Miniature Fabergé Animals That Enchanted the Romanovs and Other Royals Are Up for Sale

Crafted around 1900, the charismatic carvings were inspired by Japanese decorative pendants | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 5 months ago

Police Recover Stolen Francis Bacon Painting Worth $5 Million

The piece was one of five artworks stolen during a robbery in Madrid in 2015 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Wild Dogs Have Muscles for 'Puppy Eyes,' Suggesting the Cute Expression Did Not Evolve Just for Humans

African wild dogs have the same well-developed eye muscles that domestic dogs use to make their signature pleading faces, a recent study finds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Letters Written by Ancient Roman Commanders Have Been Found in a Pet Cemetery in Egypt

Discovered among the graves of hundreds of cats, dogs and monkeys, the correspondence was likely written by centurions in the first century | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

New Device Delivers Electric Pulses to Help Patients Regain Movement After Spinal Cord Injuries

Alongside physical therapy, the electric stimulation helped patients with tetraplegia improve mobility in their arms and hands in a small trial | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Imperiled Eagles Are Altering Their Migration Routes to Avoid the War in Ukraine

Researchers found that greater spotted eagles migrated longer distances and made fewer rest stops following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, compared to previous years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Do These Coins Belong to a Legendary 18th-Century Polish Fraudster?

Mountain hermit Antoni Jaczewicz tricked sick people into thinking he had healing powers. A Polish treasure-hunting group believes they’ve found his fortune | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

After Rats Were Eradicated From This Small Island, Seabirds Thrived

Tromelin Island became a safe place for birds once the invasive mammals were eliminated | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

A New Airline for Dogs Takes Flight

Bark Air made its inaugural flight from New York and Los Angeles this week. But seats are pricey, costing up to $8,000 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Alaska's Rivers Are Turning Orange as Thawing Permafrost Releases Metals Into Waterways

A new study identifies at least 75 Arctic streams where minerals, especially iron, are staining water with a rusty hue | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Austrian Man Discovers Hundreds of Mammoth Bones While Renovating His Wine Cellar

Owner Andreas Pernerstorfer thought he'd found a piece of wood, but then he remembered something his grandfather had said about finding teeth in the cellar decades ago | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

See Five Dazzling New Images of the Cosmos, Captured by Europe's Space Telescope

With its visible and infrared photography, Euclid—known as the "dark universe detective"—is helping astronomers better understand dark matter and dark energy | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

This Ancient Chinese Couple Was Buried in a Miniature Home

The tomb, composed of two chambers connected by a tiny door and windows, was found in a family gravesite on China's east coast containing four other burials | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Soldiers Put an Ancient Greek Suit of Armor to the Test, and It Passed

Researchers outfitted Greek marines in replicas of a Mycenaean suit and simulated combat to see if the armor was usable in its day | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Researchers Trace the Origin of the Sun's Magnetic Field, Shedding Light on Space Weather and Solar Cycles

In a new study, scientists suggest the sun's magnetic field originates much closer to the star's surface than previously thought, a finding that could boost predictions of solar activity | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

See the Graffiti Bored British Soldiers Carved Into a Castle Door More Than 200 Years Ago

One of the carvings may even depict French emperor and military commander Napoleon Bonaparte being hanged | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Oldest Known Aboriginal Pottery Discovered in Australia

Found on the island of Jiigurru, the 82 shards predate the arrival of Europeans by centuries, dating to between 2,000 and 3,000 years ago | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Why a New Portrait of Catherine, Princess of Wales, Is So Controversial

For the second time this month, a painting of a British royal is garnering backlash | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Did Body Lice Spread Bubonic Plague? Research Suggests the Parasites Are Better Vectors Than Thought

These blood-sucking insects are capable of transmitting the bacteria that caused the Black Death, according to a laboratory study | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

After Brain Injuries, Doctors and Families Should Take More Time With Life Support Decisions, Research Finds

A small study suggests some severe traumatic brain injury patients can later recover a level of independence or return to their pre-injury lives | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Celebrate World Turtle Day With 15 Photographs of the Delightful Reptiles

These shots from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo contest show why turtles are so terrific | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

50,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Bones Have Remains of Human Viruses, Scientists Find

The preliminary analysis is a first step in testing the theory that infectious diseases played a role in Neanderthals' extinction | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Centuries-Old Maya Beekeeping Tools Unearthed in Mexico

Archaeologists in the Yucatán Peninsula found several stone lids used by the pre-Columbian civilization to collect honey from stingless bees | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Medieval Icelanders Likely Hunted Blue Whales

New research suggests Viking-age hunters took down the biggest animal on Earth | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

How the Murder of a Black Grocery Store Owner and His Colleagues Galvanized Ida B. Wells' Anti-Lynching Crusade

The saga of People's Grocery stands as a powerful reminder of the centrality of Black radicalism to the food justice movement | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Did Hannibal's Army Burn Down This Ancient Mountain Settlement?

In a scorched village in Spain, archaeologists discovered a hidden gold earring that suggests residents foresaw a coming attack around the time of the Second Punic War | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

A Historical Glass-Enclosed Chapel Overlooking the Pacific Ocean Must Be Dismantled Before Nature Can Destroy It

The one-of-a-kind sculpture in California, designed by the son of famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, is at the mercy of shifting grounds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Mexico's Howler Monkeys Are Dying, 'Falling Out of the Trees,' Amid Scorching Heat Wave

Veterinarians and volunteers are trying to save the threatened primates by hoisting buckets of water and food into trees, as well as providing medical care | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

This 130,000-Year-Old Decorative Bear Bone May Be the Oldest Known Neanderthal Art

Researchers say the carved artifact was not a utilitarian item and instead served a symbolic purpose | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Tennis Icon Venus Williams Scores Her Own Barbie Doll

The plastic (and fantastic) version of Williams is one of nine new Mattel dolls celebrating female athletes | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Cleaning Crew Discovers One of the World's Oldest Surviving Desktop Computers

The 1972 Q1 microcomputer could fetch $60,000 at auction | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Keith Haring Painted This Mural on the Wall of an Iowa Elementary School Library

Ahead of planned construction, experts removed the 4,000-pound wall behind the 1989 artwork, which is now on public display for the first time | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

DNA Reveals How German Cockroaches Came to Dominate the World

A new paper looks at the genes of the most common cockroach species, tracing its historical journey alongside humans, from Asia to the Middle East, Europe and beyond | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

The Seven Most Amazing Discoveries We’ve Made by Exploring Jupiter

The giant planet is a world of extremes | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

This Tiny Taco Stand in Mexico City Was Just Awarded a Coveted Michelin Star

Founded in 1968, Taquería El Califa de León has just four items on its menu, which diners eat while standing elbow to elbow | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Roman Swimming Pool in Albania

Found in an upper-class villa, the indoor pool was accompanied by decorative mosaics and frescoes dating back nearly two millennia | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

How Spider Silk Could Inspire Microphones of the Future and Revolutionize Sound Design

Spiderwebs can pick up vibrations in air flow caused by sound waves, and researchers say microphones designed this way could become more sensitive and compact | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Did a Dried-Up Branch of the Nile Help the Egyptians Build the Pyramids?

Researchers say 31 of the monuments were constructed on the banks of the ancient waterway | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Beachcombers Discover Rare, Deep-Sea Anglerfish Washed Up on Oregon Coast

Most humans will never see a Pacific footballfish, as the creatures live at depths of 2,000 to 3,300 feet below the ocean's surface | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Never-Before-Seen Royal Family Portraits Go on Display at Buckingham Palace

"Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography" showcases 150 photographs taken between the 1920s and today | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Scientists Uncover the Ancient Origins of Baobab Trees in Genetic Study

The trees originated in Madagascar 21 million years ago but later traveled long distances by way of ocean currents, according to new research | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

What America's First Board Game Tells Us About the Aspirations of a Young Nation

Released in 1822, the Travelers’ Tour Through the United States took players on a cross-country adventure | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

This Polish Museum Received a Mysterious Package in the Mail—With Missing 17th-Century Tiles Inside

The ceramic tiles, which vanished during World War II, once adorned a Baroque bathing pavilion in Warsaw | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Mushroom Hunters Stumble Upon Mysterious Stone Sculpture in Thai Forest

While the artwork's age is still unknown, some think it depicts the mother of the Buddha | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Ed Dwight, the First Black Astronaut Candidate in the U.S., Finally Travels to Space at 90 Years Old

The former Air Force pilot trained to become an astronaut in the 1960s but was never selected by NASA. On a Blue Origin flight Sunday, he became the oldest person to go to space | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Has the Mystery of the 'Mona Lisa' Background Been Solved?

Ann Pizzorusso, a geologist and art historian, says she's identified the location in the background of Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Bob Dylan Traded This Painting in Exchange for an Astrology Reading

The musician created the artwork in the 1960s while recovering from a motorcycle accident in Woodstock, New York | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago

Watch a Blue-Green Comet Illuminate Skies Over Spain and Portugal

The colorful fireball mesmerized onlookers—and its unexpected appearance surprised astronomers who are hoping to better predict when space rocks enter Earth's atmosphere | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 months ago