed in the artist’s octagonal masterpiece

February 28, 2019

Cool Finds

Using Landmine Detectors, Meteorite Hunt Turns Up 36 Space Rocks in Antarctica

The scientists had a hunch that more meteorites were hidden a foot below the ice—they were right

February 28, 2019

Belarus' servicemen excavate a mass grave for the prisoners of a Jewish ghetto set up by the Nazis during World War II in the city of Brest.

So far, authorities have recovered 730 sets of remains, though there may be many more

February 27, 2019

It took eight volunteer firefighters to pop the overweight rodent out of a vent in the sewer cover

February 27, 2019

If the rain keeps up, the deserts and burn scars will soon explode with acres of colorful poppies, lupines, lilies and other ephemeral flowers

February 11, 2019

Frank Robinson taking a swing during a circa late 1960s Major League Baseball game at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland.

Robinson was one of the great all-time home run hitters and made history when he became the manager of the Cleveland Indians

February 8, 2019