Articles

How Thailand's Hellfire Pass Got Its Name

During WWII, Hellfire Pass was a notorious Japanese railway construction site. There, Allied prisoners were forced to work at night in grueling conditions

NASA's Earth-orbiting satellite Hinode observes the 2011 annular solar eclipse from space.

How Eclipse Anxiety Helped Lay the Foundation For Modern Astronomy

The same unease you feel when the moon blots out the sun fueled ancient astronomers to seek patterns in the skies

Georgia Tech engineers Glaucio Paulino and Jerry Qi show two of their 3-D printed "tensegrity" structures that fold flat and build themselves up with heat. These are just proofs of concept, but Qi and Paulino predict that structures like this could be used to build space habitats or heart stents.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Print, Then Heat for Self-Assembling Space Stations

With special ‘memory’ polymers, stents and space habitats could one day build themselves

Brewing beer and other fermented beverages was a crucial activity for humans throughout history.

Ancient Humans Liked Getting Tipsy, Too

In a new book on the archaeology and chemistry of alcoholic beverages, Patrick McGovern unravels the history of boozing

From left: A pole on the grounds of a waterfront home on Haida Gwaii; wooden masks carved by the Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation on display at the U’mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay, off Vancouver Island.

Canada

See Canada Through Fresh Eyes on a First Nations Tour

The mountains, forests and waters of British Columbia are given new meaning on a journey led by members of its indigenous communities

Bei Bai, July 28, 1916

Pandamonium

Watch: The Panda Cub’s Favorite Game Is Belly Flopping Out of Trees

Bei Bei, the nearly two-year-old giant panda shows off his climbing—and falling—skills

Les choses de Paul Poiret (Paul Poiret's Things), 1911

Esperanza Spalding: Jazz Musician, Grammy Award Winner and Now Museum Curator

The title of her latest album "D + Evolution" is also the theme of a new exhibition at the Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt

These Are the Final Moments of Amelia Earhart on the Ground

In 1937, Amelia Earhart was about to embark on a record-setting flight around the world. In her final moments, she took her last photograph

Like Humans, Chimps Learn Behavior From One Another

Chimps have a range of personalities and the facial expressions to reflect them

A view from within the Tyson Forest Dynamics Plot in Missouri.

New Research

Why Do We See More Species in Tropical Forests? The Mystery May Finally Be Solved

Surveying 2.4 million trees showed that predators may help keep the trees at sustainable levels

A civil war marker in commemoration of the Battle of Atlanta is unveiled as Georgia Historical Society board member Bill Todd, left, looks on during a ceremony Monday, April 11, 2011 in Atlanta.

When It Comes to Historical Markers, Every Word Matters

Who tells the story has a significant impact on what story is told

When the writing box is unfolded, it offers a slanted writing surface, a drawer to hold inkwells and quills, and plenty of room for paper.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

History Was Writ Large on This Desk Belonging to Thomas Jefferson

The ingenuity of this clever writing box was matched only by the young republic's innovative declaration for nationhood

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These Boots Could Save a Firefighter's Life

Engineer Hahna Alexander designed SmartBoots, which harvest energy from the wearer's steps, to aid workers in dangerous professions

The White Horse at Uffington, Oxfordshire

Against All Odds, England's Massive Chalk Horse Has Survived 3,000 Years

Cleaning up the Uffington Horse is the neigh-borly thing to do

“Soccer is the one thing that’s very familiar to them," says Luma Mufleh, founder of Fugees Family. “It reminds them of home.”

How Soccer Is Changing the Lives of Child Refugees

Arrivals from war-torn countries find refuge at a Georgia academy founded by an immigrant

Bioluminescent cancer cells appear in a three-dimensional scan of a mouse with cleared tissue.

Transparent Mice Let Researchers See Cancer Spread in Real Time

By making organs transparent, researchers at Tokyo University can spot individual cancer cells

No Wonder Lord of the Rings' Middle-Earth Was Filmed Here

For 18 months, the cast and crew of the Lord of the Rings trilogy filmed their scenes across the tiny island of New Zealand

A horseshoe crab.

Future of Conservation

Forget Dinos: Horseshoe Crabs Are Stranger, More Ancient—And Still Alive Today

But now evolution’s ultimate survivors may be in danger

Hamm’s Draft Beer Can

Raise a Glass to the Smithsonian's First Beer Scholar

Theresa McCulla is ready to start the “best job ever” chronicling the history of American brewing

A painting of the library in the house of Domitian on the Palatine. Rome's long history is explored in a new illustrated book on archaeology and history.

How Archaeologists Crammed 1500 Years of Roman History Into One Map

The Atlas of Ancient Rome looks at the city over the course of its evolution in remarkable detail

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