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

Six Art Galleries in Unexpected Places

Around the world, factories, distilleries and bunkers have second lives as art venues | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

What 'It's a Wonderful Life' Teaches Us About American History

The Christmas classic, released 75 years ago, conveys many messages beyond having faith in one another | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Baby Buried With Care 10,000 Years Ago Found in Italian Cave

The rare interment suggests that some hunter-gatherer societies imbued female infants with full personhood | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Hidden Within This Wispy, Butterfly Wing–Shaped Nebula, a Star Is Born

The image of a budding celestial body reveals clues as to what happens before it becomes a full-fledged star | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

For the First Time Ever, a NASA Spacecraft Has 'Touched' the Sun

The Parker Solar Probe reached the sun's upper atmosphere, gathering data along the way to help scientists better understand the center of our solar system | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Pfizer Says Covid-19 Pill Is Effective and Likely Works Against Omicron

The drug helps those already infected, but experts say vaccination is the best way to prevent contracting and spreading the virus | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Sold: Paul Revere Family Artifacts Found in a Boston-Area Attic

A trade sign bearing the name of the patriot’s son, along with letters and personal items owned by his grandchildren, sold at auction for $20,000 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Medieval Ink Pen Testifies to the Rise of Secular Literacy in Ireland

The 11th-century tool may have been used to record family lineages and trade agreements | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Archaeologists Discover Oldest Domesticated Dog Remains in Americas

Exciting secrets unearthed on Haida Gwaii include a canine tooth, roughly 11,000-year-old stone tools and the tantalizing signs of far more to come | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Space Agencies Track Two Explorers Across Antarctica to Prepare People for Mars

The 80-day mission is testing the limits of the human body in a harsh environment | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Watch This Giant Phantom Jellyfish With 33-Foot-Long Arms Float Through the Deep Ocean

The footage was captured by a remote-operated vehicle about 3,200 feet below the surface in Monterey Bay, California | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

These Three-Toed, Carnivorous Dinosaurs Ran as Fast as Usain Bolt

Two tracks of footprints reveal that theropods could reach speeds of nearly 28 miles per hour, providing insights on their behavior | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

France Approves Controversial Plan to Renovate Notre-Dame Cathedral

Conservative critics have opposed the new proposal, which aims to make the Paris landmark an "even more beautiful and welcoming" place for visitors | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Researchers Unearth 2,000-Year-Old Synagogue in Mary Magdalene's Supposed Hometown

The religious center is the second of its kind found in Migdal, an ancient community on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

He’s one of the United States’s most revered figures, but his last hours were plagued by excruciating illness | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

At Least 100 Feared Dead After December Twisters Slam Midwestern and Southern States

The rare winter event was a result of abnormal weather patterns exacerbated by La Niña and global warming | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Being Funny (2014)

How the pathbreaking comedian got his act together | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Need a Creative Boost? Nap Like Thomas Edison and Salvador Dalí

Waking up just after dozing off seems to be a science-backed source of inspiration | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

How Tiny, 'Immortal' Hydras Regrow Their Lost Heads

A new analysis pinpoints different genes behind the tiny animal's ability to regenerate body parts | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Justice Department Officially Closes Emmett Till Investigation Without Bringing Justice

Authorities will not press charges after reviewing a second piece of key testimony from the 1955 murder | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

New York Antiquities Collector Returns 180 Stolen Artifacts Worth $70 Million

A deal made with the Manhattan district attorney bars billionaire Michael Steinhardt from purchasing ancient objects for the rest of his life | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

The Ten Best Books About Food of 2021

From cookbooks to a memoir to a guide to hundreds of food adventures across the globe, these new titles will leave you satisfied | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

How the Swimsuit Showdown Shaped the Miss America Contest

A new behind-the-scenes book, “There She Was,” and a Smithsonian collecting initiative celebrate the pageant’s centennial | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

The Very Real Effort to Track Killer Asteroids and Comets

In "Don't Look Up," researchers warn authorities about a comet hurtling towards Earth. Such a scenario isn’t just science fiction | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

The True History Behind 'Being the Ricardos'

Aaron Sorkin's new film dramatizes three pivotal moments in the lives of comedy legends Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Civil War Cartoonist Created the Modern Image of Santa Claus as Union Propaganda

Thomas Nast is legendary for his political cartoons, but he’s also responsible for the jolly St. Nick we know today | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

The Met Acquires Archive of Work by Harlem Renaissance Photographer James Van Der Zee

Working with the Studio Museum of Harlem, the museum is preserving the photographer’s images of 20th-century Black life | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Canon’s New Image Sensor Can See in Near-Complete Darkness

The tech can capture images in only one-tenth of the brightness required by other devices | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Watch a Total Solar Eclipse Cloak Antarctica in Complete Darkness

The astronomical event occurred during the continent's summer, when the sun never sets and the whole region is illuminated 24 hours a day | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Smelling Moms’ Scent May Help Infants Bond With Strangers

Even if the mother isn’t around, traces of her body odor on clothing may increase a child’s trust and comfort with others | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Smelling Moms’ Scent May Help Infants Bond With Strangers

Even if the mother isn’t around, traces of her body odor on clothing may increase a child’s trust and comfort with others | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Bizarre Fish Songs Raise Hope for Coral Reef Recovery

Audio recordings show a once-dying ecosystem has transformed into a lively soundscape | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

A Hidden Sketch Is Discovered in Rembrandt’s 'Night Watch'

Researchers in the Netherlands used new scanning technologies to discover how the Baroque artist painted his most famous masterpiece | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Rare Physical Evidence of Roman Crucifixion Found in Britain

Researchers discovered the skeleton of a man with a nail hammered through his heel bone | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

The Ten Best Children's Books of 2021

These top titles deliver amazing facts, fresh rhymes and important life lessons | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Charlottesville's Robert E. Lee Statue Will Be Melted Down, Transformed Into New Art

Officials in the Virginia city approved a bold plan for the future of the Confederate monument | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Inside Idaho's Campaign to Include Indigenous History in Its Highway Markers

Native leaders and scholars are advising the State Historic Preservation Office's landmark decolonization project | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

This Giraffe-Sized Reptile Was the Largest Flying Creature to Ever Live

The pterosaur likely launched itself about eight feet off the ground before flapping away, solving the mystery of how these creatures could even fly at all | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Egg Yolk Gives Tempera Paint Its Enhanced Coverage and Spreadable Properties

The paint has been used throughout human history and is featured in iconic art pieces, like Michelangelo's 'Manchester Madonna' | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Mammoth and Horse DNA Left in Freezer Rewrites Ice Age Extinctions

New research reveals the ancient animals survived some 8,000 years later than previously thought | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Mummies with Gold Tongues Found Inside 2,500-Year-Old Tombs in Egypt

The rare discovery of a sealed tomb yielded well-preserved grave goods including 400 funerary figures | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

See Microscopic Butterfly Wing Scales Materialize Inside of a Chrysalis

The study is the most detailed look at the structures to date and could be used to design new materials | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Piggly Wiggly, the First Self-Service Grocery Store (2017)

What's in a name? | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

How Robots Could Help Restore Fragmented Frescoes in Pompeii

Using artificial intelligence, scientists have put together a computerized system that could rebuild the magnificent murals destroyed by Mount Vesuvius | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

The Ten Best Photography Books of 2021

In year two of the pandemic, our favorite titles invite us into worlds outside our own | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

Why Replicating Cancer Research Is Important—but Often Unsuccessful

An eight-year-long study reveals that only about a quarter of early-stage cancer experiments are able to produce the same results as the initial experiment | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago

How Cup Noodles Became the Instant Ramen for Americans

Released in Japan 50 years ago, the portable meal proved to be one of the biggest transpacific business success stories of all time | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 years ago