Preserving the Home of Selma Heraldo, Neighbor and Friend of Louis Armstrong

Heraldo bequeathed her home to the Louis Armstrong House Museum, which plans to renovate the property with the help of a sizable city grant | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

SMARTNEWS Keeping You Current the Strange Story of the Westinghouse Atom Smasher

The giant bulb was an important part of early American nuclear history. Now it’s part of a miniature railroad | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

Becoming Anne Frank – History – Smithsonian

Why did we turn an isolated teenage girl into the world’s most famous Holocaust victim? | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

Average Person Can Recognize 5,000 Faces - Benchmark for AI facial recognition

But some participants in a recent study were able to recall as many as 10,000 faces | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

Volcanoes forecast to endanger people, property or critical infrastructure

Hawaii’s Mount Kilauea, Washington’s Mount St. Helens top the list, which forecasts eruptions' potential impact on people, property, infrastructure | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

To Save Endangered Species, Should We Bring Them into Our Cities?

Some ecologists believe our best chance to preserve biodiversity is to introduce non-native species to cities—but others warn of unintended consequences | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

How an Astonishing Holocaust Diary Resurfaced in America

Hidden for 70 years, a new invaluable contribution to Holocaust literature—the diary of Renia Spiegel—was rediscovered inside a desk in New York | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

Why Are Japan’s Cherry Blossom Trees Blooming in Fall?

Two typhoons followed by warm weather may have triggered Japan’s iconic trees to blossom months ahead of schedule | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

US Drops a Stunning 21 Spots in Global Life Expectancy Rankings to 64th Place

By 2040, an average American's lifespan is projected to rise from 78.7 to 79.8 years, an increase of just 1.1 years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

Growing Up Surrounded by Books Could Have Powerful, Lasting Effect on the Mind

A new study suggests that exposure to large home libraries may have a long-term impact on proficiency in three key areas | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

Stanford Ovshinsky: The most prolific inventor you’ve never heard of

A new book calls attention to the 20th-century genius with more than 400 patents to his name | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

With AI Art, Process Is More Important Than the Product

Christie's just auctioned its first piece of AI art—a portrait created via machine learning | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

When Elvis Met Nixon

An Oval Office photograph captured the bizarre encounter between the king of rock and roll and the president | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

This Ultrasound Patch Monitors Blood Pressure in Deep Arteries

The flexible wearable could be an alternative to current invasive methods of measuring central blood pressure within the human body | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

The Screenwriting Mystic Who Wanted to Be the American Führer

William Dudley Pelley and his Silver Shirts were just one of many Nazi-sympathizers operating in the United States in the 1930s | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

Newly Discovered Tyrant Dinosaur Stalked Ancient New Mexico

The Dynamoterror, a relative of Tyrannosaurs rex, lived millions of years before other known species of tyrannosaur | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

Ancient Proteins from Unwashed Dishes Reveal the Diets of a Lost Civilization

Material pulled from ceramic sherds reveals the favored foodstuffs in the 8,000-year-old city of Çatalhöyük in Turkey | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

Finally, a Native American Exhibition in the Met’s American Wing

91 of the objects on display were gifted to the museum on the condition that they be contextualized within the framework of America's art history | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

NYC has its own ant, the “ManhattAnt”

A new ant species joins a menagerie of other creatures cut off from their kind in isolated patches of urban green in NYC | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

Astronomers Find What May Be First Exomoon

Astronomers suspect that there's Neptune-sized celestial body trailing an exoplanet about 8,000 light years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

The mystery of the continuously functioning battery from 1840

A battery at the University of Oxford has been incessantly ringing two bells for 175 years—but no one knows exactly why it’s lasted so long | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

Time to Get Jiggily With it, Fat Bear Week Is Upon Us

Your vote will determine which fish-chomping ursine competitor in Katmai National Park and Preserve is the chubbiest cubby of them all | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

Slab City, a Squatters’ Paradise in Southern California

Architect and author Charlie Hailey and photographer Donovan Wylie capture one of America’s last free places | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

The Dead Beneath London's Streets

Human remains dating back to the Roman Empire populate the grounds below the surface, representing a burden for developers but a boon for archaeologists | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

People Are Leaving Secret Letters to Fellow Fans in Harry Potter Books

#PotterItForward was designd to warm the hearts of future readers | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

Are Spray-On Antennas the Future of Wearables?

The ultra-thin, flexible antennas can be applied to nearly any surface using an airbrush | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

How to Save a Dying Language (2013)

Geoffrey Khan is racing to document Aramaic, the language of Jesus, before its native speakers vanish | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

Ecstasy Turns Antisocial Octopuses into Lovestruck Cuddle Buddies

The genetic and neurological similarities between octopuses and humans shed light on how creatures became social beings | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

It Wasn't Aliens: Mysteriously Evacuated Solar Observatory Reopens Tmrw

The Sunspot Observatory in New Mexico was closed for ten days due to a 'security threat,' though aliens and solar flares have been ruled out | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

Why a Pterosaur Is Not a Dinosaur

Calling a pterosaur a dinosaur is an error of the same order of magnitude as saying that our species is a marsupial | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

What Ötzi the Iceman’s Tattoos Reveal About Copper Age Medical Practices

New study argues that the 5,300-year-old Iceman’s community boasted surprisingly advanced health care techniques | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 years ago

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 | 6 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 | 6 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 | 6 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 | 6 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 | 6 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 | 6 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 | 6 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 | 6 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 | 6 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 | 6 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 | 6 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 | 6 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 | 6 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 | 6 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 | 6 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 | 6 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 | 6 years ago