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Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: Do Subliminal Messages Work?

Ask Smithsonian: Do Subliminal Messages Work?

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Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: What’s the Oldest Animal?

Ask Smithsonian: What’s the Oldest Animal?

Take a guess - the answer might surprise you

Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: Is It True That Your Hair and Nails Keep Growing After You Die?

Ask Smithsonian: Is It True That Your Hair and Nails Keep Growing After You Die?

To find out, we need to get down to the basics. Eric Schulze explains

Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: Why Do We Get Goosebumps?

Ask Smithsonian: Why Do We Get Goosebumps?

Saber toothed cats, temperature and things that go bump in the night, Eric Schulze explains

Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: How Does Daylight Savings Affect the Body?

TweenTribune: How Does Daylight Saving Time Affect the Body?

The answer depends on how you feel about cluster headaches

Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: Why Are Planets Round?

Ask Smithsonian: Why Are Planets Round?

The answer has everything to do with falling flat on your face

Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: How Do Boomerangs Work?

Ask Smithsonian: How Do Boomerangs Work?

It depends on which variety of boomerang you’re using. Our host Eric Schulze has more

Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: Do Animals Laugh?

Ask Smithsonian: Do Animals Laugh?

The answer may lie between being ticklish and having a sense of humor

Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: Is Fire a Solid, Liquid or Gas?

Ask Smithsonian: Is Fire a Solid, Liquid or Gas?

It’s been helping humans in myriad ways for over a million years, our host Eric Schulze has more

Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: Does the Five-Second Rule Really Work?

Ask Smithsonian: Does the Five-Second Rule Really Work?

You might think twice about picking that chip off the carpet and putting it into your mouth.

Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: Why Do We Sleep?

Ask Smithsonian: Why Do We Sleep?

Experts may not agree on all the specifics, but here’s what we do know.

Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: Why Are Lakes Freshwater and Oceans Saltwater?

Ask Smithsonian: Why Are Lakes Freshwater and Oceans Saltwater?

Erosion, evaporation, and a leaky faucet, our host Eric Schulze breaks it all down.

Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: What Happens to Your Body in Space Without a Spacesuit?

Ask Smithsonian: What Happens to Your Body in Space Without a Spacesuit?

Obviously it’s a bad idea to go out into space without a trusty spacesuit, but what exactly happens?

Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: Can Chimps Be Genetically Engineered to Be Like Humans?

Ask Smithsonian: Can Chimps Be Genetically Engineered to Be Like Humans?

Human beings and chimps share as much as 98 percent of their DNA. If our species are so similar, can chimps be genetically engineered to be more like us?

Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: Why Do We Have an Appendix?

Ask Smithsonian: Why Do We Have an Appendix?

The appendix may not be as useless as commonly thought.

Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: Is Quicksand Real?

Ask Smithsonian: Is Quicksand Real?

Can quicksand really swallow you up, or does that just happen in the movies? Host Eric Schulze dives in to separate science fact from science fiction.”

Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: How Do Microwave Ovens Cook Food?

Ask Smithsonian: How Do Microwave Ovens Cook Food?

You don’t actually see microwaves, you only see what they do to your food. So how, exactly, does it warm up your lunch?

Preview thumbnail for Ask Smithsonian: Why Do Geese Fly in a V?

Ask Smithsonian: Why Do Geese Fly in a V?

Geese have known something for millions of years that humans have only recently figured out for themselves.

Preview thumbnail for Introducing Ask Smithsonian

Introducing Ask Smithsonian

http://smithsonian.com/ask Now it’s your turn to ask the Institution’s experts your questions about science, history, art or culture

Preview thumbnail for Introducing Ask Smithsonian

Introducing Ask Smithsonian

Now it’s your turn to ask the Institution’s experts your questions about science, history, art or culture - old

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