Rare Gold Coin Celebrating Julius Caesar's Death Returned to Greece

Minted in 42 B.C.E., the looted coin broke auction records in 2020 when it sold for $4.2 million | Continue reading


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Frederick Jackson Turner’s thesis informed decades of scholarship and culture. Then he realized he was wrong | Continue reading


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T. Rex Had Lips That Concealed Its Teeth, Study Says

Paleontologists say popular, toothy depictions of the dinosaur may have missed the mark | Continue reading


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Archaeologists Discover 2,000 Mummified Ram Skulls in Temple of Ramses II

The skulls were likely left as offerings about 1,000 years after the pharaoh's death | Continue reading


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When President Ulysses S. Grant Was Arrested for Speeding in a Horse-Drawn Carriage

The sitting commander in chief insisted the Black police officer who cited him not face punishment for doing his duty | Continue reading


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The Island Where New York City Buries Its Unclaimed Dead Is Becoming a Park

More than one million people have been buried on Hart Island, which will open to visitors later this year | Continue reading


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Scientists Find Water in Glass Beads From the Moon

This means the lunar surface could hold up to 300 billion tons of water, a new study estimates | Continue reading


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Ancient DNA Confirms the Origin Story of the Swahili People

Medieval individuals in the coastal East African civilization had almost equal parts African and Asian ancestry, a new study finds | Continue reading


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The Forgotten History of Tsianina Redfeather, the Beloved American Indian Opera Singer

A portrait of the performer debuts in the exhibition “Entertainment Nation” | Continue reading


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14 Fun Facts About Dungeons & Dragons

Before watching the new movie adaptation, here's what you need to know about the history of the fantasy role-playing game | Continue reading


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The Ethics of Creating A.I.-Generated Images of Public Figures

Viral pictures of Pope Francis wearing a trendy white puffer coat were fabricated with A.I., but tricked internet users across the globe | Continue reading


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Two Hundred Rare Chanel Looks Are Coming to London This Fall

"Gabrielle Chanel: Fashion Manifesto" is the first retrospective of the iconic designer's work staged by a major British museum | Continue reading


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This Massive Meatball Was Made With Woolly Mammoth DNA

Meant to be more sustainable than animal meat, this lab-grown alternative might offer a glimpse into the future of food production | Continue reading


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Why Did Old Masters Use Eggs in Oil Paintings?

A new study explores how artists may have added yolk to alter the properties of their paints | Continue reading


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Could Gut Bacteria Impact Your Motivation to Exercise?

In a study of mice, researchers show their microbiomes play a role in how much they run and how quickly they grow fatigued | Continue reading


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Behind 'Oklahoma!' Lies the Remarkable Story of a Gay Cherokee Playwright

Lynn Riggs wrote the play that served as the basis of the hit 1943 musical | Continue reading


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Crowds Roared, a Century Ago, on Opening Day for the Mighty House That Ruth Built

An original Yankee Stadium ticket booth recalls the story of that first game, which featured a thundering three-run homer from the Great Bambino | Continue reading


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History Forgot Minerva Parker Nichols, the Country's First Solo Woman Architect

A new exhibition celebrates the pioneering designer, who opened her own practice in the late 1880s | Continue reading


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Fighting Fire With Fire in California

How communities in the West are boldly setting property ablaze to reduce the impact of extreme wildfires | Continue reading


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At Long Last, Mathematicians Have Found a Shape With a Pattern That Never Repeats

Experts have searched for decades for a polygon that only makes non-repeating patterns. But no one knew it was possible until now | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Kitchen Renovation Reveals 400-Year-Old Paintings in English Apartment

The two nine-foot paintings depict scenes from a 17th-century book of poetry | Continue reading


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Paleontologists Uncover Fossil Impressions of Giant, Alligator-Like Amphibians

The find reveals how the creatures swam and relaxed in prehistoric waterways | Continue reading


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Black Widow Spiders Are Being Killed off by Non-Native Brown Widows

Despite their reputation as fearsome predators, black widows are on the defensive due to attacks by their cousins, a study shows | Continue reading


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The Museum of Failure Celebrates Some of the World's Biggest Flops

Now on view in New York City, the traveling exhibition presents failure as a critical learning opportunity | Continue reading


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Long Before Jazz, Frank Johnson Was Playing the Hottest Music in America

The innovations of a forgotten genius who laid the groundwork for the nation's signature music | Continue reading


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Clues to the Lives of North America's First Inhabitants Are Hidden Underwater

Submerged prehistory holds insights on the first humans to live in North America | Continue reading


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Have Any Animals Evolved to Adapt to Human Activity?

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts | Continue reading


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See How History's Great Artists Painted Their Dogs

A new exhibition showcases portraits of pets by the likes of Leonardo da Vinci and David Hockney | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

See How History's Great Artists Painted Their Dogs

A new exhibition showcases portraits of pets by the likes of Leonardo da Vinci and David Hockney | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Were Scientists Duped by a Plastic Shark Toy?

Researchers withdrew a report of a rare and elusive goblin shark spotted in Greece after their peers raised concerns about the alleged discovery | Continue reading


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Fish May Sense Each Other's Fear

Zebrafish respond when their peers act afraid, an ability regulated by the same hormone that drives human empathy, a new study shows | Continue reading


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The Enduring Influence of Hokusai's 'Great Wave'

A rare early print of the iconic image sold for a record-breaking $2.8 million at auction | Continue reading


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The Live Oak Tree Has Withstood the Ravages of History

Majestic and sturdy, the icon of the American South has offered protection time and again | Continue reading


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Winter Rains Bring Mushroom Boom in California

Fungi are popping up in numbers the West Coast may not see again for years | Continue reading


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Announcing the Winners of Smithsonian Magazine’s 20th Annual Photo Contest

From Norway to Nepal, this year’s winning images span the globe to capture the extraordinary | Continue reading


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How Dairy Farmers Are Turning Manure Into Money

These New Englanders have found a way to help the planet and covert more than 9,000 tons of cow waste annually into electricity | Continue reading


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The ISS Will Fall From the Sky After the End of the Decade. What Will Replace It?

As NASA plans to retire the orbiting laboratory, these four privately owned and operated space stations are under development | Continue reading


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Ai Weiwei Unveils Recreation of Monet's 'Water Lilies' Made Entirely of Legos

In a new exhibition, the renowned Chinese artist explores beauty, technology and growing up in exile | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

These Flesh-Eating Bacteria Are Thriving Because of Climate Change

New research finds that infections caused by Vibrio vulnificus have increased over the last 30 years and expanded to new geographic areas | Continue reading


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In Landmark Pledge, British Lawyers Say They Won't Act in the Interest of Fossil Fuels

The litigators refuse to represent new coal, oil and gas developments or prosecute peaceful climate protesters | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Smithsonian Curator Reveals New Details on an Egg From Sigourney Weaver’s Iconic ‘Alien’ Franchise

Get the inside scoop on the iconic prop, now on view in the exhibition “Entertainment Nation” | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

How to Watch Five Planets Align in the Night Sky This Week

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus will appear as if in a parade in the Western sky on Tuesday | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Biden Designates Two New National Monuments

In total, the protected areas across Nevada and Texas encompass 514,000 acres of public lands | Continue reading


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How the Fight for Birthright Citizenship Shaped the History of Asian American Families

Even after Wong Kim Ark successfully took his case to the Supreme Court 125 years ago, his children struggled to receive recognition as U.S. citizens | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Did Our Ancestors Actually Wield Clubs?

Inspired by pop culture depictions of cavepeople, an archaeologist searches for what is real and what is a myth | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

New York City's Iconic Flatiron Building Sells for $190 Million at Auction

The landmark hasn't been up for public auction since the Great Depression, when it sold for $100,000 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

Berlin Holds Funeral for Bone Fragments Linked to Nazi Research

Discovered in 2014, the remains of at least 54 victims were buried at a ceremony this week | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago

90-Year-Old Tortoise Fathers His First Offspring at Houston Zoo

Critically endangered radiated tortoises don’t reproduce often, so this is a win for the species | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 year ago