New Study Identifies Mysterious Boats Painted in Australian Cave

Researchers say the rock art may be a record of "fighting craft" from present-day Indonesia | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Rare Roman Mausoleum Unearthed in London

Archaeologists say it's the most intact structure of its kind ever found in Britain | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Nine Ways People Celebrate the Summer Solstice Around the World

Across the Northern Hemisphere, worshippers of the longest day of the year build bonfires, plunge into the ocean and visit prehistoric monuments | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

These Long-Necked Marine Reptiles Were Decapitated

Tanystropheus fossils reveal how predators may have snapped the creatures' necks with a powerful, swift bite from above | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Red Knot Shorebird Numbers Rise in New Jersey

An independent survey counted 22,000 of the federally threatened birds, up from a historic low of 6,880 in 2021 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Bronze Age Cemetery Discovered Near Stonehenge

Archaeologists found graves and artifacts while preparing land for a new subdivision in southern England | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

How an 1800s Midwife Solved a Poisonous Mystery

For decades before Doctor Anna’s discovery, “milk sickness” terrorized the Midwest, killing thousands of Americans on the frontier | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Reef Sharks Are Disappearing Around the World

A massive new study found a staggering decline of these top predators, which help balance vulnerable coral reef ecosystems and their food chains | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

A Massive Archive Tells the Story of Early African American Photographers

Arresting portraits, now a part of the Smithsonian collections, illuminate the little-known role these artists played in chronicling 19th-century life | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Scientists Find Phosphorus—a Key Element for Life—on a Saturn Moon

This is the last of six essential elements for life to be detected on Enceladus, giving the strongest indication yet that its ocean is habitable | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

See Charles III's Childhood Drawings

Made by a young Charles in the '50s, the crayon and pencil illustrations sold for thousands at auction | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

What Is Eclampsia? Olympian Tori Bowie May Have Died From the Rare Pregnancy Condition

The 4x100 gold medalist died in May, bringing attention to high maternal mortality rates among Black women in the United States | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Mural Honors Victims of Pulse Nightclub Shooting

Artist Michael Pilato has been working on the 44-foot-long commemorative artwork since 2017 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Gustav Klimt's Final Artwork Could Become Europe's Most Expensive Painting

Completed soon before the artist's death in 1918, "Lady With Fan" could fetch as much as $80 million | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Fall Covid-19 Boosters Should Target New Variants, FDA Advisers Say

The shots would no longer take aim at the virus's original strain, which experts say is not likely to return | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Secrets Still Smolder at One of the World's Most Active Volcanoes

A century after one of Mount Etna's many notable eruptions, scientists are more eager than ever to study the peak's frequent bursts of fiery fury | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Louisiana Army Base Formerly Named for Confederate General Now Honors Black WWI Hero

Sergeant Henry Johnson received a posthumous Medal of Honor recognizing his bravery in battle in France | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Move Over, Freeze-Dried Fruitcake—Here's the Latest in Astronaut Food

Eight companies developing next-generation space meals have advanced to the final round of competition in a contest co-sponsored by NASA | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

These Five Routes Help You Explore Germany’s Historic Cities Like a Local

Each of these off-the-beaten-track destinations offer up culture rich experiences, walkable neighborhoods and a quintessential slice of German life | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

An Easy Way to Get Clean Energy—Without Rooftop Solar Panels

With CleanChoice Energy, these impactful renewable energy solutions are more accessible than you think. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Divers Are About to Pull a 3,000-Year-Old Shipwreck From the Depths

Found off of Croatia, the handsewn vessel will be the subject of extensive study once its back on dry land | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Celebrating 75 Years of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

The vast, eclectic public archive of American music—and other sounds—is featured on a new episode of the Sidedoor podcast | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

These 12,000-Year-Old Flutes Mimic the Sound of Prehistoric Birds

The remnants of seven small bird bone instruments were discovered in northern Israel | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Wolves Are Making a Comeback at Michigan's Isle Royale National Park

Since their reintroduction in 2018, the wolves have rebounded from just two inbred individuals to 31 healthy animals | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

These Prehistoric Dolphins Had Tusk-Like Teeth

The animals likely thrashed their heads back and forth to injure or stun prey with their unusual, horizontal teeth | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Beatles Will Release One Last Song

Paul McCartney revealed this week that the new record will include A.I.-generated vocals from John Lennon | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

What the Largest-Ever Study of Primate DNA Reveals About Ourselves

The findings cover not only conservation and primate evolution, but also human health and diseases | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The 150-Year-Old Comstock Act Could Transform the Abortion Debate

Once considered a relic of moral panics past, the 1873 law criminalized sending "obscene, lewd or lascivious" materials through the mail | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

How a Jungle Prison Became a Famous Spaceport

An anthropologist explains how the South American launch site for the James Webb Space Telescope evolved | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Behind the Bleak, Beautiful Stories of Cormac McCarthy

The writer, who died this week at age 89, was an unflinching chronicler of humanity's brutality | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Archaeologists Uncover Earliest Evidence of Modern Humans in Southeast Asia

The fossils from a cave in Laos, which date to between 68,000 and 86,000 years ago, challenge several ideas about early human migration | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Why Thousands of Dead Fish Washed Ashore in Texas

Conditions created a "perfect storm" that robbed the water of dissolved oxygen near the coast | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Space Travel Can Change Astronauts' Brains for Years

Fluid-filled cavities in the brain expand during spaceflight, and a new study shows that astronauts may need three years to recover | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Could You Decode a Message From Aliens?

An artist is challenging researchers and amateurs alike to practice parsing an extraterrestrial communication | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Prayer Book Owned by Thomas Cromwell, Adviser to Henry VIII, Was Hidden in Plain Sight for Centuries

The Book of Hours appears in a famous painting of the Tudor statesman | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Seven Ways to Explore Space Without Leaving Earth

From astronaut training sites to working spaceports, these spots across the United States put a terrestrial spin on space travel | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Enslaved by George Washington, This Man Escaped to Freedom—and Joined the British Army

Harry Washington fought for his enslaver's enemy during the American Revolution. Later, he migrated to Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

First Rabid Moose Recorded in Alaska Was Stumbling Through a Town

The large mammal likely contracted the virus from a fox, say wildlife officials | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Meet the Lifeguard Dogs Watching Over Beachgoers in Maine

Buoy and Beacon are trained to help human lifeguards rescue swimmers at Scarborough Beach State Park | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Ancient Romans Used These Tweezers to Remove Body Hair

A new exhibition explores Roman hair removal practices—and showcases 50 pairs of ancient tweezers | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Fisherman Reels in 'Monster' Nine-Foot Catfish in Italy

The behemoth, found in the Po River, may have set a world record for the longest catch-and-release catfish | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Smoke From Wildfires in Canada Traveled As Far As Norway

Though air quality has improved along the East Coast, smoke particles are floating through the atmosphere to other parts of the world | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

What Disney Theme Parks Tell Us About Ourselves

An American History Museum exhibition looks at how the resorts have changed over time to reflect a broader image of what it means to be American | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Could You Survive the Black Death, the Sack of Rome and Other Historical Catastrophes?

A new book advises readers how to successfully navigate deadly disasters of the past | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Octopuses Can Rewire Their Brains to Brave Chilly Waters

To handle changing temperatures, the cephalopods make "astounding" RNA edits, researchers find | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Could This Convertible Seat Improve Air Travel for Wheelchair Users?

If adopted, a new prototype would allow passengers to remain in their own wheelchairs on flights | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Why Did the Romans Cover Bodies With Gypsum?

Researchers are using 3D scanning technology to learn more about the plaster casts | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

El Niño Has Arrived

The natural climate pattern usually increases global temperatures and could lead to record-breaking heat | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago