Archaeologists Unearth 1,600-Year-Old Jewish Ritual Bath—the Oldest Ever Found in Europe

Located in Ostia Antica, the mikvah dates to the late fourth or early fifth century C.E. Researchers say it's the earliest discovery of its kind outside the Middle East | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 day ago

Check Out These Rare Images of Deimos, One of Mars' Mysterious Moons

The spacecraft Hera's photographs are some of the few visuals ever captured of the Martian moon's dark side | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 day ago

Researchers Unearth Oldest Known Human Facial Bones Ever Found in Western Europe

The upper jawbone and partial cheek bone represent a mysterious unknown species that lived in present-day Spain between 1.1 million and 1.4 million years ago, according to a new study | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 day ago

How the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra Performs Music Using Carrots, Turnips, Radishes and Pumpkins

The band has now secured a world record for playing more than 340 concerts on instruments made from produce. After each concert, the band members serve soup to the audience | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 day ago

From a Guitar Shark to an Octocoral, Scientists Discover More Than 800 Marine Species

The Ocean Census hopes to discover thousands of new creatures before they go extinct | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 day ago

Over the Last 200 Years, a Small Library Became One of New York City’s Biggest Museums. A New Showcase Tells the Story of Its Unique Legacy

To mark its bicentennial, the Brooklyn Museum highlights the pieces that have shaped its collection—and the foundational art made in the borough | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 1 day ago

Historic Century-Old Shipwreck Discovered 600 Feet Beneath the Surface of Lake Superior

The 300-foot "Western Reserve" sank in August 1892, killing 27 people after both lifeboats capsized. Harry W. Stewart, the ship's wheelsman, was the only survivor | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 days ago

These Everyday Artifacts Tell the Story of Harriet Tubman's Father's Home as Climate Change Threatens the Historic Site

The Maryland Department of Transportation launched an interactive virtual museum, showcasing finds from where Ben Ross lived after emancipation | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 days ago

Huh? Interjections Are Critically Important to Communication

Utterances like "um," "wow" and "mm-hmm" aren't garbage—they keep conversations flowing | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 days ago

These Everyday Artifacts Tell the Story of Harriet Tubmans' Father's Home As Climate Change Threatens the Historic Site

The Maryland Department of Transportation launched an interactive virtual museum, showcasing finds from where Ben Ross lived after emancipation | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 days ago

Discover These 15 Enchanting Libraries Sure to Thrill Any Book Lover

Wall-to-wall books tell an interior design story without saying a word | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 days ago

Why NASA and SpaceX's Mission to Relieve Starliner Astronauts Is Delayed Again

After an unexpected nine months in orbit, astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are waiting for the arrival of Crew-10 before they head home. That launch is now expected for Friday | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 days ago

A Stunning Collection of Rarely Seen Ancient Roman Sculptures Is Coming to North America for the First Time

The marbles in the Torlonia Collection have been inaccessible to the public for decades. Now, some of them will be exhibited in Chicago, Fort Worth and Montreal | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 days ago

Students Walked Past This Rock for 20 Years. It Turned Out to Host 66 Dinosaur Footprints From the Jurassic Period

A paleontologist studied the 200-million-year-old prints that had been hiding in plain sight, then discovered even more tracks in another rock sitting in a nearby parking lot | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 days ago

Microplastics Are Making Photosynthesis Harder for Plants—and That Could Slash Crop Yields, Study Suggests

On average, these little particles could reduce photosynthesis in plants and algae by up to 12 percent, according to the paper | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 2 days ago

Man Discovers Message in a Bottle Hidden Above a Historic Scottish Theater's Stage, Untouched for Nearly 120 Years

A theater patron found the glass bottle behind a decorative crown positioned 40 feet above the stage. The note was dated 1906, the year the King's Theater opened in Edinburgh | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 days ago

Scientists Uncover a Frozen History in 6,000 Years' Worth of Penguin Poop, Revealing Past Ecology on Antarctica

Sediment samples from the Ross Sea coastline are revealing insights into how animals like elephant seals and Adélie penguins adapted to environmental changes long ago | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 days ago

Former and Active DMZs Allow Visitors to Learn the Haunting History of These Landscapes

Demilitarized zones—from Vietnam to Korea, Cyprus and Antarctica—require tourists to look beyond what exists and to find the real stories in what doesn’t | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 days ago

These Tracks Reveal Evidence of 22,000-Year-Old Wheelbarrows—But Without the Wheels

The drag marks and footprints were discovered in present-day New Mexico. Researchers say they're some of the earliest known examples of transport vehicles | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 days ago

Armed With Just a Badge, Los Angeles' First Policewoman Protected the City's Most Vulnerable in the Early 20th Century

Appointed in 1910, Alice Stebbins Wells patrolled dance halls, skating rinks, penny arcades and movie theaters, keeping these public spaces free of vice and immorality | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 days ago

Astronomers Discover 128 New Moons Orbiting Saturn, Cementing the Planet's Title of 'Moon King'

The sheer number of objects suggests scientists will soon have to grapple with what counts as a moon versus what’s just a large rock | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 days ago

NASA's New Space Telescope Launches to Explore the Origins of the Universe After a Series of Delays

Called SPHEREx, the instrument will map 450 million galaxies and search for water molecules that may be clinging to space dust | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 days ago

Archaeologists Unearth 1,300-Year-Old Flush Toilets at a Palace Complex in South Korea

One of the toilets, likely used by the crown prince and his court ladies, may have drained directly into a nearby river | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 days ago

Climate Change Might Increase Satellite Collisions, Limiting How Many Can Safely Orbit Earth, Study Finds

Greenhouse gas emissions could reduce drag in the upper atmosphere, leaving more space debris in orbit and making satellites more vulnerable to damage, according to new research | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 3 days ago

See the Stunning Golden Jewelry, Amulets and Small Statues Unearthed at an Ancient Egyptian Temple

Found at the Karnak Temple complex in Luxor, the 2,600-year-old trove includes a necklace depicting a golden trio of Egyptian deities | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 days ago

Astronomers Discover Evidence of a Stealthy Supermassive Black Hole Hiding Right 'Under Our Noses'

The Large Magellanic Cloud is one of the most well-studied galaxies, but new findings suggest it might have been holding a giant secret | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 days ago

Citizen Scientists Are Hitting the Streets of the Country's Fastest-Warming Cities to Collect Detailed Temperature Data

The heat mapping of metros like Reno, Nevada, could be key to taming urban heat, saving lives and designing for a cooler future | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 days ago

Nine New Tardigrade Species Discovered Thanks to the Efforts of Danish Schoolchildren

The budding scientists collected the tiny water bears in a massive citizen science project that involved almost 30,000 participants | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 days ago

These Male Octopuses Use Venom to Subdue Female Mates—and Avoid Being Eaten After Sex

Scientists observed male blue-lined octopuses injecting tetrodotoxin into females, which rendered them immobile for mating | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 days ago

Newly Rediscovered, a Missing Fragment of the Bayeux Tapestry Is Returning to France

Likely removed by Nazi researchers, the scrap of fabric is a small but crucial part of the tattered tapestry's nearly 1,000-year history | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 days ago

A New Study Finds That Domestic Cats Traveled the Silk Road to China About 1,400 Years Ago

The animals were likely gifted to some elites, then spread throughout the region | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 days ago

Megalodon Might Have Been Longer and Skinnier Than Previously Thought, Growing Up to 80 Feet

A new paper suggests the enormous, extinct shark looked less like a bulky great white and more like an elongated lemon shark | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 4 days ago

U.S. Butterflies Are Disappearing at Drastic Rates, With One in Five Gone Since 2000

A new study finds the popular, fluttering insects have declined by 22 percent in the last 20 years | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 5 days ago

Tiny Antarctic Krill Benefit the Planet in Big Ways, but Face a Barrage of Threats

The bountiful creatures sequester carbon and are a vital food source for marine predators, but their future is uncertain | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 5 days ago

Does This Mysterious Portrait Depict Lady Jane Grey, the Doomed Queen Who Ruled England for Nine Days in 1553?

After conducting a new analysis, some researchers think it may be the only portrait of Grey created during her lifetime—a conclusion that has generated controversy | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 5 days ago

Mysterious Skeleton of Child With Human and Neanderthal Traits Has Finally Been Dated by Archaeologists

Discovered in Portugal in 1998, the individual dubbed the “Lapedo Child” has long perplexed scientists, thanks to a curious mix of features | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 5 days ago

Extreme Heat Could Make Older Adults Age Faster by Altering Their DNA, Study Finds

Researchers compared genetic markers of aging to daily temperature records in areas across the United States and found that elderly people exposed to more hot days showed more rapid biological aging | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 5 days ago

'Politically Repurposed' Copy of Famous Shakespearean Love Sonnet Discovered Inside a 17th-Century Poetry Collection

The rare handwritten copy of "Sonnet 116" features several additional lines, which may have been an attempt to insert British royalist ideas into the romantic ode, according to researchers | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 5 days ago

See the New Tartan Pattern Created to Honor Women Accused of Witchcraft in Scotland Between 1563 and 1736

The black, red, gray and pink design honors the thousands of individuals—mostly women—who were persecuted under the Scottish Witchcraft Act | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 5 days ago

Every March, Runners Race Reindeer Through the Streets of Anchorage

For three and a half blocks, athletes and ungulates share the road during the headlining event of Alaska's Fur Rendezvous Festival | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 5 days ago

Surgeons Are Conducting Rare 'Tooth-in-Eye' Surgeries to Restore Vision to Blind Patients in Canada

The complex procedure involves extracting a patient’s canine tooth, adding a plastic optical lens to it and surgically embedding it in the eye | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 days ago

See 60 Remarkable Finalists From the 22nd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

From stunning landscapes to captivating portraits, the photographs showcase the diverse beauty of the world around us. Vote for your favorite, too, for the Readers' Choice competition | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 days ago

Newly Discovered Letters Illuminate the Life of a Female Printer Who Published Revolutionary Texts and Pushed the Colonies Toward Independence

As Virginia's first female newspaper publisher, Clementina Rind emphasized women's viewpoints and collaborated with prominent politicians like Thomas Jefferson | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 6 days ago

Nearly Half of the Colorful and Charismatic Heliconia Tropical Plant Species Are Threatened With Extinction, New Study Reveals

Using data from over 10,000 herbarium specimens, Smithsonian scientists uncover the urgent conservation needs of the plants, which are critical to tropical ecosystems | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 days ago

See the World's Smallest Park, a Teeny-Tiny Enclave in Japan That's About the Size of Four Sheets of Paper

The record-breaking park features some grass, a seat and a decorative stepping stone. It's even smaller than Mill Ends Park in Portland, Oregon, which had held the title since 1971 | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 days ago

These Bird Nests Are Full of Trash, Including Some That's 30 Years Old

Scientists studying Eurasian coots in Amsterdam found layers of decades-old garbage in their urban nests | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 days ago

Nearly 200 Captivating Photographs Spotlight a Century of Protest in Britain

Titled "Resistance," a new exhibition curated by filmmaker Steve McQueen examines 100 years of struggles against the status quo, from women's suffrage to the war in Iraq | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 days ago

Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Clay Puppets With Open Mouths and Detachable Heads That 'Resemble Modern Toy Dolls'

The figurines were discovered in a largely unexcavated site in El Salvador. Some 2,400 years ago, they were controlled by strings that passed through their necks | Continue reading


@smithsonianmag.com | 8 days ago