Meilan Solly

Meilan Solly

 

Meilan Solly is Smithsonian magazine's senior associate digital editor, history.

Left: Half-restored version of Vermeer's "Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window" / Right: Unrestored version

Restoration Reveals Long-Lost Cupid Painted Over After Vermeer’s Death

In an unusual move, the Dresden gallery has opted to display the half-restored painting prior to concluding conservation efforts

Iris Scott, "Tiger Fire," 2019

Iris Scott, the World's First Professional Finger-Painter, Launches NYC Show

While the artist isn't the first to use finger painting in her work, she is the first to dedicate her career to the technique

C.D.C. Says More Than Half of the U.S.’ Pregnancy-Related Deaths Are Preventable

African-American, Native American and Alaska Native women are around three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related issues than white women

To some, beets' soil-like smell is so strong that eating the vegetable holds the same appeal as dining on a chunk of dirt.

New Study Reveals How One Person’s ‘Smellscape’ Can Differ From Another’s

A single genetic mutation could determine whether you perceive beets’ soil-like smell, whiskey’s smokiness and lily of the valley’s sweetness

Max Peintner, "The Unbroken Attraction of Nature," 1970-71, handcolored by Klaus Littmann in 2018

Curator Will Plant 299 Trees in a Stadium to Make Statement on Climate Change

After the installation closes, the makeshift forest will be relocated to a public space, where it will remain accessible as a 'living forest sculpture'

Celine Dion arrives for the 2019 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

How Well Did This Year's Met Gala Exemplify ‘Camp’?

The concept of camp goes far beyond what Susan Sontag wrote in her seminal essay

Participants use magnetic landscape tiles to build a perfect planet

This Board Game Asks Players to Craft a Perfect Planet

In 'Planet', players compete to create worlds capable of sustaining the highest possible level of biodiversity

Left: Albrecht Dürer, "St. Thomas," 1514 / Right: Johann Ladenspelder, "St. Thomas," circa 1535 – 1561

What Differentiates Renaissance Copies, Fakes and Reproductions?

An Austin exhbition argues that copies, despite the negative connotations associated with the word, are not inferior to so-called “originals”

Here's What Al Capone’s Philadelphia Prison Cell Really Looked Like

The mob boss spent nine months imprisoned at Eastern State Penitentiary, and a new exhibition shows his stay was less glamorous than it was portrayed

A new study identifies the remains of two previously mislabeled species: a short-faced bear and wolf-like carnivore

Divers Find Ice Age Megafauna Remains in Underwater Mexican Cave

The animals include at least seven short-faced bears and one or two wolf-like carnivores

The 8.5-millimeter millipede had five-unit compound eyes and an unusually hairless rear end

This Petite, 99-Million-Year-Old Millipede Was Entrapped in Amber

The diminutive arthropod represents not only a previously unknown species, but an entirely separate Callipodida suborder

Every additional $10,000 in total income makes a person two percent more likely to enter a creative field

Wealth Is a Strong Predictor of Whether an Individual Pursues a Creative Profession

Those from households with an annual income of $1 million are 10 times more likely to become artists than those from families with a $100,000 income

Hippos excrete 880 pounds of silica into Kenya’s Mara River every day

East Africa's Mara River Relies on Hippo Poop to Transport a Key Nutrient

Hippo droppings account for more than three-quarters of the ecosystem's silica

"Hamilton: The Exhibition" opened at Northerly Island in Chicago on April 26, 2019.

‘Hamilton: The Exhibition’ Opens in Chicago to Eager Fans

The sweeping show uses interactive visuals, games and sets to provide an in-depth look at the history behind the hit musical

Drug-Resistant Infections Could Kill 10 Million People Annually by 2050

A new U.N. report highlights the danger posed by widespread antibiotic misuse in humans, livestock and agriculture

The Bible is similar to one brought to North America by Pilgrims traveling aboard the Mayflower

17th-Century Bible Stolen From Pittsburgh Library Recovered in the Netherlands

The 404-year-old religious text was one of more than 300 artifacts stolen from Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Library over a two-decade period

The lock of hair is set to go on view as of May 2, 2019, the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci's death

DNA Analysis Could Prove if This Lock of Hair Belonged to Leonardo da Vinci

Researchers will compare results of DNA test to genetic material extracted from artist’s living descendants and his alleged remains

If listed under the Endangered Species Act, giraffes would become eligible for federal funding aimed at conservation, and limits would be placed on the import of the animal's body parts

The United States May List Giraffes as an Endangered Species

Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced plans to conduct in-depth review of the popular animal's threat status

Elizabeth and Edward IV married in secret, attracting the ire of the king's advisors and most of the court

Did Elizabeth Woodville, England’s ‘White Queen,’ Die of the Plague?

A 500-year-old letter recently found in the National Archives suggests the queen was buried quickly and without ceremony due to fear of contagion

55 percent of Americans reported feeling significant levels of stress in 2018

Americans Are Among the Most Stressed-Out People in the World, Reporting Negative Emotions at Highest Rates in a Decade

But the news isn’t all bad: Americans also reported generally more positive experiences than the rest of the world

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