Articles

Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles and Everett Sloane in the offices of Kane’s Inquirer.

Who Really Wrote "Citizen Kane"?

Two new books offer divergent theories on the authorship of the much-heralded film

In 1781, Arnold ordered British troops to burn New London, Connecticut.

Why Benedict Arnold Turned Traitor Against the American Revolution

The story behind the most famous betrayal in U.S. history shows the complicated politics of the nation's earliest days

How to Plug In Your Brain

If neuroscientists are right, you’ll soon be able to sharpen your focus and boost your memory by recharging your brain—with electricity

Sam Bousfield, pictured here in a mock-up of the Switchblade, worked with Boeing engineers refining wind-tunnel construction before launching Samson Motorworks.

The Future of Cars Is Already Here

Even before the "Jetsons," people dreamed of flying cars. Now breakthroughs in technology are helping all kinds of vehicles get off the ground

Some molecular motors in this “biocomputer” are made in the lab but copy those found in brains.

Can Proteins From Living Cells Solve Problems That Vex Supercomputers?

When nature knows best

For Those Clutching Pearls Over Buzzfeed: A History of Newspapers Reveals That It's Always Been This Way

From user-generated content to political screeds, the future of news happens to look a lot like the past

Switzerland

Here's Where You Can Hike a Glacier (Before They're Gone)

Read on for five of the world's most stunning icecap experiences

Tara Locklear makes jewelry using recycled skateboards.

Calling All Those in the Market for Skateboard Jewelry, Czech Marionettes or Other Quirky Crafts

The annual Smithsonian Craft Show features 120 of the best craft artisans from around the country

Future Is Here Festival

Tech Visionary Nicholas Negroponte Talks About the Future of Education

The act of writing a computer program, says the founder of MIT's Media Lab, allows a child to learn about learning

Avalanches may have triggered the jets of material spewing from Comet Hartley 2.

Avalanches on Comets May Help Make the Icy Bodies Visible

Tumbling rocks may have lit up Comet Hartley 2, allowing its discovery in 1986

Levi Woodbury is on the $1 stamp; George M. Bibb, on the $5 stamp. Robert Walker is on the $10 stamp and James Guthrie is on the $50 stamp. George Washington is on the extremely rare $100 stamp.

Before Reefer Madness, High Times and 4/20, There Was the Marijuana Revenue Stamp

Originally designed in the 1930s to restrict access to the drug, these stamps draw a curious crowd to the Postal Museum

This is a hypothetical set of possible universes.

Think Big

Can Physicists Ever Prove the Multiverse Is Real?

Astronomers are arguing about whether they can trust this untested—and potentially untestable—idea

A study of baboons found that have an easy life when young can pay off years into the future.

For Baboons, a Tough Childhood Can Lead to a Short Life

Primates that grow up under tough conditions don’t live as long as those that have it easy

Water spreads like inky-blue fingers into mangrove forests along the shore of Australia's Ord River (top). The sediment load in the water shows up as yellow and orange while mudflats stick out like a light blue bull's-eye on the lower left.

Journey to the Center of Earth

These Stunning Satellite Images Turn Earth Into Art

These images illustrate the brutal beauty geologic processes carve into our planet

Andy Weir

Future Is Here Festival

Andy Weir, Author of "The Martian," Shares Details About His Next Novel

The science fiction writer also talks about the future of space travel

Smithsonian Best Small Towns 2016

The 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2016

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, our top picks this year are all towns close to America’s natural splendors

Anthony Fauci is America's point person in confronting epidemics.

Future Is Here Festival

Anthony Fauci Is Waging War Against Zika, and Preparing for Other Epidemics to Come

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases talks about developing a Zika vaccine

A giant mouse feeds on a dead seabird chick.

A Steady Diet of Seabird Chicks Makes Island Mice Huge

With no predators or competition, rodents can eat baby birds alive

The Mangalitsa pig, a "heritage breed" hailing from Hungary, is prized for its flavor. The woolly coat is a bonus.

Age of Humans

Fuzzy Pigs, Squash Swords And More of the World's Amazing, Vanishing Heirloom Breeds

These odd fruits, veggies and animals show the vanishing diversity of our food

This gold appliqué, more than six millennia old, appears to be a bull but has buffalo-like horns.

Mystery of the Varna Gold: What Caused These Ancient Societies to Disappear?

Treasure found in prehistoric graves in Bulgaria is the first evidence of social hierarchy, but no one knows what caused the civilization's decline

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