See Picasso's Lesser-Known Print Works, Which He Continued Experimenting With Into His 80s

A new exhibition spotlights the Spanish artist's printmaking talents, which he began honing in his 20s. In the decades that followed, he produced thousands of breathtaking creations | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 21 days ago

You Can Buy the Recording Console the Beatles Used to Make Their Iconic Album 'Abbey Road'

After a years-long restoration, the unique device that recorded hits like "Come Together" and "Here Comes the Sun" is now fully functional | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 24 days ago

More Than One in Three Tree Species Around the Globe Are at Risk of Disappearing, New Report Finds

An assessment from the International Union for Conservation of Nature paints a grim picture of the extinction risk of the world's trees | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 24 days ago

'Found' Dataset Reveals Lost Maya City Full of Pyramids and Plazas, Hiding in Plain Sight Beneath a Mexican Forest

By analyzing an old lidar survey, researchers found evidence of more than 6,500 ancient structures in a previously unexplored area of Campeche | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 24 days ago

This Captivating Guide Uncovers the History and Mystery of Dinosaurs in 50 Fossils

A paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London chronicles the age of the famous and fascinating massive reptiles | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 24 days ago

New 'Paleo-Robots' Could Shed Light on Animal Evolution, Revealing How Some Fish Evolved to 'Walk' on Land

A team of roboticists, paleontologists and biologists are building robots to simulate crucial evolutionary developments that can’t be tested with static fossils | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 24 days ago

Scientists Think a Skeleton Found in a Well Is the Same Man Described in an 800-Year-Old Norse Text

The remains were discovered during excavations in 1938. Now, researchers have learned new information about his identity by analyzing DNA from his tooth | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 24 days ago

This 19th-Century 'Toy Book' Used Science to Prove That Ghosts Were Simply an Illusion

"Spectropia" demystified the techniques used by mediums who claimed they could speak to the dead, revealing the "absurd follies of Spiritualism" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 24 days ago

Is Depression Contagious?

The science about whether mental health conditions can spread socially is uncertain, but exposure to an affected peer can drive awareness | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

Archaeologists Unearth 'Astonishing' Wooden Spade, Preserved in an English Trench for 3,500 Years

While most wooden artifacts disintegrate after thousands of years, the newly unearthed oak tool has remained in remarkable condition | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

The 'World's Most Famous Grizzly' Was Killed by a Car. Was Her Death Preventable?

Grizzly 399 became a celebrity of Grand Teton National Park in her lifetime. Now, her death has drawn attention to wildlife-vehicle collisions and how they might be reduced | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

Maurizio Cattelan's Perishable Sculpture Drove Some Critics Bananas. Now, It Could Sell for $1.5 Million

The banana duct-taped to a wall was created to be a "reflection on what we value." An upcoming auction may deliver an answer | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

America's Oldest Living Person, Elizabeth Francis, Dies at 115. She Was a Supercentenarian and 'Houstonian Icon'

Since her birth in 1909, Francis lived through two world wars, segregation, the fall of the Soviet Union, multiple pandemics and the invention of the cellphone | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

This New York City Park Was Built on Top of a Cemetery

In the late 19th century, city officials turned the final resting place for 10,000 souls into what's now Greenwich Village’s James J. Walker Park | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

Archaeologists Discover Breathtaking Wall Paintings Frozen in Time Inside a Modest Home in Ancient Pompeii

Despite its unusually small size, the newly unearthed House of Phaedra is covered in elaborate frescos depicting mythological scenes | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

A 110-Year-Old Pickled Thylacine Head Helped Build the Most Complete Ancient Genome to Date, Says 'De-Extinction' Company

Colossal Biosciences reports it extracted DNA and RNA from the Tasmanian tiger specimen, a key step forward in its effort to create a modern proxy of the extinct species. Other scientists are calling for data to back up the claim | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 25 days ago

Biden Issues a 'Long Overdue' Formal Apology for Native American Boarding Schools

The president atoned for the federal government's role in forcing Native American children into boarding schools, where many were abused and more than 900 died | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 28 days ago

These Are Americans' Biggest Fears in 2024, as the Country Is 'Becoming More Afraid'

Government corruption, loved ones becoming ill or dying, cyberterrorism and nuclear weapons topped the list of Chapman University's annual survey | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 28 days ago

These Tiny Doodles May Be William Blake's Earliest Engravings, Overlooked for Nearly 250 Years

Using high-res scans, a researcher uncovered scribbled etchings likely made by the British poet and artist while working as a teenage apprentice engraver in the 1770s | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 28 days ago

A Giant Meteorite Ripped Up the Seafloor and Boiled Earth's Oceans 3.26 Billion Years Ago. Then, Life Blossomed in Its Wake

Geologists suggest the catastrophic impact of "S2" delivered key nutrients to the oceans, prompting microorganisms to thrive | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 28 days ago

New 'Portal' Opens in Philadelphia, Connecting Residents to Cities Around the World With Identical Installations

The looming sculpture features a small camera above an eight-foot-tall screen, which displays live video from Lithuania, Poland and Ireland | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 28 days ago

People Born Without a Sense of Smell Have Different Breathing Patterns, Study Finds

Study participants with lifelong anosmia sniffed less than those with a normal sense of smell. Future research could shed light on whether this has negative implications for their health | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 28 days ago

Archaeologists Map Two Forgotten Medieval Cities That Flourished Along the Silk Road in the Mountains of Central Asia

The new research could change history's understanding of the sprawling trade network that connected Europe and the Middle East to East Asia | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 28 days ago

Go Chasing Waterfalls With These 15 Awe-Inspiring Images

See photographs of the beautiful natural wonders from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 28 days ago

After Decades of Searching, Are Physicists Closing In on Dark Matter?

With no conclusive laboratory results, researchers are turning to other methods to find the elusive substance | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

From Prolonging Wallaby Pregnancies to Disorienting Hatchling Turtles, 11 Ways Artificial Lights Affect Animals

From the busy cities to ocean waters, our need to illuminate the world has had some strange and tragic consequences | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

Discover the Mysteries of Italy's Park of Monsters, a 16th-Century Garden Filled With Strange, Colossal Stone Creatures

The Sacro Bosco's meaning is the subject of debate, with scholars alternatively describing the sprawling complex as a memorial, an allegorical site or a tribute to ancient civilizations | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

An Astonishing Trove of Coins Dating to the Norman Conquest Just Became the Most Valuable Treasure Ever Found in Britain

The so-called Chew Valley Hoard, which just sold for a record $5.6 million, includes 2,584 coins featuring the likenesses of Harold II, William the Conqueror and Edward the Confessor | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

Polar Bears Are Exposed to More Parasites, Viruses and Bacteria as the Arctic Heats Up

Pathogens are more common in polar bears living in the Chukchi Sea now than they were three decades ago, a new study suggests—but it's not yet clear what that means for the mammals' health | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

He Escaped Slavery and Became a Civil War Hero. Now, Robert Smalls Is Getting a Statue in South Carolina

A special committee has until January 15 to finalize the design, location and funding for a monument that will be erected on the lawn of the South Carolina State House | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

A Massive, Mysterious 'Ghost' Fish, Feared Extinct for Nearly 20 Years, Has Been Rediscovered in Cambodia

The giant salmon carp was formally identified in 1991, and since then, fewer than 30 individuals had been documented | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

The Creepy Doll Contest Is Back—and It's Time to Cast Your Vote for the Most Terrifying Toy

Step right up and see the spooky circus dolls—from creepy clowns to frightening fortune-tellers—in a Minnesota museum's vintage toy collection | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

Salmon Make a Long-Awaited Return to the Klamath River for the First Time in 112 Years, After Largest Dam Removal in U.S.

Chinook salmon spark excitement among local Klamath Tribes, who have advocated for decades to restore the flow of the river in California and Oregon | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

Amateur Historian Discovers Lost Story by 'Dracula' Author Bram Stoker Hiding in Plain Sight at a Dublin Library

History forgot about "Gibbet Hill" for more than a century—until a fan of the Gothic horror writer stumbled upon the haunting tale at the National Library of Ireland | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 29 days ago

Readers Respond to the September/October 2024 Issue

Your feedback on the First Continental Congress, Douglas MacArthur and England's tangled history | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

When the Nazis Seized Power, This Jewish Actor Took on the Role of His Life

After he was forced off the German stage in 1934 by antisemitic hecklers, Leo Reuss found a daring way to hide in plain sight | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

These Rare Artifacts Tell Medieval Women's Stories in Their Own Words

A new exhibition at the British Library explores the public, private and spiritual lives of such figures as Joan of Arc, Christine de Pizan and Hildegard of Bingen | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Amateur Mathematician Discovers the Largest Known Prime Number, With More Than 41 Million Digits

Called M136279841, the value belongs to a rare class of prime numbers called Mersenne primes and was found using a supercomputer system spread across 17 countries | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Before He Created His Vibrant Drip Paintings, Jackson Pollock Took Inspiration From Pablo Picasso

A new exhibition in Paris demonstrates the influence that the Spanish artist had on the young American painter who would help usher in the Abstract Expressionist movement | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

The Enterprising Woman Who Built—and Lost, and Rebuilt—a Booming Empire During the Klondike Gold Rush

With flinty perseverance and a golden touch, Belinda Mulrooney earned an unlikely fortune in the frozen north and reshaped the Canadian frontier | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Four Unreleased Jimi Hendrix Demo Recordings Billed as 'Better Than the Originals' Are Going Up for Sale

Created in London in the 1960s, the tracks are heading to auction as part of a larger collection of memorabilia connected to the famous American guitarist | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Is Scurvy Making a Comeback? Two Recent Cases Highlight How the Illness Can Appear in the Modern World

Scurvy diagnoses in Australia and Canada suggest doctors should consider testing for vitamin C deficiency in patients experiencing poverty, food insecurity and social isolation | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

In a First, Scientists Find Animals Thriving Beneath the Ocean Floor in Hidden Habitats Near Deep-Sea Vents

The discovery of worms and snails confirms that these still-mysterious, dark hotspots of life extend beyond what’s visible above the crust | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Asheville's Biltmore Estate Will Reopen for the Holidays After Sustaining Damage From Hurricane Helene

The sprawling estate, which is the largest privately owned home in the country, will open its doors in November after a month-long closure | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Bionic 'Pilots' Compete for the Gold at the Cybathlon

In the international competition, people with physical disabilities put state-of-the-art devices to the test as they race to complete the tasks of everyday life | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Even as A.I. Technology Races Ahead, the Prehistoric Science of Wildlife Tracking Is Making a Comeback

Humans perfected how to identify wild animals over millennia, and now biologists are rediscovering the exceptional worth of the tracks and marks left behind | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

How the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Went From Its Modest Start to an American Tradition Rivaling Stuffing and Pumpkin Pie

A century on, the country’s most beloved Thursday spectacle reaches new heights | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago

Fossils Reveal the Face of an Extinct Nine-Foot-Long 'Millipede,' the Largest Arthropod to Ever Live

Scientists in France solved the evolutionary mystery of this prehistoric monster, which resembles both the centipedes and millipedes of today | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 month ago