The World's Rarest Whale May Have Just Washed Ashore in New Zealand

No one has ever recorded a live sighting of the spade-toothed whale, but experts say the dolphin-like creature found earlier this month is "no doubt" a member of the elusive species | Continue reading


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China Plans to Open Ming Dynasty Tombs to the Public by 2030

The sprawling burial complex on the outskirts of Beijing was built to hold the remains of 13 emperors | Continue reading


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Copenhagen Is Rewarding Tourists for Good Behavior

A new initiative incentives activities like riding a bike, taking public transit and cleaning up litter | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Watch Chatty Beluga Families Migrate With These Stunning Live Cams in Canada

Polar Bears International and Explore.org are once again capturing video footage and audio recordings of the social marine mammals as tens of thousands congregate in the Churchill River this summer | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Could Citizens of This Indiana Town Have Seen a 500-Pound Turtle?

Two men said they saw such an animal, dubbed the Beast of Busco, in 1948 | Continue reading


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Paper Cuttings Made by 17th-Century Schoolgirls Discovered Beneath Floorboards

The fragile cut-outs are going on display at Sutton House in London, which was once a boarding school for girls | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

New 'Butter' Made From Carbon Dioxide Tastes Like the Real Dairy Product, Startup Says

The company, called Savor, uses a synthetic fat to approximate the taste of butter and is seeking regulatory approval | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

The History of Presidential Assassination Attempts, From Andrew Jackson to Teddy Roosevelt

Before last weekend's attack on Donald Trump, would-be assassins unsuccessfully targeted Ronald Reagan, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and seven other sitting presidents or candidates for office | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

A Statue of a 12-Year-Old Hiroshima Victim Has Been Stolen

The monument to Sadako Sasaki, who died of leukemia in 1955, vanished from Peace Park in Seattle | Continue reading


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Scientists Find an Underground Cave on the Moon That Could Shelter Future Explorers

Such caves could serve as lunar bases during upcoming missions, protecting astronauts against cosmic radiation and extreme temperatures | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

See Inside Denver's 143-Year-Old Train Station

The transit hub, which just got an $11 million makeover, is deeply connected to the city's history | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Nesting Shorebirds Are Mobbing Drones on New York City Beaches

The drones, equipped with inflatable life rafts, were intended to help improve public safety for humans this summer—but they're also upsetting orange-beaked birds called American oystercatchers | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Check Out Ten Never-Before-Seen Paintings by Winston Churchill

The former British prime minister was an avid painter who sometimes gifted his works to other world leaders | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

These Alluring Images Capture the Threats of Air Pollution Around the World

Researchers combined long-exposure photography with pollution sensor data to create representations of pollution in India, the United Kingdom and Ethiopia | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Someone Anonymously Mailed Two Bronze Age Axes to a Museum in Ireland

Officials are asking the donor to come forward with more information about where the artifacts were discovered | Continue reading


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A Giant Polka-Dotted Pumpkin Takes Root in London's Kensington Gardens

The bronze sculpture was created by famed Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who often uses pumpkins in her work | Continue reading


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Spacesuit Prototype Turns Pee Into Drinking Water

The system is inspired by the stillsuits for collecting moisture in the science fiction epic Dune | Continue reading


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James Webb's Newest Image Shows a Giant Penguin and an Egg

NASA released the dazzling portrait to help celebrate the two-year anniversary of the release of Webb's first images | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Did Plague Cause the Mysterious Collapse of Europe's Early Farmers 5,000 Years Ago?

A new study finds widespread DNA evidence that an ancestor pathogen of the Black Death helped bring about the end of an agricultural society responsible for megalithic tombs and monuments, like Stonehenge | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Cypress Hill Performs With the London Symphony Orchestra—Just as 'The Simpsons' Predicted 28 Years Ago

Originally a gag on the sitcom, the unexpected collaboration drew a packed house at the Royal Albert Hall in London | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Nine Things You Didn't Know About the Ancient Olympic Games

With an intensive athletes’ boot camp and the threat of execution for unwelcome spectators, the Greek sporting event was a serious affair | Continue reading


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Explore James Baldwin Alongside His Friends, His Contemporaries and the Queer Artists Inspired by His Writing

A new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery honors the iconic writer while also celebrating the communities that influenced him | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Fire Extinguished at Rouen Cathedral, a Frequent Subject of Monet's Paintings

The 12th-century structure and the artworks inside it sustained no significant damage | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

You Can Now Visit France's First-Ever Cheese Museum

The Musée du Fromage in Paris hosts tastings and teaches visitors about traditional cheesemaking practices | Continue reading


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EPA Reaches $241 Million Settlement With Marathon Oil

The company was illegally polluting the air at nearly 90 facilities in North Dakota, a complaint alleges | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

3D DNA Preserved for 52,000 Years in Freeze-Dried Woolly Mammoth Remains

For the first time, researchers have mapped ancient genetic material in unprecedented detail | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

See Ten Creepy-Crawly Portraits From the Insect Week Photography Contest

The Royal Entomological Society’s Photography Competition highlights the wonder and diversity of the six-legged creatures that crawl, swim and fly across the planet | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Archaeologists Unearth 4,000-Year-Old Ceremonial Temple in Peru

The structure appears to predate Machu Picchu, the country's best-known archaeological site, by 3,500 years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

How 'Fly Me to the Moon' Pokes Fun at Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories

The new Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum film presents an alternative history in which government officials prepared to fake the moon landing before NASA pulled off the feat for real | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Has Life on Earth Survived More Than Five Mass Extinctions?

Scientists aren’t just arguing whether humans are causing a sixth mass extinction event now, but whether many more occurred in the past | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Melting Ice Reveals Body of American Mountaineer Missing for 22 Years in the Peruvian Andes

Bill Stampfl, Matthew Richardson and Steve Erskine went missing in an avalanche on Huascarán on June 24, 2002. Climbers found Stampfl's body just weeks ago | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Astronomers Spot Rare, Mid-Sized Black Hole in Our Galaxy

The black hole, if confirmed, is in the star cluster Omega Centauri, about 17,700 light-years away, and it could hold lessons about how such structures are formed | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Pop Music Melodies Have Gotten Simpler Over Time

A new analysis of Billboard hits from 1950 to 2023 finds that melodic complexity has been steadily decreasing | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

When a Debate Flop Raised Concerns About Ronald Reagan's Fitness to Run for Re-Election

During the 1984 campaign, the 73-year-old president meandered his way through his first face-off against Walter Mondale, prompting questions about his mental acuity | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Gut Microbes Could Help Diagnose Autism, Study Suggests

While more research is needed, scientists detected specific differences between the gut microbiomes of children with and without autism | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

The Paris Summer Olympics: Smithsonian's Guide to the Games

Prepare yourself for the Paris Olympics with this comprehensive guide to the history, science, arts and thrills of the worldwide celebration | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Singapore Approves 16 Insect Species for Human Consumption

The move comes amid broader efforts to improve food security and diversify food sources | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

This Island Is Inhabited by More Koalas Than Humans

Australia’s French Island is home to one of the country’s largest and healthiest koala populations, but it’s not impervious to the species’ struggles | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Why Descendants Are Returning to the Plantations Where Their Ancestors Were Enslaved

Some Black Americans are reclaiming antebellum estates as part of their family legacy, reflecting the power and possibility of these historic sites | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

The Wild Story of What Happened to Pablo Escobar’s Hungry, Hungry Hippos

Ever since the demise of infamous drug kingpin, his pet hippos have flourished, wreaking havoc on the ecosystem and terrorizing local communities | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

This Nearby Exoplanet Is Hot, Dangerous—and Smells Like Rotten Eggs

Located about 64 light-years away from Earth, the world is the first place astronomers have detected hydrogen sulfide outside our solar system | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Wreck of Shackleton's 'Endurance' Gets New Protections

The vessel will be preserved beneath Antarctic waters inside a sprawling restricted zone | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Meet the Rare, 'Beautiful' Birds That Thrive in Snow and Are at Risk Because of Climate Change

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Mount Rainier white-tailed ptarmigan as threatened under the Endangered Species Act this month | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Fabled Sword From Medieval French Folklore Disappears

Known as the "French Excalibur," the blade is said to have hung from a rock face in the village of Rocamadour for 1,300 years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

New Bionic Leg and Surgical Procedure Allow People to Walk With More Control After Amputations

The experimental surgery connects two muscles in the legs of people with below-the-knee amputations, allowing them to control a prosthetic limb with their brain | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Archaeologists May Have Found Home Built by One of New England’s First Black Property Owners

Pompey Mansfield was an enslaved man who won his freedom, purchased land, constructed a house and became a prominent community leader | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago

Bringing Auckland’s Volcanic Underworld to Light

Scientists are working to map and protect the city's underground tunnels so they aren’t destroyed during construction | Continue reading


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Ancient DNA Unravels the Mysteries of the Dingo, Australia's Wild Dog

Researchers dove into thousands of years of evolutionary history, revealing new insights about the iconic, though sometimes vilified, canines | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 months ago