Beatlemania Took the United States by Storm on This Day in 1963, Launching the British Invasion

With their arrival in America, the Beatles ushered in a new era of hyper-popular rock ’n’ roll music | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 20 days ago

Sea Turtle With 'Bubble Butt Syndrome' Gets Another Chance at Floating Straight, Thanks to a 3D-Printed Harness

Named Charlotte, the animal was hit by a boat years ago, causing him to develop an affliction that traps air bubbles at the back of his shell | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 22 days ago

Detroiters Have a Newly Restored Michigan Central Station to Be Thankful for This Holiday Season

With funding from Ford Motor Company, the long-dilapidated building is being transformed into a technology and innovation hub | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 22 days ago

The Ten Most Awe-Inspiring Ocean Moments of 2024

From animal journeys across oceans to the discovery of dozens of new species in the deep sea, these stories wowed us | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 22 days ago

The Real Story Behind 'A Complete Unknown' and Bob Dylan's Early Career, From His Arrival in New York City to When He 'Went Electric'

A new film starring Timothée Chalamet tracks Dylan's evolution from an acoustic folk singer to a rock 'n' roll superstar | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 22 days ago

Ancient Britons May Have Built Stonehenge to Symbolize Unity

The monument was built during a period of immigration from mainland Europe, and it may been intended to unify communities across the British Isles | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 22 days ago

A Stunning Series of Informal Ceasefires Known as the ‘Christmas Truce’ Began on This Day in 1914

After official attempts at a World War I truce failed, soldiers in the trenches of the Western Front took it upon themselves to share in the bonhomie of the season | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 22 days ago

Archaeologists in the Netherlands Just Uncovered a Centuries-Old Floor Made of Cow Bones

Found beneath a building in the town of Alkmaar, the animal bones had been used to fill in gaps between crumbling pieces of tile | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 22 days ago

Some Whales Live Much Longer Than Previously Thought, a Discovery That Could Change How We Protect Them

In a new study, researchers use novel techniques to uncover more accurate life expectancy estimates of southern and North Atlantic right whales | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 22 days ago

A NASA Spacecraft Will 'Touch' the Sun on Christmas Eve, Flying Closer to the Star Than Any Probe Before

The Parker Solar Probe will endure scorching temperatures of 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit as it performs the closest solar flyby of any human-made object in history | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 22 days ago

Divers Discover 2,500-Year-Old Shipwreck Off the Coast of Sicily

Dating to the fifth or sixth century B.C.E., the vessel could provide new insights into the relationship between the ancient Greeks and Carthaginians | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 22 days ago

The Best Board Games of 2024 Will Excite Players of All Ages

Whether you love cheese, wordplay, “Star Wars” or Japanese culture, this year’s list has something for everyone in what turned out to be a fantastic year for board gamers | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 22 days ago

Expedition Discovers 27 New Species in Peru, From an ‘Exceedingly Rare’ Amphibious Mouse to a Blob-Headed Fish

The hidden creatures were found in a densely populated region known for its successful—and controversial—conservation tactics | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 22 days ago

Scientists Say Bakers Were Making an Early Version of Focaccia Bread 9,000 Years Ago

New research suggests that Neolithic communities living in the Middle East experimented with recipes and baked large flatbreads between 7000 and 5000 B.C.E. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 22 days ago

Joseph Smith, the Founder and Prophet of Mormonism, Was Born Into an Impoverished and Itinerant Family in Vermont

Throughout his childhood, the young Smith, born on this day in 1805, fought disease, poverty and spiritual battles of his own | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 23 days ago

General Sherman Offered Savannah as a ‘Christmas Gift’ to President Lincoln . The Victory Signaled the End of His Brutal March to the Sea

Unlike much of Georgia, the historic port city was preserved from Sherman’s wrath, but suffered psychological terror nonetheless | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 24 days ago

How a College Gym Teacher in Massachusetts Invented a New Sport to Keep His Students Entertained and Fit During the Frigid Winter

From a humble first game with peach baskets and a soccer ball on this day in 1891, basketball evolved quickly into one of the world's most popular sports | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

Officials Declare the U.S. Free of 'Murder Hornets' in a Rare Victory Against an Invasive Insect

Five years after the first sighting in Washington state, intense efforts have eradicated the bee-killing hornets from the nation | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

Veterans Commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler's Last Major Attack on the Western Front

Veterans and dignitaries gathered in Belgium and Luxembourg this month to reflect on the deadly World War II conflict that paved the way for a full Nazi defeat | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

A New Dark Sky Park in Colorado Offers a Front-Row Seat to the Cosmos

This week, Browns Canyon National Monument, a 21,586-acre protected natural area in central Colorado, achieved International Dark Sky Park certification | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

How to Build Cross-Cultural Connections Over Food This Holiday Season

Supper clubs and immigrant-led cooking classes across the country bring people together, teaching diners to embrace their neighbors from around the world | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

See How Talking Portraits Bring the Greatest Living Shakespearean Actors to Life

A collection of ten digital portraits of famous thespians—including Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart and Harriet Walter—are on view at the Red Eight Gallery in London | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

Researchers Find 13 Proteins in the Blood That Are Seemingly Linked to Brain Aging

Though experts say more work is needed to understand the findings, this line of study might offer a way to monitor age-related cognitive disorders and target treatment | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

These Five Trailblazing American Women Will Be Featured on Quarters in 2025

The U.S. Mint's American Women Quarters Program has announced its fourth and final group of honorees from throughout American history | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

Squirrels Are Displaying 'Widespread Carnivorous Behavior' for the First Time in a California Park, New Study Finds

The familiar rodents, known for eating nuts and seeds, have been spotted hunting and decapitating voles in a gruesome dietary adaptation. Scientists say it might signal resiliency in face of future environmental pressures | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2024

From a total solar eclipse that captivated our continent to record temperatures that scorched the planet, these were the biggest moments of the year | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 26 days ago

Ho, Ho, Ho! 15 Festive Photos of Santa Claus to Get You Into the Christmas Spirit

It's the most wonderful time of the year, and ol' St. Nick is spreading holiday cheer for all to hear | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 26 days ago

On This Day in 1951, Four Illuminated Lightbulbs in Idaho Were Evidence of the First Time a Nuclear Power Plant Generated Electricity

Although it was just a byproduct of developing a new type of reactor, the generation of electricity from nuclear energy signaled a bright future ahead | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 26 days ago

These 500-Year-Old Cannons May Help Unravel the Mysteries of the Coronado Expedition

The 16th-century artifacts were found during excavations in Arizona. Researchers say they may be the oldest firearms ever discovered in the continental United States | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 26 days ago

A Homeowner Found Huge, Fossil Teeth While Mowing the Lawn. Then, Excavations Revealed a Complete Mastodon Jaw

The new discovery is the first of its kind in New York state for at least 11 years and appeared in a county rich with mastodon remains | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 26 days ago

This Once-Rare Lizard Bounced Back From the Brink of Extinction After 'Painstaking' Restoration Efforts in the Caribbean

In 2018, fewer than 100 Sombrero ground lizards remained on Sombrero Island—but now, more than 1,600 of the critically endangered reptiles are scampering around the limestone landscape | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 26 days ago

Utah's Spellbinding 'Spiral Jetty' Has Been Added to the National Register of Historic Places

Robert Smithson constructed the famous 1,500-foot-long land artwork on the shore of the Great Salt Lake in 1970 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 26 days ago

Meet the Brazilian Velvet Ant, a Rare 'Ultra-Black' Wasp That's So Dark It Absorbs Almost All Visible Light

While the distinctive coloration is thought to be a warning to predators, it also has intriguing implications for designing man-made materials | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 26 days ago

Archaeologists Say This Tiny Amulet Is the Oldest Evidence of Christianity Found North of the Alps

Discovered in central Germany, the 1,800-year-old silver artifact held a tiny scroll, which researchers have now deciphered using high-resolution scans | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 26 days ago

See the Groundbreaking Work of 20th-Century Printmakers Who Formed an Innovative Arts Society in Japan

The sosaku hanga movement, now explored in an exhibition at the National Museum of Asian Art, was a showcase for new techniques in creative prints | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 26 days ago

Ancient Texts Reveal How Mesopotamians Felt Emotions—From Happiness in the Liver to Anger in the Feet

Researchers found that ancient Mesopotamians associated body parts with emotions, just as we do—but they discovered some hilarious differences | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 26 days ago

Who Was Frances Perkins? Meet the Trailblazing Workers' Rights Advocate Whose Homestead Just Became a National Monument

Perkins was America’s first female cabinet secretary and the longest-serving Secretary of Labor | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 26 days ago

After Failing Math Twice, a Young Benjamin Franklin Turned to This Popular 17th-Century Textbook

A 19th-century scholar claimed that "Cocker's Arithmetick" had "probably made as much stir and noise in the English world as any [book]—next to the Bible" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 27 days ago

'A Christmas Carol' Marvelously Captured the Holiday's Victorian Spirit and Inspired New Traditions for Centuries to Come

Published on this day in 1843, at a time when Christmas was undergoing great transformation, Charles Dickens' novel centered the virtues of kindness, charity and reform | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 27 days ago

The National Film Registry Adds 25 New Movies, Including ‘Dirty Dancing,’ ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ and ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'

This year’s list includes a diverse set of American films celebrating various genres and storytellers | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 27 days ago

Officials Ward Off 20,000 Crows With Flares and Lasers in Upstate New York, an Annual Battle Waged in Cities Nationwide

Massive roosts of crows in Rochester leave streets covered in feces, but some "corvid fanatics" aren't pleased about certain methods for dealing with the birds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 27 days ago

NASA's Starliner Astronauts Face Another Delay in Their Return Home, Drawing Out Their Unexpectedly Long Mission

Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore were supposed to stay at the ISS for a little over a week. It's now been more than six months, and the end date has been pushed again | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 27 days ago

An Alabama Woman Got a Gene-Edited Pig Kidney Transplant. Three Weeks Later, She Has 'Never Felt Better'

On November 25, 53-year-old Towana Looney became just the third living person to receive a pig kidney in an experimental procedure | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 27 days ago

A Mysterious Boulder Carved to Look Like a Tortoise Shell May Offer Evidence of Israel's Earliest Ritual Ceremonies

The 35,000-year-old rock was found in Manot Cave, which was inhabited by both prehistoric humans and Neanderthals | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 27 days ago

Could This New Wearable Device Reduce Heat Stress in Construction Workers?

Architecture students at the University of Hong Kong invented a cooling apparatus that attaches to a construction helmet | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 27 days ago

The Ten Best Children's Books of 2024

This year’s top titles range from an alphabet book of quirky tunes to an authentic portrait of our nation | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 27 days ago

On This Day in 1944, the Supreme Court Upheld the Executive Order That Incarcerated Over 120,000 Japanese Americans During World War II

Even at the time, the now-notorious decision provoked strong dissent from three justices worried about sliding into the "ugly abyss of racism" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 28 days ago

The World's Largest Iceberg Is Free-Floating Again, and It Could Help Build 'Thriving Ecosystems'

After spending months stuck in a swirling ocean vortex, iceberg A23a is once again drifting through the Southern Ocean, offering scientists a glimpse into how it might affect waters in new regions | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 28 days ago