Bought for $6,000, Grime-Covered Windows Are Actually Tiffany—and Worth Up to $250,000 Each

When a Philadelphia church sold its stained glass windows to a collector, nobody knew how valuable they were | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Next Five Years Will Almost Certainly Be the Warmest on Record, U.N. Says

Earth is likely to pass 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming over pre-industrial levels, a key climate threshold, by 2027, according to a new report | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Bird Flu Vaccine Approved in Emergency Effort to Save California Condors

The virus has set back the endangered birds' recovery, but a newly hatched chick is flu-free and being raised by veterinarians | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

For the First Time in a Century, Paris Is Making the Seine Swimmable

The city's ambitious project will allow Olympians, and later the French public, to return to the famous river's waters | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

How a Rhinestone Cowboy From Ukraine Left His Mark on the Music World

Making his famous “Nudie suits,” tailor to the stars Nudie Cohn lived and breathed the bedazzled American dream | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

First Cases of Drug-Resistant Ringworm Found in the U.S.

The two patients—both in New York City—developed itchy rashes that did not go away with typical antifungal medications | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Ski Areas Reported More Visits Than Ever This Past Winter

Heavy snowfall—particularly in the Rocky Mountains—attracted record numbers of American skiers and snowboarders | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Pioneering Project Paying for Ghost Fishing Gear

A new program is rewarding shrimpers who collect and recycle derelict crab traps | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

How Artisans in Puerto Rico Sustain Native Culture

A photographer returns to his native island to document a handful of artists devoted to preserving its rich creative traditions | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The Illuminating Science Behind Fireflies

A dedicated ornithologist with a passion for lightning bugs scours bogs and beaches to discover previously unknown species | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Why Indiana Limestone Is One of America's Most Prized Building Materials

From the 19th century to today, a geological trove offers a strong foundation for the nation's cities | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

See 15 Breathtaking Shots From the Close-Up Photographer of the Year Challenge

This themed contest rewarded minimalism, with clean photographs of insects, spiders and plants earning accolades | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Auctioneer Unearths 'Exceptionally Rare' Rembrandt Portraits Lost Since 1824

The two small paintings depict a husband and wife who were personally close to the Dutch master | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Astronomers Identify the Largest-Ever Cosmic Explosion

The burst is ten times brighter than any known exploding star and has lasted for more than three years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Listen to Music Made From Yellowstone's Seismic Data

A scientist and a musician performed a live musical rendition of the park's underground rumblings | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Saturn May Have Just Won the 'Moon Race' With 62 More Discovered

It will likely reign supreme as our solar system's planet with the most moons from now on, astronomers say | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

See Tables Crafted From Human Tissue, a Toad With Eggs on Its Back and More at This London Museum

The newly reopened Hunterian Museum acknowledges the ethical quandaries posed by its collection of anatomical specimens | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Is This Endangered Orchid the Last of Its Kind?

Contemplating the portentous history and uncertain fate of an exceptionally rare flower | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

What Made Edna Lewis the Mother of Soul Food

The Virginia-born chef did more than anyone to elevate Southern food to haute cuisine | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

The World’s Most Grueling Race Journeys 1,000 Miles Down the Yukon

In a test of skill and courage, competitors navigate dangerous river rapids, narrow channels and rummaging bears in the wilds of Alaska and Canada | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Inside the First Deep-Sea Dive in History

In 1930, a colorful band of researchers in the Atlantic taught us how to plumb the ocean’s depths | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Archaeologists Uncover 400-Year-Old Skeleton in Sister Colony to Jamestown

The remains belong to a teenage boy buried at the historic city of St. Mary's, Maryland's first capital | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Archaeologists Discover Roman Camps in Jordan That May Indicate a Secret Military Invasion

The camps suggest the Roman takeover of the Nabataean kingdom may not have been as peaceful as previously thought | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Platypuses Return to Australia's Oldest National Park

The egg-laying mammals haven't been seen at the site since the 1970s, but scientists hope the newly released creatures can re-establish a population | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

14,000 Inactive Oil and Gas Wells Are Unplugged in the Gulf of Mexico

Capping these potential sources of methane could cost $30 billion. But targeting wells in shallow waters would have the highest impact, a new study finds | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

A Skin Patch Could Help Allergic Toddlers Tolerate Peanuts

Some young children with allergies could eat low doses of peanuts without a severe reaction after wearing the patch for a year in a clinical trial | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Artist Joseph Stella Painted Nature in Vibrant Color

Cities weren’t the only subject that fascinated this acclaimed Futurist | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

A New Neil Armstrong Film Makes One Giant Leap for Kindness

Smithsonian podcasts deliver doses of optimism this month, featuring Bill Nye and a story of a warm welcome from the astronaut’s family | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Anne Frank's Childhood Friend Recalls Their Years Before the Holocaust

After fleeing her native Germany, a young Jew found companionship and community as the Nazis approached | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Jars Found at Thrift Store Turn Out to Be Treasures From the Qing Dynasty

Bought for just $25, the 18th-century ceramics could fetch more than $60,000 at auction | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Why Actress Sarah Bernhardt Was the First Modern Celebrity

An exhibition in Paris revisits the life of the 19th-century thespian, who used the press to promote herself and eagerly capitalized on her fame | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Hammerhead Sharks Can 'Hold Their Breath,' A First for Fish

The sharks close their gills to stay warm while hunting in deep, frigid waters, new research suggests | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

'A Small Light' Tells the Story of Miep Gies, Who Hid Anne Frank From the Nazis

The new series dramatizes the risks Gies and other helpers took to protect the Jewish residents of the Secret Annex | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Researchers Reveal the 'Pangenome,' a More Diverse Look at Human DNA

The new version of the human genome could lead to better diagnostics and treatment of genetic diseases | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Wildfires in Canada Burn Close to One Million Acres

The current fire season has been unusually devastating for this early in the year—and more hot, dry weather is on the way | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Take a Radiating, Immersive Trip Into ‘Ay-O’s Happy Rainbow Hell’

The National Museum of Asian Art is the first U.S. museum to survey the vivid silkscreens from the 91-year-old Japanese artist | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Can Digital Psychiatry Really Fill the Mental Health Care Gap?

Thousands of new tools with unproven results are entering the fold to help Americans in need | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

MoMA Introduces Museumgoers to a Different Georgia O'Keeffe

A new exhibition dives into the artist's works on paper to gain a deeper understanding of her process | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

A.I. Could Soon Take Your Fast-Food Order

Wendy’s is testing a chatbot that can converse with customers, answer questions and send orders to the kitchen. Other chains are making similar moves | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

See the Breathtaking Ocean Life Found at Deep-Sea Vents

An international team of scientists discovered new hydrothermal vents along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge releasing mineral-rich water hot enough to melt lead | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Eight-Year-Old Norwegian Girl Discovers Neolithic Dagger at School Playground

The 3,700-year-old tool is made of flint, a material that doesn't occur naturally in the Scandinavian country | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

James Webb Telescope Reveals Asteroid Belts Around Nearby Young Star

The findings suggest the star Fomalhaut may have orbiting planets hidden among its rings of debris | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Seven Perfect Summer Spots for Tubing in the United States

From Hawaii to Michigan, these waterways offer slow floats with loads of nature and scenery to take in along the way | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

What Is Afrofuturism?

A new exhibition defines how artistry and activism over decades gave rise to the idea and promise of a future that could advance Black life | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Van Gogh Painting Gets a New Name Thanks to an Eagle-Eyed Chef

Ernst de Witte realized that the onions in "Red Cabbages and Onions" are actually garlic | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

This 19-Year-Old Biked From Alaska to Argentina

Liam Garner traveled nearly 20,000 miles and documented the journey on TikTok | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Did George Washington Order Rebels to Burn New York City in 1776?

A new book points out that the general was happy when the city burned and expressed regret that more of it was not destroyed during the fire | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

These Are America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places

The National Trust for Historic Preservation's annual list spotlights cultural sites facing a range of threats | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago