San Francisco Names a Street For the Photographer Who Captured Marines Raising an American Flag at Iwo Jima

Joe Rosenthal is famous for his Pulitzer Prize-winning image. But he spent most of his career photographing San Francisco, where he lived for many years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 28 days ago

Check Out 14 Hilarious Winners From the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards Contest

From an "awkward" smiling frog to embarrassing owl parents, this year's winners of the entertaining annual competition won't let you down | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 28 days ago

Archaeologists Discover Lost Burial Site of Enslaved People on President Andrew Jackson's Tennessee Plantation

An estimated 28 probable graves were identified at the seventh American president's former property, called the Hermitage | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 28 days ago

Someone Is Sticking Googly Eyes on Public Sculptures in Oregon—and City Officials Are Not Amused

Many residents of Bend love the illicit adornments, which they say are sparking joy and driving engagement with public art | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 28 days ago

None of These Books Exist. An Inventive New Exhibition Asks: What If They Did?

"Imaginary Books: Lost, Unfinished and Fictive Works Found Only in Other Books" spotlights more than 100 texts written (or invented) by the likes of Shakespeare, Byron and Hemingway | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

Ten Top Smithsonian Stories of 2024, From a Mysterious Underground Chamber to Dazzling Auroras

The magazine's most-read articles of the year included a close-up look at the adorable yet venomous pygmy slow loris, a profile of a little-known 20th-century street photographer and a majestic journey with divers into Mexico’s underwater caves | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

Why Union General Ulysses S. Grant Issued an Order to Expel Jews From Certain Confederate States During the Civil War

An attempt to cut down on the illegal cotton trade, Grant’s decision, announced on this day in 1862, was immensely controversial and hounded him for years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

Why Has Gold Dazzled So Many Cultures Throughout History?

An exhibition in Brooklyn examines gold's ubiquitous appeal across thousands of years through art, artifacts, paintings, sculptures and fashion | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

Scientists Just Dissected the World's Rarest Whale in New Zealand. Here's What They Found

Only seven spade-toothed whales have ever been identified, and the species has never been seen alive. After one washed ashore last summer, researchers have made new discoveries—including that the animal had nine stomach chambers and vestigial teeth | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

An Ancient Statue of a Roman Emperor Will Finally Be Reunited With Its Head

The torso of the bronze sculpture depicting Septimius Severus was repatriated last year, and a Copenhagen museum has now agreed to return the head | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

Humans Fed Salmon to Canines 12,000 Years Ago, Study Suggests, Hinting at the Origin of Our Relationship With Dogs

New research indicates early humans and canines were interacting in the Americas 2,000 years earlier than previously thought | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

Superflares Erupt From Sun-Like Stars Roughly Every 100 Years, a New Study Finds. Is Our Sun Overdue for a Massive Blast?

Solar flares and coronal mass ejections could cause serious damage to telecommunications systems, satellites and power grids here on Earth | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

If You're Nostalgic for Nokia, See the Devices That Defined ’90s Cellphone Design in a New Online Archive

The iconic brand's mobile phones were pop culture mainstays. Soon, a new online archive will bring together thousands of documents, early models and design concepts | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

The Top Ten Dinosaur Discoveries of 2024

From the realization that paleontologists still haven’t found the biggest dinosaurs to the unearthing of a small burrowing dino, the year has been marked by awe-inspiring finds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

It’s Been More Than 300 Years Since Japan’s Breathtaking Mount Fuji Last Erupted

Mount Fuji’s last eruption, which happened on this day in 1707, was also its largest, spewing ash and debris over cities and farms, causing famines, respiratory problems and untold death | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Why Sitting Bull Was Killed by Indian Agency Police at His Cabin on the Standing Rock Reservation

Because of his alleged involvement with the Ghost Dance movement, the Lakota leader, who died on this day in 1890, was seen as a threat to the U.S. government's efforts to subdue Indigenous Americans | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

What Happened When British Women Voted in a General Election for the First Time

The enfranchisement of property-owning women over 30 on this day in 1918 came at a time of great strife within political parties in post-World War I Britain | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Scientists Warn of an 'Unprecedented Risk' From Synthetic 'Mirror Life,' Built With a Reverse Version of Natural Proteins and Sugars

So-called mirror cells could rampage through our ecosystems, food supply and immune systems, experts say, potentially without existing barriers to protect against them | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

See These Ornately Decorated 18th-Century Clocks Before Time Runs Out

An exhibition in London is highlighting a collection of Baroque timepieces designed by the renowned Parisian craftsman André-Charles Boulle | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

James Webb Telescope Confirms the Universe Is Expanding Faster Than We Thought—and Scientists Still Don’t Know Why

The findings suggest that astronomers’ widely accepted cosmology models might be missing something—meaning the longstanding mystery known as the “Hubble tension” continues | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

A Forgotten Collection of Charles de Gaulle's Personal Letters, Speeches and Manuscripts Has Been Discovered in a Safe

Most of the documents are heading to the auction block, where they could fetch more than $1 million. They were found in a bank vault owned by the French statesman's son | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Scientists Unlock the Secrets of Crocodile Skin and Its Irregular, Mystifying Patterns

The scales on crocodiles’ heads are very different from the skin appendages of other animals and even distinct from the scales on the rest of their bodies | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

An Artist Noticed a Leak in His Studio. The Repairs Revealed a Mysterious Ancient Engraving Hidden Inside the Walls

Jean Charles Blais had no idea that his studio in southern France was hiding a Roman funerary inscription dating to the first or second century C.E. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Two Orphaned Siberian Tigers Reunite as Mates After a 120-Mile Trek Through Russian Wilderness

Conservationists hope the love story between Boris and Svetlaya might indicate a new, successful chapter in tiger repopulation efforts | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

These 15 Majestic Photos Show Just Why Humans Adore Horses

To commemorate the National Day of the Horse, see herds of equine images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

In 1577, an English Explorer Set Out to Circumnavigate the World. Here's What His Groundbreaking Journey Accomplished

Francis Drake's successful voyage included British sailors' arrival in California and the plundering of a glut of Spanish riches that sustained Elizabeth I's empire | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

See How Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael Entered and Exited Each Other's Worlds

A new exhibition in London examines the relationship between the three Italian Renaissance artists, who came together in Florence in 1504 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Astronomers Detect the Smallest Main Belt Asteroids Ever Found by Repurposing a Technique for Exoplanet Discovery

An unusual approach to spotting tiny asteroids uses James Webb Space Telescope data in a boost for planetary defense research | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

A Rare Coin Depicting Brutus, Caesar's Infamous Assassin, Sells for $2 Million

Following the murder in 44 B.C.E., Brutus minted the gold aureus to promote his own image and celebrate his military victories | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Google Reveals New A.I. Model That Predicts Weather Better Than the Best Traditional Forecasts

Instead of crunching mathematical calculations, GenCast was trained on four decades of historical weather data to produce an array of 15-day forecasts | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Humpback Whale Makes Record-Breaking 8,000-Mile Migration Across Three Oceans, but the Reason Is Still a Mystery

Biologists say mating, climate change or simply being confused might have driven the creature to swim great distances, between Colombia and Zanzibar | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

See Winston Churchill Through the Eyes of the Political Cartoonists He Inspired

A new exhibition at London’s Imperial War Museum brings together political cartoons from around the world that celebrate and satirize the wartime prime minister | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Four Decades After the Fall of Argentina’s Dictatorship, a Fight Over the Country’s Darkest Chapter Is Reopening Grievous Wounds

Inside the fight to memorialize victims of the military junta that ruled over the South American nation in the 1970s and '80s | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

These Black Soldiers Fought for the British During the American Revolution in Exchange for Freedom From Slavery

The Carolina Corps achieved emancipation through military service, paving the way for future fighters in the British Empire to do the same | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Meet the Mysterious and Brooding Norwegian Painter Responsible for 'The Scream'

Born on this day in 1863, Edvard Munch lived a life marked by mental health struggles and sought to brush themes of anxiety and dread into his art | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Monarch Butterflies Might Soon Be Listed as Threatened Under the Endangered Species Act

If a new proposal is adopted, the insects would become the most commonly seen species to be the subject of federal protection under this law | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Belgium Has Been Found Guilty of 'Crimes Against Humanity' for Kidnapping Thousands of Children in Congo

A Brussels court has ordered Belgium to pay damages to five women, now in their 70s and 80s, who were abducted from their parents when they were young children | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

NASA Astronaut Shares Breathtaking Photos From the ISS, Featuring Galaxies and Glowing 'Star Trails'

On his fourth flight, Don Pettit is once again sharing the art of astrophotography, capturing and posting pictures of Earth, satellites and space | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Stunning Artworks Seized From the Mafia Go On Display at a New Exhibition in Milan

"Save Arts: From Confiscations to Public Collections" features more than 80 works recovered by Italian authorities, including pieces by Andy Warhol and Salvador Dalí | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

A Paleontologist Cracked Open a Rock and Discovered a Prehistoric Amphibian With a Clever Survival Strategy

Named "Ninumbeehan dookoodukah" by Eastern Shoshone students and elders, the creature burrowed in riverbeds to stay moist during extreme droughts | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

These Delicate Needles Made From Animal Bones May Have Helped Prehistoric Humans Sew Warm Winter Clothing

Researchers have discovered 32 needle fragments made from the bones of smaller animals. The tiny tools may have been used to sew insulated garments during the last ice age | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

The Italian Town That Becomes a Giant, Goose-Themed Board Game Each Fall

With teams competing in outlandish physical challenges, the Zogo dell’Oca of Mirano showcases Italy’s flair for invented traditions | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

From Giant Tortoises to Immortal Jellyfish, These Impressive Animals Are Eight of the Longest-Living Species on Earth

Aging gracefully comes naturally to these creatures, which can live for hundreds, and sometimes even thousands, of years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

When a British King Stunned the Royal Family by Abdicating the Throne to Marry a Divorced American Socialite

Scandal dogged Edward VIII, a suspected Nazi sympathizer, even after he relinquished his crown to marry Wallis Simpson, the woman he loved | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

This Peculiar Painting From the Experimental Mannerist Movement Is Back on Display After a Stunning Ten-Year Restoration

Parmigianino painted St. Jerome asleep on the ground in his 16th-century altarpiece—a choice that's still puzzling experts five centuries later | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Scientists Find Another Reason Why 2023 Was So Hot: a Decline in Low-Lying Clouds

According to new research, Earth might have reflected less solar radiation last year than in any other year since 1940, a trend that adds to the planet's warming | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Geneticists Solve the Mystery of Why Some Cats Are Orange—and Why They Tend to Be Males

Two new, preliminary papers identify a gene related to a cat’s coloration. The work also explains why tortoiseshell and calico cats tend to be females | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

An Ice Age Infant's Bones Reveal Early Americans Ate Woolly Mammoths as a Protein Staple

New research examines chemical signatures to determine the diet of a prehistoric boy and his mother, suggesting the Clovis people relied on mammoths for a large portion of their menu | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago