Two Decades After They Were Stolen, Dorothy's Ruby Slippers Returned to the Scene of the Crime. Will They Stay There?

Federal investigators have handed over the shoes to their rightful owner, who plans to sell them at auction later this year | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

This Extremely Rare Neurological Condition Makes Faces Appear Distorted or 'Like a Demon'

For the first time, scientists have recreated what one patient suffering from prosopometamorphopsia, or PMO, sees when he looks at faces | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Five Canoes Discovered Northwest of Rome Are the Oldest Boats Ever Found in the Mediterranean

The 7,000-year-old vessels offer evidence of advanced seafaring technology and an extensive regional trade network, a new study suggests | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Celebrate Holi With These 15 Vibrant Photos

Observed around the world, the Hindu Festival of Colors welcomes spring | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

158 Cherry Blossom Trees Will Be Cut Down in D.C. in Effort to Withstand Sea-Level Rise

The National Park Service's restoration project will reconstruct a protective seawall and plant 274 new cherry blossoms when work is complete | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

The True History Behind Netflix's 'Shirley' Movie

A new film dramatizes Shirley Chisholm's history-making bid to become the first Black woman president in 1972 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

A Medieval Pilgrim May Have Carried This Basilisk Pendant to Guard Against Evil

Found in Poland, the "pilgrim's badge" was likely worn by a Christian traveler hundreds of years ago | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Five Shocking Animal Hybrids That Truly Exist in Nature, From Narlugas to Grolar Bears to Coywolves

The now-famous “virgin” stingray Charlotte is not having hybrid babies, scientists say. But in nature, distinct species sometimes interbreed to produce surprising offspring | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Incredibly Well-Preserved Bronze Age Village Reveals a Snapshot of Early British Life Before a Fire

Residents fled when flames burned through the Must Farm settlement, and now, archaeologists have unearthed its buildings and objects that were preserved in a riverbed | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Oregon Is Now Home to the World's Largest Dark Sky Sanctuary

The Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary covers 2.5 million acres in the southeastern part of the state | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

New Extinct Species of Giant Dolphin Discovered in Peru From a 16-Million-Year-Old Skull

Pebanista yacuruna is the largest freshwater dolphin ever found, but it is more closely related to today's river dolphins of South Asia than those in the Amazon | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Ancient Greece’s Biggest Port Is Older Than We Thought

Archaeological discoveries add 500 years to the history of Corinth's main harbor | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Ancient Greece’s Biggest Port Is Older Than We Thought

Archaeological discoveries add 500 years to the history of Corinth's main harbor | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

When Amelia Earhart and the 'Queen of Diamonds' Raced to Become the First Woman to Fly Across the Atlantic

Mabel Boll, a wealthy New York socialite, dreamed of making aviation history. But Earhart beat her to the finish line, completing the trans-Atlantic journey as a passenger in June 1928 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

The Man Behind “Manhunt,” the New Apple TV+ Show About the Lincoln Assassination

Meet James Swanson, the lifelong Abraham Lincoln obsessive who wrote the nonfiction thriller that inspired the acclaimed miniseries | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Family Finds Stolen Japanese Artifacts While Cleaning Out an Attic in Massachusetts

The FBI has returned the rare objects to Okinawa, where they were looted during World War II | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Alaska's Frigid North Slope Was Once a Lush, Wet, Dinosaur Hotspot, Fossils Reveal

Conditions north of the Arctic Circle, where dinosaurs roamed in abundance during the mid-Cretaceous, were warmer than today, with rainfall comparable to “modern-day Miami” | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Manhattan Project Report Signed by J. Robert Oppenheimer Sells at Auction

The document was "likely the very first publicly available report on the creation of the bomb," according to RR Auction | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Archaeologists Keep Finding Preserved Human Brains. But How Do the Organs Remain Intact?

Scientists have unearthed more than 4,400 human brains—some more than 12,000 years old—making them less rare than thought, a new study finds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Archaeologists Discover 2,000-Year-Old Rock Art in Brazil

Recurring symbols across 16 sites suggest that many of the artworks were created by the same cultural group | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Why Did Seals and Sea Lions Never Commit to a Life Fully at Sea?

While whales moved from living on land to an existence immersed in water, pinnipeds embraced an amphibious lifestyle | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Plastics Contain Thousands More Chemicals Than Thought, and Most Are Unregulated, Report Finds

A new database catalogs 16,000 chemicals found in plastics and identifies more than 4,200 that are potentially hazardous to human health and the environment | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Ten Shipwrecks Found Off the Coast of Greek Island

The sunken vessels range in age from 3,000 B.C.E to the 1940s | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

This 1,200-Year-Old Tomb in Panama Contains a Treasure Trove of Artifacts and Up to 32 Bodies

Researchers found flutes, bells, gold jewelry and the body of an important religious leader inside the elaborate shared grave | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Daddy Longlegs Have Four Extra, Hidden Eyes, Researchers Say

The new discovery could help scientists unravel the mystery of how the arachnids evolved across some 537 million years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

See the Portrait That Made Henry VIII Fall in Love With Anne of Cleves, Newly Restored to Its Former Glory

The Louvre cleaned and conserved Hans Holbein's 1539 likeness of the Tudor queen, revealing its vibrant colors and previously hidden details | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Most Astronauts Experience 'Space Headaches' While on the ISS, Study Finds

Surveys of 24 astronauts who traveled to the International Space Station found that nearly all of them reported headaches, and many of these occurred past the first week in space | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

These Researchers Are Digging Into the Understudied Science of Roots

After centuries of neglect, botanists are using new techniques to understand roots | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

New Banksy Mural Appears on a Building in London

Located on a wall behind a bare tree, the work features towering streaks of green meant to look like foliage | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Iceland Volcano Spews Lava in Fourth and Most Powerful Eruption in Three Months

Officials detected signs of an eruption only 40 minutes before fountains of lava burst from the ground | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

A Vincent van Gogh Self-Portrait Is at the Center of a New Exhibition on the 'Art of the Selfie'

The National Museum Cardiff is encouraging visitors to snap photos with the 1887 artwork, which is on view in Wales for the first time | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Python Meat Could Be a Sustainable, Nutritious Food Source, Scientists Say

The snakes may be some of the most resource-efficient animals to farm on the planet, a new study suggests | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Construction Worker Stumbles Upon Mysterious Roman Statue Hidden Beneath a Parking Lot in England

Found near a lavish historic estate, the nearly 2,000-year-old artifact has baffled researchers | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Five Fascinating Science Projects Using the Total Solar Eclipse to Illuminate New Discoveries

The NASA-supported experiments are mobilizing legions of researchers and volunteers to capture wide-ranging observations during totality, from amateur radio operations to elusive solar plumes to unusual animal behavior | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Book Banning Attempts Are at Record Highs

A new report from the American Library Association found that the number of challenged titles increased by 65 percent in 2023 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

How Medieval Women Expressed Their 'Forbidden' Emotions

Upper-class women used letters and embroidery to reflect on their inner lives | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Shells From Captain Cook's Final Voyage Were Rescued From a Dumpster

Long presumed lost, the collection of rare shells is now on display in England | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

In Minnesota, Researchers Are Moving Trees Farther North to Save Forests

As the world warms, trees in such forests will no longer be adapted to their local climates. That's where assisted migration comes in | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Starship Reaches Orbit in Third Test Flight, a Success for SpaceX and the Future of Lunar Travel

As it returned to Earth, the spacecraft likely broke apart or burned up, and the booster was lost in the Gulf of Mexico | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Françoise Gilot's Artistic Career Persisted Long After She Left Picasso. Now, She's Getting an Exhibition in Paris

At the Picasso Museum, the talented painter's artistic legacy is finally getting the recognition it deserves | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Mars Has an Unexpected Influence on Earth's Oceans and Climate, Repeating Every 2.4 Million Years, Study Finds

The gravitational interactions between Mars and Earth as they orbit the sun may have periodically promoted a warmer climate and changes in ocean circulation on our home planet | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day With a Photographic, Virtual Tour of Ireland

Here’s your lucky chance to see 15 images of the Emerald Isle from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

St. Patrick Opened a Portal to Purgatory on This Little-Known Irish Island

Medieval pilgrims flocked to the site for spiritual purification | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Whales That Go Through Menopause Live Longer and May Help Care for Grandchildren

Alongside humans, five species of toothed whales are known to experience menopause. A new study suggests they evolved the trait to increase their lifespan | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

See a Tapestry Commissioned to Celebrate the Paris Summer Olympics

Designed by artist Marjane Satrapi, the enormous triptych depicts athletes competing around the Eiffel Tower | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

For Most Mammal Species, Males Actually Aren't Larger Than Females, Study Finds

New research upends a long-held theory that male mammals tend to be bigger than their female counterparts | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

Long Overlooked, This 11th-Century Astronomical Device Documents Scientific Exchange Among Muslims, Jews and Christians

The astrolabe features Hebrew and Latin inscriptions added by different owners over time | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago

You Can See a Rare, Bright Comet This Month. Will It Be Visible During the Solar Eclipse?

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is a frigid, volcanic ice ball that won’t pass near Earth again until 2095 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 months ago