Pop culture

Madeleine L'Engle, with granddaughters Charlotte and Léna, in 1976.

The Beloved, Baffling 'A Wrinkle in Time' Was Rejected By 26 Publishers

Author Madeleine L'Engle, whose birthday is today, almost quit writing before it was published

Why Certain Songs Get Stuck in Our Heads

A survey of 3,000 people reveals that the most common earworms share a fast tempo, unusual intervals and simple rhythm

The Cultural Expressions exhibition celebrates the everyday.

How Did Smithsonian Curators Pack 200 Years of African-American Culture in One Exhibition?

The curators of the Cultural Expressions exhibition collected stories and artifacts and brilliantly packed 200 years into one round room

Dwight Eisenhower and Arnold Palmer smile before a round of golf at the Gettysburg Country Club in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in 1960.

How Arnold Palmer and President Eisenhower Made Golf the Post-War Pastime

The charismatic, working-class golfer and beloved president made golf the sport of elites and middle-class duffers for a generation

Grab a book, grab a mic, get down.

Finland’s Hot New Karaoke Bar Is a Public Library

Don’t stop believin’ in the power of music

Director Guillermo del Toro Shares the Monsters in His Closet With the Public

The filmmaker talks about artifacts from his collection that are featured in the LACMA's new exhibition, <i>At Home with Monsters</i>

Dive into a Pool of Sprinkles at the Museum of Ice Cream in New York

Grab your spoons—this delicious popup will melt in a month

Madame President

The History of Women Presidents in Film

Why the science-fiction genre was the first to imagine a female commander-in-chief

Ten-year veteran of the Smithsonian's protective services office, Sargeant Nadia Tyler is master of the wildly popular Pokémon Go.

Gotta Catch ‘Em All on the National Mall

Sergeant Nadia Tyler, a security guard at Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, is collecting Pokémon creatures daily

What Gives "Seinfeld" Its Staying Power?

In a new book, pop culture writer Jennifer Keishin Armstrong analyzes how the show about nothing changed everything

The dueling heroines take the lead in a fight for the town’s soul.

Why Betty and Veronica Are the Real Stars of Riverdale

In a reboot of the classic Archie comics, the two female leads take charge

Scene from All is Lost, a 1923 film identified at the Library of Congress's Mostly Lost Film Festival

The Library of Congress Needs Your Help to Identify These Silent Movies

For the fifth year, the "Mostly Lost" film festival calls on its audience to help identify obscure details in movie-making history

Joe (left) and Anthony (right) Russo at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International.

Meet the “Mad Scientists” Behind ‘Captain America: Civil War’

In their latest film, directors Joe and Anthony Russo explore the morality of the Star-Spangled Avenger

An Oral History of "Star Trek"

The trail-blazing sci-fi series debuted 50 years ago and has taken countless fans where none had gone before

Wacky Victorian women play behind a clothing screen, ca. 1900.

Researchers Seek Silly Sherlocks to Dig up Victorian-Era Jokes

Joke detectives are using the British Library to uncover what made Victorians chuckle

The Boule & Bill comic by Jean Roba

How Brussels Became a Real-Life Comic Strip

The city's colorful murals put it in the running for comic book capital of the world

"Cakeland Vault"

Wander About Inside This Giant Cake Sculpture

Try to refrain from eating the art

A photograph from a staged production of "R.U.R." ("Rossum's Universal Robots").

78 Years Ago Today, BBC Aired the First Science Fiction Television Program

And no, it wasn’t 'Doctor Who'

Elvis Jigsaw (2011) Elvis makes an appearance in several images in Short Stories.

Photographer Matt Henry's Obsession With the 1960s Led to These Amazing Images

Inspired by the movies of the era, he brings together elaborate sets and casts to make his scenes

Ai Weiwei Chinese 1957– Forever Bicycles, 2011, installation view at Taipei Fine Arts Museum © Ai Weiwei

Is Ai Weiwei the Andy Warhol of Our Time?

A new exhibition in Melbourne delves into the connections between the artists who define their generations

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