Rare WWII Submarine Dog Fight Turns Deadly [video]

On February 9, 1945, two submarines are poised to engage in a direct, underwater confrontation. It's the first - and only - underwater submarine dog fight in recorded naval history. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Rare WWII Submarine Dog Fight Turns Deadly

On February 9, 1945, two submarines are poised to engage in a direct, underwater confrontation. It's the first - and only - underwater submarine dog fight in recorded naval history. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

The First Submarine to Launch Rockets From Its Deck

It's June 1945 and the USS Barb has just launched an unprecedented attack on the factories of the Japanese island of Shari. It's the first time that rockets have ever been launched from a submarine. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Meet the World’s First Omnivorous Shark Species

Bonnethead sharks enjoy a diet of up to 60 percent seagrass, as well as crab, shrimp, snails and bonyfish | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Toxic Chemicals Banned 20 Years Ago Finally Disappearing from Arctic Wildlife

But the appearance of new chemicals is creating an uncertain future for polar bears, orcas and seabirds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Was the 1968 TV Show 'Julia' a Milestone or a Millstone for Diversity?

Diahann Carroll's award-winning series was a hit, but it delivered a sanitized view of African-American life | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

This 1812 American Frigate Could Take a Direct Cannon Hit

A British frigate fires on the USS Constitution - but its shots either miss or rebound off its tough oak hull. It's a feat of resilience that earns the American warship her proud nickname: Old Ironsides. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

There Are Whales Alive Today Who Were Born Before Moby Dick Was Written

Some of the bowhead whales in the icy waters off of Alaska today are over 200 years old | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Fifty Years Ago, “Star Trek” Aired TV's First Interracial Kiss

For actress Nichelle Nichols, the first black woman to have a continuing co-starring role on TV, it was the beginning of a lifelong career in activism | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

This Tiny Island Was Key for Allied Forces to Secure North Africa

During WWII, Nazi forces were preparing to take the coastal city of Tobruk and tighten their grip on North Africa. In response, the Allies turned their attention to another key strategic location: the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

A French Theme Park Taught Crows to Pick Up Trash

Park hopes that its avian garbage collectors will encourage humans to properly discard their rubbish | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

This U.S. Sub Launched an Attack on a Japanese Train

The USS Barb had an unusual target in its sights in 1945 - one that wasn't even in the water. It was a Japanese supply train on the island of Karafuto. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Why Shipbuilders Were Forced to Stop Using British Oak

After the Napoleonic Wars caused a shortage of British Oak, frigate builders looked all over the empire for an alternative. They found one in India: a hard, water resistant wood called teak. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

The Women Code Breakers Who Unmasked Soviet Spies

At the height of the Cold War, America’s most secretive counterespionage effort set out to crack unbreakable ciphers | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

A Torpedo Malfunction Threatens to Destroy a U.S. Submarine

The USS Silversides is patrolling the Pacific during WWII when it finds itself in a terrifying situation: one of its torpedoes has jammed and is dangling out in the water, ready to explode. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

How Napalm Bombs Intensified U.S. Attacks During WWII

Bombing ground targets from the air is tricky and not always accurate. But a new type of bomb creates an unimaginable level of destruction - and strengthens U.S. attacks in the Pacific. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

How the British Navy Camouflaged Their Ships Using Art

The British Navy knew it couldn't completely disguise a ship to protect it from attack during WWI. So they turned to 'Dazzle Painting' which sought to disguise a ship's speed and direction. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Drone Captures First Images of an Uncontacted Amazon Tribe

Officials say images like these can help them learn how to better protect Brazil’s indigenous people | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

This Secret Boat Was Built for a WWII Invasion That Never Happened

In 2011, declassified CIA documents shed light on a covert government program dating back to WWII. At its center was a submersible craft built for a hypothetical invasion of Japan. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Silver Coins Lead to One of the Earliest Roman Sites in Yorkshire

The dig site found by metal detectorists 3 years ago appears to be a high-status homestead that once had two villas | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

U.S. Troops in the Pacific Treat Themselves to a Little R&R

A brief respite from the frontlines of the Pacific War sees American troops trying to inject a little comfort into their lives: from more habitable living quarters to enjoying the enemy's hidden supply of liquor. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Do Animals Experience Grief?

A growing body of evidence points to how animals are aware of death and will sometimes mourn for or ritualize their dead | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

First Auction House to Sell Art Made by Artificial Intelligence

Christie's will sell the work from Paris-based art collective Obvious, which created ‘Portrait of Edmond Belamy’ with the machine-learning algorithm GAN | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Why Depth Charges Don't Have to Touch a Submarine to Sink It

It's 1942 and the USS Silversides, a U.S. submarine submerged in the Pacific, is frantically trying to dodge depth charges dropped by a Japanese warship. Even a near miss could be catastrophic. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

When Rhinos Once Roamed in Washington State

Road-tripping through prehistoric times on the West Coast | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

What Drove Sigmund Freud to Write a Scandalous Biography of Woodrow Wilson?

The founder of psychoanalysis collaborated with a junior American diplomat to lambaste the former president | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Actual Combat Footage of the Battle of the Philippines Sea

Relive the aerial dogfights and naval clashes of the Battle of the Philippines Sea, thanks to stunning color footage. It is a visual record of the battle that underlined U.S. superiority in the Pacific. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Five Young Lion Brothers Mate With One Lioness

A group of five adolescent male lions - dubbed the Musketeers - are wandering the desert looking to find their own kingdom. They come across a lioness, but not all seem interested in settling down. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Science Proves: Pop Music Has Actually Gotten Worse

Science confirms what you've always suspected: music these days is worse than it used to be | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Drones Air-Dropping 50,000 Mosquitoes from Above

These horny buggers are actually here to help us fight the spread of disease | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Hostile Lioness Withholds Food From Hungry Orphaned Cubs

A group of orphaned lion cubs are facing an uncertain future. If they're to survive into adulthood, they will have to convince their reluctant aunt to share her kill with them. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

How Italy Used Human Torpedoes to Attack British Ships

On December 16, 1941, the Italian navy launched a daring attack on three British ships outside Alexandria harbor. At the heart of the operation was a unique weapon: a human torpedo. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Innacurate Images of Colonial America Made by European Printmakers

To satisfy customers hungry for visions of the British colonies, these artists created wildly imaginative and inaccurate scenes | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

How Doughnut-Loving Cops Became a Stereotype

A sugar-sweet symbol for beat cops around the country | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Driverless Car Technology Could Help Find Unmarked Graves

The same LIDAR technology that lets driverless cars | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

The Botulism Outbreak That Gave Rise to America’s Food Safety System

In late 1919 and early 1920, scientists and canners worked with the government to protect the public from the deadly toxin | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 years ago

Behind the Scenes With the Spacecraft That Will Soar Through the Sun's Atmosphere

The probe, which launches Sunday, will attempt to solve enduring mysteries about the sun | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 years ago

The First Academy Awards Had Its Own Version of the "Popular" Oscar

The ceremony itself was rooted in union-busting, laying the basis for the art vs. mass acclaim debate we see play out today | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 years ago

Remains of Tuskegee Airman Found in Austria

Researchers and archaeologists have recovered the remains of distinguished flyer Lawrence E. Dickson whose plane crashed during a mission in 1944 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 years ago

Dads Pass on More Than Genetics in Their Sperm

Seminal research reveals that sperm change their cargo as they travel the reproductive tract—and the differences can have consequences for fertility | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 years ago

Scientists Give New Particle Accelerator the Thumbs Up

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine endorses the $1 billion Electron-Ion Collider | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 years ago

Maldivian Government Destroys World's First Intertidal Art Gallery

Before President Abdulla Yasmeen lost the country's election, his government ordered the demolition of the conservation-minded underwater sculpture garden | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 years ago

How Enslaved Chefs Helped Shape American Cuisine

Black cooks created the feasts that gave the South its reputation for hospitality | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 years ago

Into the Cave of Chile’s Witches

Did members of a powerful society of warlocks actually murder their enemies and kidnap children? | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 years ago

Urine (Not Chlorine) Causes Red Eyes in Pools (2015)

CDC spreads the word about the peril of pee in pools | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 years ago

What Knitting Can Teach You About Math

In this professor's class, there are no calculators. Instead, students learn advanced math by drawing pictures, playing with beach balls—and knitting | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 years ago

Buried by the Ash of Vesuvius, Scrolls Are Being Read for the First Time

A revolutionary American scientist is using subatomic physics to decipher 2,000-year-old texts from the early days of Western civilization | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 years ago

What Knitting Can Teach You About Math

In this professor's class, there are no calculators. Instead, students learn advanced math by drawing pictures, playing with beach balls—and knitting | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 years ago