Articles

After the first atomic bomb explosion (seen here from 10,000 yards away, in a time series from .006 seconds to .081 seconds after detonation), Oppenheimer recalled, "a few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent."

Building the Bomb

A book about atomic scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer charts the debate over deployment of the first A-bomb and the anxiety that suffused its first live test

Dubbed the "human satellite," McCandless (bottom center, with the 1984 Challenger crew, including pilot-photographer Gibson, upper left) now works on space robots.

Footloose

The image of Bruce McCandless' spacewalk two decades ago still amazes. It was the first untethered walk ever—and was among the last

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Ghost of a Chance

How did the ivory-billed woodpecker, which was feared extinct, hang on all these years?

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Give Weeds a Chance

How a cultivated dislike of gardening can lead to more time on the porch

The original Smokey Bear, playing in his pool at the National Zoo, sometime during the 1950s.

A Bear-Handed Grab

How a stranded cub became the living symbol for one of America's best-known advertising campaigns

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Going for the Gold

A pop-music confection known as The Village People belted out disco hits in the 1970s that morphed into American standards

Life imitates Frederic Remington (models Josh and Rob Culbertson) at the annual invitation-only event known as the Artist Ride.

Cowboys and Artists

Each summer models decked out in period dress give artists a picture of life in the Wild West

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Making Tracks

On the trail of art thieves and elusive elephants

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The Power and the Glory

She bought the electric drill to get a tidier household. Then she found out about the secret sisterhood

"I really needed a haircut, so i stepped into Benny White's Arco Barber Shop. I sat down in that old, red chair and received one of the most attentive and quality haircuts of my life. Afterward I thanked White and asked him if he wouldn't mind me taking his portrait."

Through Our Readers' Eyes

SMITHSONIAN's second annual photo contest generates more than 30,000 entries

United States Attorney Carmen Ortiz (C) along with Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI's Boston Field Office Richard Des Lauriers (R) announce investigative developments in the 1990 art heist at the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum and appeal to the public for information regarding the return of several pieces during a news conference at the FBI offices in Boston, Massachusetts

Ripped from the Walls (and the Headlines)

Fifteen years after the greatest art theft in modern history the mystery may be unraveling

Cathlapotle Plankhouse

Board Rooms

Near Portland, Oregon, archaeologists and Indians have built an authentic Chinookan plankhouse like those Lewis and Clark saw

July 1970

A look back at the world in Smithsonian Magazine's first year

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The Elusive Shoshone

Needing horses and a route across the Rockies, the corps must find Sacagawea's people —or risk the fate of the expedition

The fate of the Civil War hinged on the battle at South Carolina's Morris Island. If Union forces captured Fort Wagner they could control access to the harbor.

Preservation or Development at Morris Island?

On this site where the nation's legendary African-American fighting force proved its valor in the Civil War, a housing development ignited a debate

After months at sea, Selkirk's ship put in at the island (named Robinson Crusoe Island in 1966) with a leaky hull and restive crew. But an extended stay didn't quell Selkirk's misgivings.

The Real Robinson Crusoe

He was a pirate, a hothead and a lout, but castaway Alexander Selkirk—the author's ancestor inspired one of the greatest yarns in literature

Footprints and dung are often the only evidence of their route.

Saving Mali's Migratory Elephants

A new photo library of West Africa's desert elephants is helping researchers track the dwindling herd and protect their imperiled migration routes.

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Paris, Mon Amour

For photographer Robert Doisneau, finding an openly affectionate couple in the City of Light was as easy as falling in love

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Tocqueville's America

The French author's piquant observations on American gumption and political hypocrisy sound remarkably contemporary 200 years after his birth

An SIguide: More memory than the Apollo 11 computer—at 1/250th its size.

From the Secretary: Guiding Light

New palm-size computers show videos and maps to lead visitors around— even to a good cup of joe

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