Articles

A print from Harper’s showing Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863

The Wealthy Activist Who Helped Turn “Bleeding Kansas” Free

Newly minted abolitionist Amos Adams Lawrence funneled much of his fortune into a battle he thought America couldn’t afford to lose

A TEMS device mounted on eyeglasses, with the electrical signal recorded.

Blink Once For Yes: You Can ‘Talk’ to This New Computer Interface With Your Eyes

A tiny sensor mounted to eyeglasses can track eye blinks, allowing communication from locked-in patients

A NASA image of Hurricane Sandy moving along the United States' East Coast. Extreme weather events like this are becoming more frequent, but scientists still face challenges when attributing any one storm to climate change.

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Does Climate Change Cause Extreme Weather Events?

It's a challenge to attribute any one storm or heat wave to climate change, but scientists are getting closer

Members of Chamorro organizations, including the children from the Hurao Cultural Camp, perform a burial ceremony.

A Brief, 500-Year History of Guam

The Chamorro people of this Pacific island have long been buffeted by the crosswinds of foreign nations

The Cavern Grotto restaurant is located 21 stories underground.

Dine 21 Stories Underground in This 345-Million-Year-Old Cavern

Cavern Grotto, a new restaurant in Arizona, opens inside the largest dry cavern system in the country

This protein powder is made of bacteria that use hydrogen as their energy source. Not the most appetizing thought for some, but the researchers who developed this say using this as livestock feed could free up land for other purposes.

Scientists Make Food From Bacteria, Water, Electricity, and a Whole Lot of Patience

You may have heard that Finnish scientists had made food from electricity, but the truth is more complicated

Every 15 minutes another African elephant falls victim to the ivory trade. This melting life-size ice sculpture in NYC helps draw attention to the dire situation.

Watch as This Life-Size Elephant Ice Sculpture Melts in NYC

The melting mammal was part of Amarula and WildlifeDIRECT’s “Don’t Let Them Disappear” campaign

Like humans, individual tigers react differently to sedatives, says Minnesota Zoo veterinarian Rachel Thompson.

The Big Unsexy Problem With Tiger Selfies

Why drugging and caging the cats for Tinder photos is even more messed up than it sounds

Benjamin Lay said he was “illiterate,” but his antislavery arguments were erudite. This portrait, commissioned by Lay’s friend Benjamin Franklin, shows him with a book.

Secrets of American History

The "Quaker Comet" Was the Greatest Abolitionist You've Never Heard Of

Overlooked by historians, Benjamin Lay was one of the nation's first radicals to argue for an end to slavery

Why Eleanor Roosevelt Visited Active War Zones During WWII

Eleanor Roosevelt's war time travels to support U.S. soldiers were considerable: in the Pacific theater, she would meet with 400,000 troops

Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum was commissioned by a Hapsburg Emperor—and it shows.

Austria

Seven Must-See Museums in Austria

Art, music and open-air delights

The Fuzzy History of the Georgia Peach

Once a feral resource for planters, the stone fruit got a marketing makeover in the late 19th century—and a boost from the segregated labor market

"Vladimir"

A Brief History of Traveling With Cats

Fierce felines of history sailed the world, survived Europe's crusade against them and made it all the way to Memedom

An image of a 2013 total eclipse, which Eclipse Soundscapes will use as a reference for this year's.

What Does an Eclipse Sound Like?

A new app will allow blind and visually impaired users to experience the upcoming solar eclipse on August 21

The Devastating 1926 Hurricane that Halted the Growth of Miami

In 1926, the Miami economy was soaring, fueled by wealthy northerners attracted to the tropical climate and beaches

Plotting a route out? German prisoners in Britain during WWII.

This Newly Excavated Underground Tunnel Reveals How 83 German Officers Escaped a World War II Prison Camp

The POWs burrowed to freedom from a Welsh encampment in 1945

Ampelopsis brevipedunculata, or porcelainberry originated in China, Korea, Japan and Russia, but is a vigorous invasive in the United States.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Scientists Are Using This Collection of Wood Samples to Combat Illegal Logging

Archie F. Wilson loved wood enough to amass the country’s premiere private collection. Now scientists are using it as a weapon against illegal logging

Bomb Threats Didn't Stop Lady Bird's Fight for Civil Rights

Lady Bird Johnson was a committed supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, in word and deed, touring the country to speak against racism

An environmental sample processor is lowered into Lake Erie.

Underwater Robot Labs Monitor Toxins

The labs have been deployed in Lake Erie, where blooms of toxic algae have made water undrinkable in past years.

Fiskars, Finland

How This Tiny Town Drew World-Class Artists Into the Forests of Finland

Fiskars, Finland — an hour west of Helsinki — was a knife-making village on the decline. Now it's one of the world's most successful artist havens.

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