How Much Can a Giant Waterlily Hold? See One Carry 183 Pounds Before Sinking, Winning a Social Media Contest

Now in its third year, the Waterlily Weigh-Off invites public gardens and zoos to show off the strength of their aquatic plants | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

The Gun Linked to Emmett Till's Murder Is Now on Display at a Museum in Mississippi

The weapon is thought to have belonged to J.W. Milam, one of the two men who kidnapped, tortured and killed the Black teenager for whistling at a white woman in a grocery store in 1955 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Researchers Create Rechargeable, Glow-in-the-Dark Succulents

The team hopes their work, which is still in the early phases, might one day build the foundation for a novel sustainable lighting system | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

America's Largest-Ever Exhibition on Raphael Will Open at the Met Next Year

More than 200 of the Renaissance master's works will be on display in the landmark show, which debuts in March 2026 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Astronomers Spot a Rare Quadruple Star System in the Milky Way, Shedding Light on Mysterious Brown Dwarfs

The discovery can help astronomers better understand these little-known objects nicknamed “failed stars” | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Oldest Known Fossil of an Armored Ankylosaur Is 'Far Weirder' Than Paleontologists Expected

The 13-foot dinosaur, covered in long spikes fused into its bones, suggests ankylosaurs developed tail weapons 30 million years earlier than thought | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

A Veteran Pixar Animator’s Newest Book Is an Epic Undertaking That Began 5,000 Years Ago

Sanjay Patel enjoyed success on YouTube with his colorful shorts and is about to release a richly illustrated book that tells the story of the longest poem in the world | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

This Christian Cross Found in Abu Dhabi Illuminates the Lives of Monks Who Lived 1,400 Years Ago

Researchers discovered the intricately decorated artifact at an archaeological site near a seventh-century C.E. monastery on the island of Sir Bani Yas | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

The Japanese City Known for Making Knives That Are a Cut Above

Ninety percent of professional chefs in Japan buy their knives in Sakai. TikTok users are spreading the word, and demand is skyrocketing, as international tourists want in on the action | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

A Orangutan Sanctuary in Borneo Is Giving the Endangered Primates a Second Chance, Just When They Need it Most

The critically endangered species gets a helping hand from an Indonesian facility as the island's human population is about to explode | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Elusive Sailback Houndshark Rediscovered in Papua New Guinea After 50 Years

The creatures are occasionally caught by local fishermen but hadn’t been scientifically recorded since the 1970s | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Sharks' Teeth Could Suffer Damage as Ocean Acidification Intensifies, Study Suggests

Higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are leading to a drop in ocean pH, a change that might eventually make it harder for sharks to eat their prey | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

How a Spontaneous Food Fight Became La Tomatina, Spain's Annual Tomato-Throwing Festival

Thousands of people gathered in a small Spanish town this week for the event, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Where Did the Big Bang Happen? And More Questions From Our Readers

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


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Telescopes Reveal Surprising Chemistry of a Rare Interstellar Object Passing Through Our Solar System

Called 3I/ATLAS, the comet is only the third of its kind known to astronomers, and it’s likely been heading our way for billions of years, carrying pristine material from another star system | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

She Spent Three Weeks Digging for a Diamond for Her Engagement Ring—and Unearthed a 2.3-Carat Stunner

When Micherre Fox and her boyfriend decided to get married, she flew to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas to search for the diamond herself | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Two Years After Cormac McCarthy's Death, Rare Access to His Personal Library Reveals the Man Behind the Myth

The famously reclusive novelist amassed a collection of thousands of books ranging in topics from philosophical treatises to advanced mathematics to the naked mole-rat | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Early Humans Moved Stones Long Distances to Make Tools 600,000 Years Earlier Than Thought

A new study takes another look at some of the oldest known stone tools and suggests their makers transported materials for up to eight miles | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Archaeologists Are Digging Up Scotland's Very First Outdoor Skatepark

Kelvin Wheelies skatepark, which hosted the country's first national skateboarding competition, has been buried under rubble for decades | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

This Is What Our Thumbs Say About Our Brains, in a Pattern That Holds True for Other Primates

Researchers have found a link between long thumbs and big brains, suggesting the two features evolved together | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Twenty Years After Hurricane Katrina, Many of Us Are Still Missing All That We Lost—and Grappling With One of the Country’s Worst Disasters

In Louisiana, heat and hurricanes can feel like a generational curse. After two decades, an editor who grew up in the state remembers and reflects on Katrina | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Seasonal Waves Could Reach Some of Easter Island's Massive Moai Statues by 2080, New Study Suggests

Researchers warn that rising sea levels could cause flooding that will endanger the historically significant statues, which were created by the Rapa Nui people between roughly 1300 and 1600 C.E. | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

See the Rare 'Electric Blue' Lobster Found Off the Coast of Massachusetts

Meet Neptune, an American lobster with a vibrantly colored shell that results from a genetic mutation affecting pigmentation | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

A Man Noticed a Strange Shape on Satellite Images. It Turned Out to Be a 138-Year-Old Shipwreck in Lake Michigan

While sailing through a heavy blanket of fog, the "Frank D. Barker" went off course and ran into a limestone outcropping in October 1887 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Want to See the Original Lyrics for 'Over the Rainbow'? All You Need Is a Library Card

The Library of Congress has acquired a collection of musical manuscripts and other rare artifacts connected to "The Wizard of Oz" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

The Return of Plundered Heirlooms Offers a Chance for Healing to a Grieving Lakota Community 170 Years After a Long-Forgotten Massacre

In the conclusion of a long-awaited turn of events, the Great Plains tribe has now reclaimed cherished items stolen from their ancestors by the U.S. Army | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Last Known Surviving American Ace Pilot From World War II Dies at 103

Donald McPherson shot down five planes in the Pacific theater in the final years of the war, earning him the title of "ace" | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Migratory Flamingos Age Differently From Resident Ones, Offering a New Clue About Getting Old

A new study of the pink birds in France finds that aging sets in later for flamingos that migrate, though they face higher mortality in early adulthood | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Researchers Develop a 'Superfood' for Honeybees to Fight the Drastic Decline of Their Colonies

Bees fed an enriched yeast supplement saw 15 times more of their larvae reach the developmental stage right before adulthood, according to a new study | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Ancient Statues Emerge From the Waters Off Egypt's Coast, Where They'd Been Hiding for Thousands of Years

Several large sculptures were among the trove of artifacts that divers recovered from the waters near Alexandria, Egypt. Officials say the site may have been an extension of the nearby city of Canopus | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Astronomers Spot the Brightest Fast Radio Burst Ever Detected and Observe Stars Around Its Origin for the First Time

Using two telescopes, scientists were able to pinpoint the location of the fleeting phenomenon with surprising accuracy | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Reading for Pleasure Has Declined by a 'Deeply Concerning' 40 Percent Over the Past Two Decades

Between 2003 and 2023, the proportion of Americans who read for fun on a given day has been steadily falling, a new study suggests | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Strongheart the German Shepherd Catapulted to Fame for His Heroics in Silent Films. Later, Spiritualist Writings Immortalized Him in Death

The beloved dog starred in six movies during the Roaring Twenties. After Strongheart died in 1929, author J. Allen Boone chronicled their enduring connection in a pair of nonfiction books | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

French Official Rules That 1,000-Year-Old Bayeux Tapestry Isn't Too Fragile to Travel to London

The 230-foot-long medieval tapestry is scheduled to go on view at the British Museum next year, but critics worry that transporting the delicate artifact is too risky | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

World's Tallest Douglas Fir Tree Damaged in Mysterious, Multi-Day Blaze, but It's Alive After Firefighters Extinguish Flames

The fire started burning on August 16 and only affected a single tree—the historic Doerner Fir in southern Oregon. Authorities are still investigating the cause | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

College Sophomore Discovers New Origami Pattern That Could Be Used to Build Telescopes and Satellites

Based on the work of a student at Brigham Young University, origami theorists have unlocked a new set of patterns that could change space exploration | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

A Neolithic Cow's Tooth Helps Point to the Mysterious Origins of Stonehenge's Iconic Stones

Isotope analysis of a molar from a cow’s jawbone found buried at the monument provides details of the life story of the animal—and how it may relate to the construction of Stonehenge | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

To Save This Historic Church, Workers Loaded It Onto Trailers and Rolled It Across Town. See How They Pulled It Off

The 672.4-ton church is one of several buildings that have been relocated in the Swedish town of Kiruna, where Europe's largest underground iron ore mine is weakening the ground beneath the city center | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

A Unique Supernova 'Dazzled' Astronomers and Revealed the Inner Layers of Stars

Researchers observed a supernova in progress that showed the onion-like structure of elements in stars, and the explosion may belong to a class of its own | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Why Is Tetepare the South Pacific’s Largest Uninhabited Island?

Descendants of the island’s former inhabitants struggle to balance environmental conservation with sustaining their community’s livelihoods | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

These Lizards Have So Much Lead in Their Blood, They Should Be Dead. Instead, They're Thriving

Brown anoles around New Orleans have the highest blood concentrations of lead ever recorded in vertebrates—and scientists aren't sure why they can survive it | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

This 102-Year-Old Man Just Became the Oldest Person on Record to Summit Japan's Mount Fuji

Kokichi Akuzawa is an experienced climber who trained for his journey up the mountain by walking for one hour every morning | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Light Pollution Is Making Days Longer for Birds, Extending the Hours When They'll Sing

A new study looked at millions of recordings of birdsong and found that some species in areas with more light pollution are active for almost an hour longer than average | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Watch as Experts Preserve a 249-Year-Old Gunboat That Sank During the American Revolution

Badly damaged during the Battle of Valcour Island, the "Philadelphia" is now the focus of a new exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

A Sweeping Transformation Is Underway as the Grand Egyptian Museum Prepares to Officially Open and the Giza Plateau Braces for a Record-Breaking Influx of Visitors

The Egyptian government is making changes to enhance the visitor experience around the pyramids, but are these modifications threatening the livelihoods of local communities rooted in generations-old tourism practices? | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Archaeologists Are Investigating an Ancient Mosaic Depicting Sandals That Look Strangely Like Modern Flip-Flops

The colorful artwork decorates the frigidarium of the Villa Romana del Casale, a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Sicily | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

To Protest British Taxes, Men Dumped Tea Into Boston Harbor. With the Edenton Tea Party, Colonial Women Took a Different Approach

In 1774, 51 North Carolinian women led by Penelope Barker signed a resolution supporting the boycott of British goods | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago

Get a Glimpse of Farm Life All Around the World

These 15 images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest will grow on you | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 months ago