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Preview thumbnail for What Is an Aurora?

What Is an Aurora?

Auroras emit swirling hues in the sky, mesmerizing spectators with their bands of color. Different hues come from different gases—for instance, oxygen makes green, nitrogen makes purple.

Preview thumbnail for The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Summer

The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Summer

From charming streets to stunning scenery, consider Hawaii, Idaho, Massachusetts, or New York for your next summer adventure.

Preview thumbnail for The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Spring

The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Spring

This spring, take a break and smell the flowers in New Mexico, Kansas, California and New Jersey.

Preview thumbnail for The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Fall

The Best Small Towns to Celebrate Fall

Travel to Oregon, Minnesota, North Dakota and Rhode Island to see beautiful autumn foliage and much more

Preview thumbnail for Belgian Train Station Offers a Glimpse of the Future

Belgian Train Station Offers a Glimpse of the Future

The Liège-Guillemins railway station looks like it belongs far in the future: a vast curving monolith of glass, steel and concrete curves extending high above the train tracks. Just as …

Preview thumbnail for Denali Has One of the Deepest Canyons in the World

Denali Has One of the Deepest Canyons in the World

Ruth Glacier’s Great Gorge is quite simply one of the continent’s most awe-inspiring sights. At 2,000 feet and over ten miles long, it’s one of the deepest canyons in the …

Preview thumbnail for This Monster Tamping Machine? A Locomotive’s Best Friend

This Monster Tamping Machine? A Locomotive’s Best Friend

Each time a train thunders by, its momentum pushes the tracks out of alignment, endangering the trains. The solution: a powerful tamping machine to repack the ballast–the rocks that keep …

Preview thumbnail for The Railway Alternative to the Panama Canal Is a Lot Cheaper

A Railway Alternative to the Panama Canal Is Much Cheaper

While the Panama Canal has been a boon for cargo ships, it can be expensive—as high as $450,000 a toll. For smaller loads, there is an alternative: a cross-country train …

Preview thumbnail for These Traditional British Sweets Have the Best Names

These Traditional British Sweets Have the Best Names

“Fizzers,” “parma violets,” and “love hearts” sound like playground games, but they’re actually the names of traditional British candy. And Gregg Wallace is on site to see how they’re made.

Preview thumbnail for This Lithuanian Depot Has an Innovative Approach to Train Repair

This Lithuanian Depot Has an Innovative Approach to Train Repair

When Lithuanian Railway’s aging, Soviet-era trains need repair, there’s no option but to manufacture new parts. Watch as one of these trains gets fitted with a new set of bogeys—the …

Preview thumbnail for This Frank Gehry Building Was Called Unbuildable

This Frank Gehry Building Was Called Unbuildable

The Frank Gehry design for the Louis Vuitton Foundation building was certainly innovative. But from a structural engineering perspective, there was nothing to suggest it was actually possible

Preview thumbnail for This Remarkable Antarctic Base Can Move Around in Case of Danger

This Remarkable Antarctic Base Can Move Around in Case of Danger

The British Antarctic Survey’s scientific research center was designed to withstand temperatures of -58F, to be self-sufficient for months on end and, should danger strike, and to move locations quickly.

Preview thumbnail for 'Tomb Hunters' Series Promo

‘Tomb Hunters’ Series Promo

Smithsonian Channel’s new “Tomb Hunters” series, which follows discoveries made at the Saqqara site, premieres Monday, June 21.

Preview thumbnail for Roman Emperor Vespasian Built the Colosseum to Boost Morale

Roman Emperor Vespasian Built the Colosseum to Boost Morale

From his years as a general, Emperor Vespasian knew the morale-boosting effects that a colosseum could have on common people. So he set about building one—a task that would take …

Preview thumbnail for This Ancient Greek Town Suffered the Same Fate as Pompeii

This Ancient Greek Town Suffered the Same Fate as Pompeii

The eruption of Santorini in 1615 B.C. covered the town of Akrotiri with meters of volcanic debris. Today, archaeologists are in the process of excavating it–and marveling at its remarkably …

Preview thumbnail for Everything About This Elevator in the Side of a Mountain Is Stunning

Everything About This Elevator in the Side of a Mountain Is Stunning

How do you build an elevator into a side of a mountain so remote that heavy machinery couldn’t be delivered there? For the Chinese government, the answer was both obvious …

Preview thumbnail for How Would Odysseus’ Bow Fare Versus a State-of-the-Art Modern One?

How Would Odysseus’ Bow Fare Versus a State-of-the-Art Modern One?

The legendary archery of Odysseus inspires a modern-day challenge: Can a horn-and-sinew bow built to ancient Greek standards outperform a state-of-the-art bow with a scope lens?

Preview thumbnail for The Grey Seal Pupping Season in Scotland Is Spectacular

The Grey Seal Pupping Season in Scotland Is Spectacular

The seal pupping season is an annual autumn occurrence on Scotland’s Monarch Islands, featuring the archipelago’s 35,000 grey seal inhabitants.

Preview thumbnail for The Death of Constantine Threatened to Split the Roman Empire

Constantine’s Death Threatened to Split the Roman Empire

Constantine’s death would drive a crack through the Roman Empire, splitting it into West and East. Over the next several hundred years, parts of it would even fall to foreign …

Preview thumbnail for This Greek Island Has Been Partying for 2,500 Years

This Greek Island Has Been Partying for 2,500 Years

Inspired by Odysseus, historian Bettany Hughes is embarking on a journey through the Greek Islands. But at the island of Naxos, a different Greek hero appears to be calling: Dionysius, …

Preview thumbnail for How to Stop a New York Skyscraper From Swaying

How to Stop a New York Skyscraper From Swaying

When you’ve paid over $75 million for a luxury apartment in this New York skyscraper, you also get state-of-the-art protection against winds. Left unchecked, these can be powerful enough to …

Preview thumbnail for This Cactus Opens Its Petals Only One Night a Year

This Cactus Opens Its Petals Only One Night a Year

For the female lesser long-nosed bats in the Pinacate Desert, food is scarce. One possible source of nutrients: pollen from the saguaro cactus, whose milk-white petals open up only one …

Preview thumbnail for Yellowstone Bison Are Built for Winter Survival

Yellowstone Bison Are Built for Winter Survival

With a dense coat, a powerful mass of muscle and a large head ideally suited for clearing away snow and locating buried grass, bison are built for frigid conditions in …

Preview thumbnail for Why Wales Is the Place to Go for Medieval Castles

Why Wales Is the Place to Go for Medieval Castles

Wales has no shortage of magnificent castles—from the impenetrable stronghold of Harlech Castle, to the fierce fortifications of Carnarvon. Wales boasts a series of castles known as the Iron Ring, …

Preview thumbnail for Inveraray Castle: An Ancient Archive Treasure Trove

Inveraray Castle: An Ancient Archive Treasure Trove

Inveraray Castle is home to one of the most important private collections of historical archives in all of Britain—a collection of records, documents and diaries, dating back to the 13th …

Preview thumbnail for Cornwall, the Most Beautiful Place in Britain

Cornwall, the Most Beautiful Place in Britain

One of the most evocative and breathtakingly beautiful coastal landscapes in Britain is the historic county of Cornwall. It’s also a place steeped in legend, including that of Britain’s legendary …

Preview thumbnail for Britain's Amazing Roman Structures That You Can Visit

Britain’s Amazing Roman Structures That You Can Visit

Northumberland is one of Britain’s most historic regions, an archaeological treasure trove of impressive buildings that date back to the Roman conquest: From Hadrian’s Wall to the Vindolanda Fort.

Preview thumbnail for Scotland's Most Mysterious Stone Age Settlements

Scotland’s Most Mysterious Stone Age Settlements

The Orkneys, an archipelago of islands off the northern coast of Scotland, are home to some of the greatest neolithic treasures in western Europe: from the settlement of Skara Brae …

Preview thumbnail for Why Pyramids Were Effective Advertisements for Tomb Robbers

Why Pyramids Were Effective Advertisements for Tomb Robbers

Pyramids were supposed to be royal burial sites, crammed with unimaginable treasures. And yet they were built to be as conspicuous as possible, attracting the attention of grave robbers.

Preview thumbnail for Pablo Escobar's Hippos Have Created an Ecological Crisis in Colombia

Pablo Escobar’s Hippos Have Created an Ecological Crisis in Colombia

In the late ‘80s, infamous drug kingpin Pablo Escobar illegally imported a group of hippos for his personal zoo. Today, these hippos are wreaking havoc and are protected by the …

Preview thumbnail for This 5,000-Year-Old Tomb Is Spectacularly Preserved

This 5,000-Year-Old Tomb Is Spectacularly Preserved

Despite the fact that it’s over 5,000 years old, Maeshowe, Orkney’s answer to Stonehenge, is in amazing shape. But why did Neolithic Britons go to such great lengths to build …

Preview thumbnail for This Church Has an Eerie Visual Record of the Black Death

This Church Has an Eerie Visual Record of the Black Death

The Black Death of 1348 was a devastating event, wiping out half the population of Britain. And in churches like this one, drawings on the wall provide a haunting visual …

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