The Fabulous Fabulist Lawyer Who Wasn’t, but Still Managed to Get a Man Off Death Row

Take in the remarkable tale of the fake attorney best known as L.A. Harris, whose scams put him in trouble with the law in jurisdictions nationwide | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

One in Five Milk Samples Has Bird Flu Virus Fragments, Suggesting Cow Infections Are More Widespread Than Thought

The research has not yet found evidence that milk contains infectious virus, and the FDA says the commercial milk supply is safe | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Endangered Ocelots May Be Expanding Their Range in Texas

DNA testing of an ocelot killed in 2021 raises the possibility that the creatures may be roaming outside their established South Texas territory, which is currently their only stronghold in the country | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Paleontologists Discover Massive Dinosaur Tracks in China, Hinting at One of the Largest Known Raptors

The footprints, left behind by a 16-foot-long creature some 96 million years ago, represent the biggest raptor tracks ever found | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

New DNA Analysis Unravels the Marriage Practices of an Ancient Warrior People

Researchers examined over 400 skeletons to uncover secrets from the Avar empire | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Spain's 'Excalibur' Sword, a 1,000-Year-Old Weapon Found Buried Upright, Reflects the Region's Rich Islamic History

Discovered in Valencia in 1994, the iron blade was recently dated to the tenth century, when the Umayyad Caliphate controlled the Iberian Peninsula | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Why Images of Ghosts Have Endured in Japan for Centuries

A new exhibition at the National Museum of Asian Art displays haunting, colorful woodblock prints | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Marvel at These Bold, Beautiful Bridges

See 15 superbly suspended structures from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Second Patient Receives Gene-Edited Pig Kidney Transplant in Breakthrough Surgery

The woman, 54-year-old Lisa Pisano, also received a mechanical heart pump implant days earlier, making her the first person to undergo both procedures | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

New Statue Honors Elizabeth II—and Her Beloved Corgis

The seven-foot-tall bronze monument is billed as the "first permanent memorial" to the late queen | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Ten Amazing Facts About Tornadoes, Explained

To prepare you for the movie “Twisters,” we’ve compiled some jaw-dropping details about the powerful phenomenon | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Lost 17th-Century Painting Returns to an Oxford Gallery Four Years After It Was Stolen

"A Rocky Coast, With Soldiers Studying a Plan" was recovered from a man in Romania who alerted the authorities | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

These Massive, Extinct Salmon Had Spiky Teeth Like a Warthog's Tusks

For decades, scientists thought the teeth pointed downward, similar to those of a saber-toothed cat, but now they believe the fish's chompers jutted out sideways | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Metal Detectorists Unearth Tiny Bronze Portrait of Alexander the Great in Denmark

Researchers think the 1,800-year-old artifact could be linked to a Roman emperor who was "obsessed" with the Macedonian conqueror | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Skies Over Athens Turn a Martian Orange Amid Saharan Dust Storm

Strong winds brought desert dust and heat across the Mediterranean this week, sparking health advisories and fires in Greece | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Historic Borax Wagon Destroyed in Blaze at Death Valley National Park

Beginning in 1883, 18 mules and two horses hauled wagons full of borax across eastern California | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Ancient Maya Royals' Remains Were Burned in a Public Ceremony to Mark a New Political Regime

Archaeologists discovered charred remains of former rulers tossed "haphazardly" into a tomb in present-day Guatemala, suggesting they had been removed from their original burial sites | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

How A.I. Is Revolutionizing Marine Conservation

Driven by a childhood marked by war and environmental devastation, marine scientist Dyhia Belhabib developed an innovative technology to combat illegal fishing | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

The English Heiress Who Masterminded a Multimillion-Dollar Art Heist and Built Bombs for the IRA

Fifty years ago, Rose Dugdale stole 19 paintings worth an estimated £8 million, including works by Vermeer, Velázquez and Rubens, from a British aristocrat's estate | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Bird Flu Virus Detected in Pasteurized Milk, as U.S. Moves to Test More Dairy Cows

The FDA maintains that the commercial milk supply is safe, and it plans to report results of further tests in the coming days and weeks | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Archaeologists May Have Found the Villa Where the Roman Emperor Augustus Died

Excavations north of Mount Vesuvius revealed Roman ruins buried by the eruption in 79 C.E. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Tweak the Recipe of This Australian Biscuit, and You Can Get a Hefty Fine or Even Jail Time

On April 25, a national holiday called Anzac Day, Aussies enjoy an Anzac biscuit in honor of military veterans | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

This Rare Condition Makes Some People Get Drunk, Even When They Haven't Touched a Drop of Alcohol

A man in Belgium was acquitted of drunk driving charges this week, after doctors showed he has auto-brewery syndrome, which makes his body produce alcohol | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

The 'World's Largest Wildlife Crossing' Will Help Animals Walk Safely Over Eight Lanes of California Traffic

The 210-foot-long bridge across a busy freeway in Los Angeles County is expected to be finished in 2025 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Paleontologists Unravel Secrets of 'Enigmatic' 33-Foot Prehistoric Shark After Fossil Discovery

Scientists didn't know much about Ptychodus, an ancient shark genus, because its remains were usually just fragments. Now, complete fossils reveal its body shape and hunting habits | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Bottles of 250-Year-Old Cherries Discovered Beneath George Washington's Home

Researchers at Mount Vernon say that the stash still "bore the characteristic scent of cherry blossoms" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

How the Great Alaska Earthquake Shook Up Science

Sixty years ago, the largest earthquake in U.S. history shocked geologists. It’s still driving scientific discoveries today | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Glowing Sea Creatures Have Been Lighting Up the Oceans for More Than Half a Billion Years

New research on branching animals known as octocorals pushes the early days of bioluminescence back over 200 million years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Dentist Discovers Human-Like Jawbone and Teeth in a Floor Tile at His Parents' Home

Scientists are planning to study the specimen, embedded in travertine from western Turkey, in hopes of dating and identifying it | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Oil Paintings Rescued From Notre-Dame Cathedral Fire Go on Display

Known as the "Mays," the artworks were created for an annual competition in the 17th century | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Voyager 1 Sends Clear Data to NASA for the First Time in Five Months

The farthest spacecraft from Earth had been transmitting nonsense since November, but after an engineering tweak, it finally beamed back a report on its health and status | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Weapon Chest With Tools for Making Ammunition Found in 500-Year-Old Shipwreck in Sweden

The mercenaries on board the "Griffin" lived during a time of great change in naval warfare | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

This Tiny Scribble by Michelangelo Just Sold for Over $200,000

The sketch was found attached to the back of a work by one of the Renaissance artist's associates | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Follow the Soap Opera-Worthy Relationship Drama of the World's Oldest Common Loons

Called ABJ and Fe, the duo mated every spring for 25 years—but they split up in 2022. Now, they’re back at their Michigan breeding grounds, showing no signs of getting together | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

This Chinese American Aviatrix Overcame Racism to Fly for the U.S. During World War II

A second-generation immigrant, Hazel Ying Lee was the first Chinese American woman to receive her pilot's license | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Scientists Clone Two Black-Footed Ferrets From Frozen Tissues in Conservation Effort

The aim of cloning the animals is to increase the genetic diversity of the endangered species | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

You Can Now Visit Mussolini's Underground Bunker in Rome

The dictator constructed the shelters below his family's residence after Italy entered World War II | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Scientists Translate Sleeping Birds' Silent Songs Into Sound—and They May Have Recorded a Nightmare

Using surgically implanted electrodes and modeling, researchers brought to life the vocal muscle activity of sleeping great kiskadees | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Extensive Desert 'Lava Tubes' Sheltered Humans for 7,000 Years, Archaeologists Find

Formed after volcanic activity, the underground caves periodically hosted early humans and their livestock in Saudi Arabia, facilitating cultural exchange | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

How Breaking Went From a Street Dance to an Olympic Sport

This summer, 32 athletes will compete in what's commonly known as breakdancing, a dance sport that combines athleticism and artistry | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Is Geothermal Power Heating Up as an Energy Source?

Long confined to regions with volcanic activity, the method of harnessing energy from the Earth promises to become much more versatile thanks to new technologies | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Call Oregon's Poetry Hotline to Hear a New Poem Every Day This Month

The hotline, created by the state's poet laureate, has already received thousands of callers | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Scientists Uncover Bones of Massive Extinct Snake, Comparable in Size to the 43-Foot Titanoboa

The 27 vertebrae discovered in India suggest the enormous creature, dubbed Vasuki indicus, was between 36 and 50 feet long | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

How Jewish Soldiers Celebrated Passover in the Midst of the Civil War

A group of Union men from Ohio held a makeshift Seder in the western Virginia woods in 1862 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

How to Be a Cultural Explorer in Santa Fe

Start in the heart of the city to encounter its vast cultural and historic heritage blending Spanish, Mexican, and native American influences. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Were Stonehenge's Builders Guided by the Moon?

Researchers are studying the monument's connection to a celestial event that occurs every 18.6 years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

Volcano Erupts Amid Lightning Storm in Indonesia, as Residents Evacuate Potential Tsunami Threat

Plumes of ash from Mount Ruang forced the closure of an international airport, after a series of at least five eruptions this week | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago

How Did Ötzi the Iceman Get His Tattoos? Archaeologists and Tattoo Artists Unravel the Mystery

Ötzi's 61 markings were likely hand-poked with a sharp tool, such as a piece of animal bone or copper, a new study finds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 7 months ago