Archaeologists Criticize Alleged Discovery of the 'Oldest Pyramid in the World'

A controversial study arguing an Indonesian structure is 25,000 years old is under investigation by the journal that published it | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Lead Base Layer Discovered in Rembrandt’s 'The Night Watch'

Researchers analyzed a tiny paint sample from the piece and found a lead-rich layer on the canvas | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

The Books We Loved

Smithsonian editors choose their favorite (mostly) nonfiction of (mostly) 2023 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Humans May Have Driven Twice as Many Bird Species to Extinction as Previously Thought

Statistical modeling of undiscovered extinctions suggests 1,430 bird species have disappeared during modern human history | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

First Section of Mexico's Controversial Maya Train Opens

The rail system, built to connect tourist destinations, has been criticized for endangering archaeological and environmental sites | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

See the James Webb Telescope's Stunning New Image of Uranus With Its Rings and Moons Clearer Than Ever

The gleaming ice giant could soon become a top priority for exploration | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Rich or Poor, Uzbeks Eat Plov

The beloved medley of rice and meat is the national dish of Uzbekistan | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2023

From an asteroid sample that was delivered to Earth to a discovery about human migration from North America, these were the biggest moments of the year | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Federal Judge Allows Removal of Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery

The Defense Department had mandated that the monument be dismantled by January 1, 2024 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

How the Women of the North Platte Canteen Fed Six Million Soldiers During World War II

Volunteers based out of a Nebraska train station offered American troops encouragement and free food, including birthday cakes and popcorn balls | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

The Met Will Repatriate 16 Artifacts to Cambodia and Thailand

The looted objects are tied to the notorious art dealer Douglas Latchford | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Chimpanzees and Bonobos May Remember Faces for More Than 20 Years

The great apes, which are humans' closest living relatives, appeared to recognize photos of their former acquaintances in a study, even decades later | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Volcano Erupts in Iceland After Weeks of Earthquake Activity

On Monday night, plumes of lava and ash blasted more than 330 feet into the air | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

103-Year-Old Artificial Christmas Tree Sells for Over $4,000

The tree was originally purchased for 8-year-old Dorothy Grant in 1920 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

The Surprising Possibilities of See-Through Wood

Stronger than plastic and tougher than glass, the resin-filled material is being exploited for smartphone screens, insulated windows and more | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Lillian Vernon’s Catalog Empire Got Its Start at a Kitchen Table

A keen sense of what shoppers wanted made her eponymous company the first woman-owned business on the American Stock Exchange | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

How Seabirds Can Help Us Predict the Size of Fish Stocks

The scientists who study terns, puffins and other birds are trying to get fisheries managers to heed their warnings | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Melatonin Use Is Rising in U.S. Children, Study Finds

Nearly one in five children under 14 are being given melatonin before bed, according to a survey of about 1,000 parents | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Father and Daughter Discover 152-Year-old Shipwreck While Fishing in Green Bay

Tim and Henley Wollak found what is likely the wreck of the "George L. Newman," which sank during the Great Peshtigo Fire of 1871 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

She Bought a $3.99 Vase at Goodwill. It Just Sold for $107,100

A thrifter in Virginia snagged a rare work from renowned Italian artist Carlo Scarpa | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Notre-Dame Gets New Spire and Golden Rooster

The return of these two distinctive features marks a poignant milestone in the cathedral's reconstruction | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Like Dogs, Some Cats Will Play Fetch—but Mostly on Their Own Terms

Many felines appear to pick up the playful behavior spontaneously, without any explicit training, a survey of cat owners finds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

The Best Board Games of 2023

In this year's tabletop favorites, play as bees in space, Chinese emperors, fox breeders, women suffragists, fashionistas and much more | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Meet a Dozen Lesser-Known Christmas Characters, From Mr. Jingeling to Uncle Mistletoe

Created as department store marketing tools, many of these seasonal figures became beloved holiday traditions | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

'Hallucinate' Is Dictionary.com's Word of the Year for 2023

In the context of artificial intelligence, the word means "to produce false information" and "present it as if true" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

NASA's Voyager 1 Is Glitching, Sending Nonsense From Interstellar Space

The aging spacecraft, launched in 1977, is transmitting a gibberish pattern of ones and zeros back to Earth | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Tiny 'Robots' Made From Human Cells Show Wound-Healing Potential

The so-called "anthrobots" can self-assemble and move on their own, and they prompted damaged neurons to regenerate in a recent study | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Life-Sparking Gas Strengthens Evidence That Enceladus, a Moon of Saturn, Could Be Habitable

Evidence of hydrogen cyanide in data from the Cassini spacecraft adds to a growing list of molecules that could, in theory, support life on the icy moon | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Lost Poem by 'Big Sleep' Author Raymond Chandler Found in a Shoebox

A magazine editor discovered the work among the papers his family donated to the University of Oxford | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Broadway's 'How to Dance in Ohio' Stars Seven Autistic Actors

The musical is loosely based on a 2015 documentary of the same name | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Why Most Pregnant People Experience Morning Sickness—and How It Could Be Treated

A hormone produced by the fetus may induce nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, a new study finds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Appreciate Awesome Architecture With These 15 Photos

No passport is needed for this virtual tour of beautiful buildings around the world | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

This 'Extremely Rare' Bird Is Half Female, Half Male

The green honeycreeper is only the second of its species ever observed with this condition—and the first recorded in more than 100 years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

These Ten Brilliant Portraits Illuminate Ocean Creatures' Nighttime Antics

Blackwater photographer Steven Kovacs takes spectacular shots of marine animals, helping scientists study tiny larval fish | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

The Many Myths of the Boston Tea Party

Contrary to popular belief, the 1773 protest opposed a tax break, not a tax hike. And it didn't immediately unify the colonies against the British | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Paddington Will Take Center Stage in Musical Adaptation

The beloved bear dressed in a blue duffle coat and red hat is set to sing and dance with the Brown family in 2025 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

This Photographer Captured One Image of Cambridge Every Day for 13 Years

After 5,000 photos, Martin Bond has decided to conclude his project, which showcased the city's mundane and extraordinary moments | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Neanderthal DNA May Help Explain Why Some People Are Early Risers

A new study finds a link between Neanderthal DNA and modern human genes related to the internal body clock, or circadian rhythm | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

'Home Alone,' 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' and More Join the National Film Registry

Twenty-five films were chosen based on their "cultural, historic or aesthetic" importance | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

The Ten Best Children's Books of 2023

This year’s top titles include an art history primer, a collection of silly poems and a mathematical word problem in disguise | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

How 'Schindler's List' Transformed Americans' Understanding of the Holocaust

The 1993 film also inspired its director, Steven Spielberg, to establish a foundation that preserves survivors' stories | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

When Your Great-Great-Great-Grandfather Is a Civil War Hero

Can recreating photographs from the 19th century connect a family to its lost heritage? | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Italian Opera Singing Is Now Protected by the U.N.

UNESCO announced 55 new additions to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Nations Agree to 'Transition Away From Fossil Fuels' in Landmark Climate Deal

The agreement, which ended the COP28 climate conference, is not legally binding, but it's the first to explicitly call for moving away from fossil fuels | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Is 'The Boy and the Heron' Really Hayao Miyazaki’s Last Film?

Following many failed attempts to retire, the legendary animator has released a new semi-autobiographical feature | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

Cats Prey on More Than 2,000 Different Species

A new study sheds light on just how many creatures domestic cats will eat—including hundreds that are threatened or endangered | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

What the Color Purple Means to Oprah Winfrey

A new Shawn Michael Warren portrait of the legendary talk show host is now on view at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago

James Webb Telescope Captures Image of Supernova That 'Absolutely Shattered' a Star

The new image gives astronomers a near-infrared look at the stellar explosion called Cassiopeia A, located around 11,000 light years away from Earth | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 11 months ago