Articles

What Meghan Markle and Frances Work Have in Common

In the 1880s, Frances Ellen Work, a free-spirited American heiress married James Roche, an Irish baron

The giants and big heads have been a hit among Folklife Festival-goers, says performer Jesus Bach Marques. "They're amazed by our giants! For most of them, it's something really new."

Catalonia

For Hundreds of Years, Papier-Mâché Has Lent a Surreal Face to Catalan Culture

Street performers disguised as Giants and Big Heads blend reverence with ribaldry at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival

Sea Captains Carousing in Surinam

What Did the Founding Fathers Eat and Drink as They Started a Revolution?

They may not have been hosting a cookout, but they did know how to imbibe and celebrate

Izzy photographed with the two infants on her back on Friday, June 30.

National Zoo Reports Death of Infant Golden Lion Tamarin

The golden lion tamarin and its sibling were born on Friday, marking the first births of tamarins for the Zoo in a decade

The Pickup Truck's Transformation From Humble Workhorse to Fancy Toy

From 'rusty rattletraps' to 'big black jacked-up' rides, the vehicles symbolize blue-collar identity while flaunting bourgeois prosperity

A U.S. Marine carries an American flag on his rifle during a recovery operation in summer 1968

1968: The Year That Shattered America

How the Fourth of July Was Celebrated (and Protested) in 1968

Headlines from <em>The New York Times</em> reveal how the nation and the world commemorated Independence Day in what had already been a tumultuous year

Even outside of Hollywood, wasps are fierce contenders in their own right.

Five Real Life Wasp Superpowers Not in <i>Ant-Man and the Wasp</i>

Bees tend to get all the attention, but Marvel turns the spotlight on one of nature’s most devious masterminds

Water throwing on Vardavar is a holiday unique to Armenia.

Armenia

The Point of Armenia's Splashy Holiday Is Getting Wet

The ancient tradition of Vardavar attracts tourists to Armenia, but bring a change of clothes

American soccer fans watch the 2014 World Cup.

What the 2026 World Cup Could Do for America's 250th Birthday Celebration

In eight years, the soccer tournament will come to the U.S. just as we mark a major anniversary, providing an opportunity that can't be missed

John Wesley Powell by Edmund Clarence Messer, 1889

The Visionary John Wesley Powell Had a Plan for Developing the West, But Nobody Listened

Powell’s foresight might have prevented the 1930s dust bowl and perhaps, today’s water scarcities

This Lighthouse Made Sailing Into San Francisco Bay Safer

With heavy fog and windy conditions, sailing into San Francisco Bay has long been a hazardous affair. Then, in 1870, things got a lot safer

"My goal with music is to represent myself in a natural and sincere way," says musician Alidé Sans, "and what is more natural and sincere than an Aranese woman expressing herself in Aranese?"

Catalonia

This Musician’s Songs Give Powerful Voice to a Language in Crisis

Singer and linguistic activist Alidé Sans hails from an isolated Catalan valley where a rare dialect is spoken

Calvin Coolidge, stoic as ever, with his ebullient wife Grace.

For His Patriotic Birthday, Five Facts About Calvin Coolidge

On Coolidge’s would-be 146th birthday, celebrate with some little-known facts about our 30th President

Due to their ubiquity at archaeological sites, teeth are like the pennies of ancient human remains. But unlike pennies, fossil chompers can be a treasure trove.

How Ancient Teeth Reveal the Roots of Humankind

From diet to evolution, prehistoric chompers tell archaeologists a surprising amount about our ancestors

The Harmony is an all-electric vehicle designed by Texas A&M engineers.

Personal Flying Machines of the Future Won't Look Much Like Jet Packs

Judging from the GoFly competition, they're much more likely to resemble flying motorbikes

Members of Revitalization Corps marching in Old Saybrook

Racism Kept Connecticut's Beaches White Up Through the 1970s

By bussing black kids from Hartford to the shore, Ned Coll took a stand against the bigotry of “armchair liberals”

The Adventurous Writer Who Brought Nancy Drew To Life

Mildred Wirt Benson helped invent the fictional teen sleuth who became a generational role model

Anti-War Protests Turn Violent at 1968 Democratic Convention

It's August 26, 1968, and the Democratic National Convention is about to kick off in Chicago. In the background, scenes of turbulence and unrest

Each spring the Festival de Sopes del Món Mundial (World Soup Festival) takes place in Barcelona, the capital of Spain’s Catalonia region.

Catalonia

How Soup Nourishes Barcelona's Tradition of Welcoming Immigrants

In the town plaza of Nou Barris, a festival feast mixes together the spices and flavorings of the world’s cuisines

What Will It Take to Make Vegan Wool?

A team of Colombian students has created a wool-like material from coconut fibers, hemp and mushroom enzymes

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