Ninety-Nine Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2021

The year's most exciting discoveries include a Viking "piggy bank," a lost Native American settlement and a secret passageway hidden behind a bookshelf | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

The James Webb Telescope Successfully Launches Into Space

A rocket carrying the $10 billion dollar invention blasted off Christmas morning and powered up as planned, providing astronomers with a long-awaited gift | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

'Do You Hear What I Hear?' Conjures Images of Peace Everywhere—and Nuclear Annihilation

Composed at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the classic Christmas song contains another message—one of unity | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

How Shark Antibodies Could Aid the Fight Against Coronavirus and Prepare for Future Outbreaks

The protein-like immune molecules were found to block SARS-Cov-2 from entering human cells | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

A Time Capsule Found Beneath Richmond’s Robert E. Lee Monument Confounds Historians

An almanac, a silver coin and a cloth envelope were among the intriguing artifacts found in the box | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

This Ancient, Nine-Foot-Long, 100-Pound Millipede Could Be the Largest Invertebrate to Ever Live

This critter roamed Earth around 326 million years ago, and it's genus survived for 45 million years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Melting Glaciers May Create 3,800 Miles of New Salmon Habitat by 2100

As the ice retreats, water could carve new streams in the thawed out land | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

What Five Grams of 'Primordial' Stardust From an Asteroid Tell Scientists About How the Early Solar System Formed

Ryugu is a carbonaceous, water-rich space rock with a unique, dark coloration and porous composition | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Hong Kong Removes 'Pillar of Shame' Honoring Tiananmen Square Victims

The move arrives amid continuing crackdowns on pro-democracy protesters in the Asian city | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

The Creepy, Crawling History of Insect Art

Through history and across cultures, bugs have inspired artists and challenged viewers to shift their perspective | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Early Christian Ring Found in Third-Century Shipwreck Off of Israel

Researchers discovered jewelry and other artifacts from two sunken ships off the ancient port city of Caesarea | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

See Louis Wain's Exuberant Cat Art at the Hospital Where He Spent His Later Years

The Victorian artist's famous feline portraits are on view at England's Bethlem Museum of the Mind | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2021

Thrilling discoveries, hurdles in the fight against Covid and advancements in space exploration defined the past year | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Our Top Ten Stories of 2021

From archaeological finds to an invasive weed to Roman bathrooms, these were our most-read articles of the year | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

This Legless, Pancake-Shaped Robot Is an Impressive Jumper

A leaping robot is challenging to design, but this one can hop six times its body length per second and nearly eight times its height | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Why Scientists Waited 50 Years to Study This Moon Dust

This Christmas season, researchers will finally get to unseal the contents of a soil sample from the Apollo 17 mission | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Why Baltimore Is Poised to Become a Major Hub for Henri Matisse Fans

The Baltimore Museum of Art recently opened a research center dedicated to the French artist | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

The Top Ten Ocean Stories of 2021

From the discovery of a large bioluminescent shark to the use of an innovative drone to study hurricanes, these are the best marine stories of the year | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

A Rare, Gold-Wrapped Jar May Reveal the Splendor of Early Medieval Britain

After going through an extensive conservation process, researchers found that the rock crystal artifact was inscribed with the name of a mysterious bishop | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Keeping Tamagotchi Alive

The virtual pet that turned '90s kids into round-the-clock caretakers turned 25 this year | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

For the Third Time This Year, a Deep-Ocean 'Football' Fish Has Washed Ashore California's Beaches

Prior to this year, a beached specimen hadn't been seen since 2001 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Jupiter's Moon Ganymede Sounds Like Dial-Up Internet

The 50-second audio track was pieced together from data collected by NASA's Juno Spacecraft | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

The CDC Now Recommends Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 Vaccines Over J&J

The decision comes after more evidence linking the Johnson & Johnson shot to a rare blood clotting syndrome | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Dinosaur Embryos Tucked Themselves in Just Like Birds

A stunning fossil egg has allowed paleontologists to find new clues about a dinosaur’s early development | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Ancient Sheep Poop Tells the Tale of the Faroe Islands' First Inhabitants

New analysis suggests the Celts arrived on the archipelago hundreds of years before the Vikings | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Five Places in the United States to See Carnivorous Plants in the Wild

These flesh-eating plants can be found in savage gardens from Oregon to Texas | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Finally, a Millipede That Actually Has 1,000 Legs

The title is often a misnomer, with many species falling hundreds of appendages short of a thousand. With 1,306 feet, this new insect lives up to its name | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

One of the Oldest Depictions of Falconry in Scandinavia Is Discovered

The 800-year-old carved figure holding a falcon was found at a dig site in Norway | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Beneath Canyons on Mars, Astronomers Find Potentially 'Water-Rich Area the Size of the Netherlands'

A Martian orbiter located a large reserve of hydrogen in a mountainous area of the Red Planet | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Fish Can Recover Surprisingly Quickly From Mercury Pollution

If the chemical stops leaking into freshwater ecosystems, its concentration in some fish species can drop by more than 75 percent | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

This Locket Memorializes a Black Activist Couple Murdered in a Christmas 1951 Bombing

Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore attracted the KKK's ire for their tireless promotion of civil rights in the Jim Crow South | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

James Brown’s Estate Has Sold After 15-Year Dispute

The estimated $90 million deal will go mostly toward a scholarship fund for children from South Carolina and Georgia | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

A Look Back at Hubble's Interstellar Success

At the launch of the Webb Space Telescope, the legacy of America’s favorite eye in the sky is best remembered with a look at a Smithsonian artifact | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Fossils From One of the World's First Reefs Can Be Found on Mountains in Nevada

Archaeocyaths were the original reef builders, and one of the best places to see them is in the desert | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

As Wetland Habitats Disappear, Dragonflies and Damselflies Are Threatened With Extinction

The first global assessment of the insects revealed that more than 950 species are at risk for extinction | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

United Nations Confirms Hottest Temperature Ever Recorded in the Arctic

The record-breaking heat of June 2020 rings climate change 'alarm bells,' the World Meteorological Organization warns | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Robotic Fish Are This Invasive Species' 'Worst Nightmare'

The tiny swimmers wreak havoc across the globe, but the robofish shocked them enough to impair their survival and reproduction | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Looted Artifacts Recovered From Car Trunk May Be Spoils of War Seized by Jewish Rebels Against Rome

Authorities in Jerusalem confiscated the stolen items, which included incense burners and coins and probably date to the Bar Kokhba revolt | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

The Search for a Better Treatment for Eating Disorders

Cognitive behavioral therapy is working well for some, but scientists are seeking new innovations to help people with anorexia, bulimia and binge eating | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Miniature by Sarah Biffin, 19th-Century Artist Born With No Arms or Legs, Exceeds Estimates at Auction

The painter forged a remarkable career as a disabled woman artist in 19th-century London | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Rare Viking Sword Discovered in Grave on Scottish Island

The weapon is covered in rust and dirt, but a new X-ray analysis suggests it once boasted rich decorations | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

When Humane Societies Threw Christmas Parties for Horses

Held across the U.S. in the early 20th century, the events sought to raise awareness for poor living conditions and offer the animals a holiday respite | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Why This Ancient Civilization Fell Out of Love With Gold for 700 Years

Analysis of 4,500 artifacts suggests an early society between the Black and Caspian Seas turned against bling | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Scientists Find the Oldest Evidence of Neanderthals Altering the Natural Landscape

Despite living in a heavily forested region, the areas that ancient humans inhabited had more grasses and fewer trees | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Plastic-Degrading Enzymes May Be Increasing in Response to Pollution

One in every four organisms in the microbiomes they surveyed carries a plastic-degrading protein sequence | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Groundbreaking Feminist Scholar bell hooks Dies at 69

The prolific American writer shaped a generation of discourse around Black feminism and intersectionality | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Holy Mola! Watch This Colossal Ocean Sunfish Swim With Paddle Boarders Off the California Coast

Also known as a mola, the fish are harmless to people but are extremely curious and will approach divers | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Scientists Can Determine When and Where Dutch Masters Worked by the White Paint They Used

Using a new technology, researchers say they’ve discovered a link between the chemical composition of pigments in Dutch paintings and historic conflicts | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago