Jon Fosse Wins the Nobel Prize in Literature for Work Probing 'Human Anxiety and Ambivalence'

The dramatist and author is the first-ever laureate in the prize's history to write in Nynorsk, a written form of the Norwegian language | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Rare 1,000-Year-Old Brooch Goes on Display in England

A metal detectorist unearthed the silver and copper artifact on a farm in Somerset in 2020 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Climate Change Is Pushing Many of the World's Amphibians Closer to Extinction

Just over 40 percent of amphibian species are at risk of going extinct, and humans' fossil fuel use is partly to blame, according to a new assessment | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Oldest Fossilized Human Footprints in North America Are 23,000 Years Old, Study Reaffirms

The find leads to questions about the timing of human migration to the continent | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Who Were the Taíno, the Original Inhabitants of Columbus’ Island Colonies?

The Native people of Hispaniola were long believed to have died out. But a journalist's search for their descendants turned up surprising results | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Who Were the Taíno, the Original Inhabitants of Columbus’ Island Colonies?

The Native people of Hispaniola were long believed to have died out. But a journalist's search for their descendants turned up surprising results | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

After Federal Investigation, United Airlines Agrees to Make Changes for Travelers With Wheelchairs

The "lengthy" U.S. Department of Transportation investigation examined the airline's mishandling of a passenger's wheelchair | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Scientists Have Created Synthetic Sponges That Soak Up Microplastics

Made from starch and gelatin, the biodegradable sponges remove as much as 90 percent of microplastics in tap water and seawater | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

New 'Giant' Species of Long-Necked Dinosaur Discovered in Spain

The prehistoric creature, named Garumbatitan morellensis, may help paleontologists unravel the evolution of the plant-eating sauropods | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

A Brief History of Banned Books in America

Attempts to restrict what kids in school can read are on the rise. But American book-banning started with the Puritans, 140 years before the United States | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Singapore Safely Detonates a World War II-Era Bomb Unearthed at a Construction Site

Historians say Japanese forces may have dropped it during a critical battle in 1942 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Stevie Nicks Gets Her Own Barbie Doll

The new doll is inspired by the legendary performer's appearance on the cover of "Rumours" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

In a First, the FCC Fines a Satellite Company for Abandoning Space Debris

The television provider DISH failed to remove a retired satellite far enough from its previous orbit, according to a statement from the commission | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Explaining the Colorful Quantum Discoveries That Earned the Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov won the award for their work developing tiny “quantum dots” that light TV displays and enable medical imaging | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Academy Will Replace Hattie McDaniel's Missing Oscar

McDaniel became the first Black actor to win an Oscar in 1940, but the award went missing several decades later | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

This Black Football Player Was Fatally Injured During a Game. A Century Later, a College Stadium Bears His Name

Rival athletes trampled Jack Trice during his "first real college game." He died two days later at age 21 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Scientists Studying High-Speed Electrons With Lasers Win Nobel Prize in Physics

Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier created pulses of light so short that they can be used to observe the behavior of electrons | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

A Look Inside Wildlife Crime Scene Investigators

Scientists are using the latest in DNA fingerprinting to combat the multibillion-dollar business of trafficking plants and animals | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Folk Icon Joan Baez Sings a Song of Herself

After decades in the limelight, the American folk artist who spent a career exposing the world’s problems explores her own past | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Mysterious Planet-Like Objects in the Orion Nebula Are Baffling Astronomers

The James Webb Space Telescope has observed dozens of Jupiter-mass, often paired objects, nicknamed JuMBOs, raising questions about how they formed | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

New Ballet Takes on Black Sabbath, the Genre-Defining Heavy Metal Band

“Black Sabbath: The Ballet” honors the legendary band that formed in Birmingham, England | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Why Do Orcas Keep Harassing Porpoises?

An endangered group of killer whales in the Pacific Northwest has been toying with porpoises for decades—and new research offers some possible explanations | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

You Can Stay in a Recreation of Shrek's Swamp in Scotland

The treehouse sits on a historic estate that's been used in "The Crown," "Outlander" and more | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

London's Historic Old War Office Building Becomes a Luxury Hotel

The building is connected to Winston Churchill, Ian Fleming and other famous figures | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Viruses Found in Animal Poop May One Day Treat Diabetic Foot Ulcers, Scientists Say

Known as bacteriophages, the specialized viruses could hijack and kill drug-resistant bacteria | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

How This Small Nonprofit Helped Save California’s Elephant Seals

Volunteers with Friends of the Elephant Seal educate tourists to prevent conflicts, inspire awe and keep the marine mammals safe | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Amber Cowan's Dioramas of Vintage Glass Will Transport You to Whimsical Worlds

The artist’s novel take on contemporary glasswork earned her the Smithsonian Women’s Committee 2023 Delphi Award | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Pokémon Takes Over the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam

The franchise and the 19th-century Dutch master both took inspiration from Japanese art | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Archaeologists Uncover 9,500-Year-Old Woven Baskets and Europe's Oldest Sandals

Items found in a Spanish cave are older than previously thought, a new study suggests, calling into question "simplistic assumptions" about early humans | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Secret World War II-Era Tunnels Could Become a London Tourist Attraction

Built as a shelter during the London Blitz, the subterranean network could open as an immersive experience | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Ex-Secret Service Agent's Account of JFK's Assassination Could Cast Doubt on 'Lone Gunman' Theory

Paul Landis' new book refutes the idea that a single bullet injured both the president and Texas Governor John B. Connally Jr. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Nobel Prize in Medicine Honors Two Scientists Who Enabled mRNA Vaccines

Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman discovered a way to edit mRNA so it could be used in vaccines without getting attacked and destroyed by the body | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Two 1,800-Year-Old Roman Cavalry Swords Unearthed in England

The long, slender weapons were likely carried by Roman soldiers on horseback | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

A Massive, Two-Fault Earthquake May Have Struck the Pacific Northwest 1,100 Years Ago

The region needs to be prepared for the possibility of more intense quakes than previously thought, a new study of tree rings finds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

How America's First Banned Book Survived and Became an Anti-Authoritarian Icon

The Puritans outlawed Thomas Morton's "New English Canaan" because it was critical of the society they were building in colonial New England | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Smithsonian Acquires Major Works by and About Phillis Wheatley

The stunning trove of texts sheds new light on Wheatley, the first African American to publish a book of poetry | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Dugong Populations Are Declining in the Great Barrier Reef, Study Finds

Destruction of seagrass habitats and "indiscriminate" gillnet fishing have both contributed to the marine mammals' dropping numbers, scientists say | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

England's Beloved Sycamore Gap Tree Has Been Chopped Down

Authorities arrested a 16-year-old boy on Thursday in connection with the felling | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

New Patch Inspired by Octopus Suckers Could Deliver Drugs Without Needles

Medicine-filled suction cups attached to the inside of the cheek could be an effective alternative to oral tablets or injections, study finds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Parasitic, Invasive Worm Found in Rats in Georgia

While the worm can sicken people, few human infections have been reported in the U.S., and it typically doesn’t require treatment | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

New 'Little Prince' Statue Sits Near Central Park and Gazes Up at the Stars

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote and illustrated much of the beloved novella while living in the city in the 1940s | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

These 15 Photos Capture the Beauty of Italy

Scenes from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest prove there’s always more to love about the bel paese | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The World's Largest and Smelliest Flower Is at Risk of Extinction, Scientists Say

Researchers are calling for urgent protections for corpse flowers in the Rafflesia genus, which live only in remote rainforests of Southeast Asia | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

What Did These Two Ticket Holders See on the Night of Abraham Lincoln's Assassination?

A rare pair of Ford's Theatre tickets—for seats across from the president's box—have sold for $262,500 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Flamingos Spotted in Wisconsin for First Time on Record Amid String of Rare Appearances

Following Hurricane Idalia, the conspicuous pink birds have been sighted in at least 11 states where they don’t typically live | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

See the Face of a Bronze Age Woman Who Lived in Scotland 4,000 Years Ago

A forensic artist created a facial reconstruction based on the skeletal remains of a woman who died in her late 20s or early 30s | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

See the Last Supermoon of 2023 Illuminate the Night Sky Thursday

This special type of full moon, which will be slightly larger and brighter than usual, will not occur again until fall 2024 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

With Renovated Galleries, the Smithsonian Expands Its Approach to Contemporary American Art

The historic hall in the American Art Museum where President Abraham Lincoln held his second inaugural ball welcomes more diverse voices and visions | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago